application: add note about refactoring projects

Author: chriscool

General-Application-Information.md

@@ -122,3 +122,43 @@ The Git organization usually has very limited mentoring capacity.
 These days we usually accept between 0 and 3 students per season
 (Winter or Summer).
 
+## Note about refactoring projects versus projects that implement new features
+
+Over the years we have been favoring refactoring projects over
+possibly more interesting projects that implement new features.
+Refactoring projects are usually easier to do step by step, and to get
+code merged step by step which is encouraging.
+
+In general refactoring projects are worthwhile to do even if the
+project is not finished at the end of the GSoC and even if the student
+stops contributing after that. In those cases it is often a good idea
+to later finish the refactoring either by ourselves or by proposing it
+to another GSoC student or Outreachy intern. This way the work of both
+students and mentors is not likely to be wasted.
+
+With a project that implements a feature, there is a risk, if it's too
+complex or too difficult, that the feature will not be finished and
+that nothing, or nearly nothing, will have been merged during the GSoC
+or Outreachy internship. There is also the risk that another way to
+implement the feature will appear later in the GSoC or Outreachy
+internship, and all, or nearly all, the work of the student and
+mentors will have been mostly wasted. It could also appear that the
+use cases the feature was envisioned to be used in, are better
+addressed by other improvements or a different workflow.
+
+Another potential issue is that a new feature might be prone to naming
+or user interface discussions which could last for a long time or
+could not result in clear decisions.
+
+Therefore we think that we should be very careful before proposing to
+a student, or accepting, a project that implements a new feature.
+People suggesting such a project should at least carefully consider
+the above potential issues and see if they can be mitigated before the
+project is submitted.
+
+As [suggested by Google](https://google.github.io/gsocguides/mentor/defining-a-project-ideas-list)
+(but this is true for Outreachy internships too), we emphasize that a
+student proposing something original must engage with the community
+strongly before and during the application period to get feedback and
+guidance to improve the proposal and avoid the above potential issues.
+