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Attempt to generalize the application process page by moving the GSoC
details to the gsoc page.  Also, note in the introductory text that not
everybody is supposed to answer all questions.

We should still reorganize the list of questions in the application form
to make them look more "formal" and targeted at different audiences.  At
the moment, many of the questions are directed at students only.

    1: [[!meta title="Guidelines to apply for a project"]]
    2: 
    3: If you plan to apply to work on any of the projects listed in this site,
    4: you should start by sending an email to the contact points listed at the
    5: top of every project description.  The purpose of this email is to
    6: introduce yourself to the NetBSD community if you are new to it, and to
    7: explain in a great level of detail how you will work on the project
    8: (e.g. the overall plan, milestones, schedule, etc.)  **This is particularly
    9: important if the project is up for funding or if it is a
   10: [[Google Summer of Code project|gsoc]].**
   11: 
   12: The sections below include a guideline on the kind of information we are
   13: interested in hearing in your initial communication.  The level of detail
   14: involved will depend on how how familiar you are with the NetBSD Project
   15: and the developer community.
   16: 
   17: If you are a newcomer (e.g. you are a Google Summer of Code student that
   18: has just installed NetBSD for the first time), you are encouraged to answer
   19: as many questions as possible.  If you are an old-timer, however, you can
   20: skip the most obvious questions and focus on preparing a detailed project
   21: specification instead.
   22: 
   23: # About your project
   24: 
   25: * What is the goal of the project?  (Short overview)
   26: 
   27: * What will be the deliverables of the project?  (Code, documentation, ...)
   28: 
   29: * Give an overview of how you intend to reach the project's goal
   30:   in the form of milestones and a schedule.
   31: 
   32: * Is similar software already available elsewhere, e.g. for
   33:   Linux or any other BSD?
   34: 
   35: * Is the project a port of software, or a rewrite? (remember:
   36:   No GPL in the NetBSD kernel!)
   37: 
   38: # About your project and NetBSD
   39: 
   40: * If your working area is the core NetBSD operating system: have you
   41:   installed NetBSD and made first experiences with hands-on configuration?
   42:   Have you rebuilt the kernel and the userland, either in full or in parts?
   43:   If you plan to work on pkgsrc, have you installed packages from source
   44:   and binary? Have you created a package on your own?
   45: 
   46: * Have you found the relevant places that your project is based on in the
   47:   source code, and read through it?
   48: 
   49: * How will your project integrate into NetBSD? (Userland tool, kernel
   50:   subsystem, driver, patch set, pkgsrc, ...)
   51: 
   52: * What interfaces in NetBSD will your project use?  (Go into details here!
   53:   What module/file names, functions, data structures etc. are of relevance
   54:   for your project?)
   55: 
   56: * To what degree are you familiar with those interfaces?  (not/some/very,
   57:   details?)
   58: 
   59: * Is knowledge on other topics required for this project, e.g. on
   60:   hardware, software other than NetBSD, APIs, protocols, etc.?  If so, give
   61:   details and references.
   62: 
   63: * To what degree are you familiar with those?  (not/some/very, details?)
   64: 
   65: * If the project involves hardware (e.g. writing drivers, doing a port to
   66:   new hardware, ...): do you own the hardware or have access to?
   67: 
   68: # About you
   69: 
   70: * Can you list some prior projects that you have worked on so far?  Include
   71:   details like programming language, duration, number of people involved,
   72:   project goal, if you used CVS, SVN or similar, and whatever else we may
   73:   find thrilling! If you have a CV/resume online, feel free to include a
   74:   link.
   75: 
   76: * Do you have any prior experience with programming NetBSD?  In what area?
   77:   If you did send some problem reports (PRs) or patches, please include
   78:   references.
   79: 
   80: * Have you previously discussed your project within NetBSD, either on a
   81:   mailing list or with some specific developers? If so, please give us
   82:   either the names/email addresses of those developers or point us towards
   83:   the discussions on our list (via <http://mail-index.NetBSD.org/>).
   84: 
   85: * How do we contact you for question, comments, suggestions, etc.?
   86: 
   87: * Is there anything else you'd like us to know? Did we forget any important
   88:   details or questions?