Hi,
I'm just wondering if there are any plans for uDG 2007 and if so, when it would start. I think mid june/early july would be best, as it coincides with most people's summer vecation, and gives highschool students a fighting chance.

(I'm just getting pumped because I'll actually be able to enter this year )
Cheers,
Joseph

Joseph Duchesne Wrote:Hi,
I'm just wondering if there are any plans for uDG 2007 and if so, when it would start. I think mid june/early july would be best, as it coincides with most people's summer vecation, and gives highschool students a fighting chance.

If there was such a contest (not an official voice here, just my thoughts) then it would not kick off as soon as next month.

I suspect it would take at least a couple of months to get sponsorship up and running. On top of that there would be the usual sorting out of the rules and the website. The website would need serious testing to make sure the whole uploading and voting system worked correctly. Ideally there would be a dry run for the whole process at least a month before the contest began so that any issues can be sorted out.

These factors would lead to a Northern hemisphere Autumn date.

There is also the other factor that Carlos does not seem to post here these days.

I have little to no hope of a uDG before October. :-(

That's really too bad, because I have a number of rather diabolical ideas.

Well, we could help Carlos, and do a lot of things ourselves, like contact sponsors etc. That would probably help get it moving.

Alex

Speaking from past experience, what Carlos needs is one dedicated individual to fill the spot of uDG Sponsor Manager. It is a lot of work, not only initially contacting a large number of sponsors but all of the upkeep and back and forth communication with them before, during and after the contest. And, ultimately, you would probably need to be one of the moderators of the site (ie, someone Carlos has come to know and trust).

If any moderator wants to volunteer for such a position, I suggest they contact Carlos by email, instead of posting on the forums. Having just moved and settling into a new job, browsing the forums is probably a luxury he cannot afford right now.

This years uDG consists of making a MMORPG

Jokes aside, if there would be a uDG then I'd probably join.

I'm still waiting for uDevGames 2005

Sadly, there were no entries in 2005... too many developers busy with shipping babies.

If it isn't September or October, I have a chance of joining. I got my HSC (High School Certificate, Uni-entry) exams then...
Oh yes, July would be very nice, I got my winter holidays then (2 weeks).

Joseph Duchesne Wrote:Hi,
I think mid june/early july would be best, as it coincides with most people's summer vecation, and gives highschool students a fighting chance.

Do they really not have a fighting chance? Are they really more busy than someone who works 8-10 hours a day, commutes, and has parental responsibilities 7 days a week?

I see a lot of complaining from students of all levels, as well as professionals like me that they are at a disadvantage to everyone else due to their time constraints. I'm guilty of it too. Sure, we'd all like the schedule to work to our own advantage, but I think some people put too much store in that.

I will be doing an internship at EMC this summer (regular 9-5 with a one way transit time of about an hour) and I believe I will still have more free time than I do during the school year--close to none, because completing a double major and trying to maintain a 5.0 at MIT beats the hell out of me.

No matter when uDG is held during the year, it will always be inconvenient for some portion of the entrants. I for one would rather have it than not have it, no matter how inconvenient that time of the year is.

It just always seems really selfish to me, the American students saying "ooh, let's have it during my summer break, 'most' people are free then". Have you done a survey of the boards to see whether most members are American students? Is it fair that some significant proportion of the potential entrants should get time during their holidays, where others don't?

If that's when it happens to be convenient to run the competition, then sure, go ahead, some people will be happy. I just don't think we should be going out of our way to put it at a time that's not convenient, to satisfy a few vocal selfish people.

That's a pretty darn good point OSC! This board is definitely international, so in all fairness timing should be mostly irrelevent. Heck, forget about the students, what about those who have jobs 9-5, 365?!

Very good point OSC, I didn't even think of that. Lol. I really don't care when it is, I was just arguing the point that being in school doesn't imply that one has more free time than someone with a job, nor is the opposite necessarily true. In all, we will never be able to set a time period in which everybody is happy, so whatever time is convenient for producer of the contest is really the only matter here.