General Information and Questions

Profiles are used in Melange to represent users participating in the particular program. All profiles are created on a per-role basis. Because some user data may change between programs and users can take on different roles in different Google Summer of Code years, we ask users to create a new profile (without choosing a new username) every year.

There are four main roles in Melange:

• Students
• Mentors
• Organization Administrators
• Program Administrators

A participant who is a Student may not also take on any other role, e.g. Students may not also be Mentors (even in different organizations) during the same Google Summer of Code year. Students one year may be Mentors the next year of the program, and we are very proud of those who have taken this step.

Mentors and Organization Administrators participate in Google Summer of Code on behalf of a Mentoring Organization. Mentors instruct, guide, and oversee Students. Organization Administrators approve, assign, and manage Mentors within their Mentoring Organization as well as creating the initial application for the organization to apply for the Google Summer of Code. These roles are not exclusive, and many Organization Administrators also choose to mentor one or several Students during Google Summer of Code. Also, Mentors as well as Organization Administrators can participate and supervise Student work on behalf of multiple Mentoring Organizations.

Program Administrators are responsible for administering Google Summer of Code. Program Administrators can be Mentors and even Organization Administrators as well, though this has been rare in practice.