Google Season of Docs 2020 Program Rules

Terms last modified: March 6, 2020

Season of Docs 2020 (the "Program") is sponsored by Google LLC ("Google"), a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.

1. Definitions.
1. 1.1 "Acceptance Date" means the date accepted Project Proposals are announced on the Program Website, as set forth on the Program Timeline.
2. 1.2 "Writing Period" means the period of time designated for Technical Writers to complete their projects.
3. 1.3 "Community Bonding Period" means the period for accepted Technical Writers to get to know their Mentors and prepare to begin work on their Projects, as set forth on the Program Timeline.
4. 1.4 "Evaluation" means an evaluation by the Mentor of his or her Technical Writer's work or an evaluation by the Technical Writer of his or her Mentor, as applicable.
5. 1.5 "Final Phase" means the final 4 weeks of the Writing Period (weeks 9-12).
6. 1.6 "Final Project Materials" means the final version of the documentation created by the Technical Writer and any associated code, images, and other materials for his or her Project.
7. 1.7 "Final Results" means the list of Technical Writers who passed all of their Evaluations.
8. 1.8 "Ideas List" means the list of ideas for Projects publicly published by an Organization on its website.
9. 1.9 "Members" means the Organization Administrators and Mentors for an Organization.
10. 1.10 "Mentor" means the individual who registers for the Program as a mentor for an Organization.
11. 1.11 "Mentor Participant Agreement" means the agreement between Google and an Organization Administrator or Mentor, as applicable, that is presented during registration.
12. 1.12 "Mentor Summit" means an event where Organizations' Members are invited to Google's campus to meet and collaborate.
13. 1.13 "Organization" means the open source organization that registers for the Program as an organization.
14. 1.14 "Organization Administrator" means the individual who registers for the Program as an administrator for an Organization.
15. 1.15 "Organization Application" means an application from an Organization for its acceptance in the Program, including a completed profile.
16. 1.16 "Organization Participant Agreement" means the agreement between Google and an Organization that is presented during registration.
17. 1.17 "Organization Project Criteria" means the criteria for grading Project Submissions that an Organization determines at its sole discretion.
18. 1.18 "Participants" means Organizations, Organization Administrators, Mentors, and Technical Writers.
19. 1.19 "Program Administrators" means Google's administrators for the Program.
20. 1.20 "Program Period" means the period of time between March 13, 2020 and December 18, 2020.
21. 1.21 "Long-running Program Period" means the period of time between March 13, 2020 and March 23, 2021.
22. 1.22 "Program Timeline" means the timeline for the Program on the Program Website.
23. 1.23 "Program Website" means the website for the Program located at https://g.co/seasonofdocs.
24. 1.24 "Project" means an open source project to be worked on by a Technical Writer as an individual.
25. 1.25 "Project Proposal" means a Technical Writer's proposal for a Project.
26. 1.26 "Project Submissions" means the work product that a Technical Writer submits for a Project, including the Project Proposal and any documentation and software, including Final Project Materials.
27. 1.27 "Technical Writer" means the individual who registers for the Program as a technical writer.
28. 1.28 "Technical Writer Participant Agreement" means the agreement between Google and a Technical Writer that is presented during registration.
29. 1.29 The words "include" and "including" as used herein mean "including but not limited to."
2. Privacy.
1. 2.1 Google will process the personal information provided during registration and in any subsequent communications to administer the Program (including verifying eligibility to participate in the Program, running the Program, sending notifications regarding the Program, and delivering promotional items).
2. 2.2 Google will also use aggregated, non-personally identifiable information for statistical purposes.
3. 2.3 The display name that Participants provide during registration will be displayed publicly on the Program Website and any archives of the Program Website, and will be shared with Organizations for the purpose of communicating with the Technical Writers to answer their questions and reviewing their proposals and work. Participants are strongly advised not to use their real name as their display name.
4. 2.4 Technical Writer's Project Submissions and contact information (email address and display name) will be shared with the Organizations (including Members) to administer the Program.
5. 2.5 Google may publicize your participation in the Program and the results of the Program, including announcements of accepted Project Proposals, the text of accepted Project Proposals, and the resulting code from your work on the Project. Google may display your information, including your display name, Project abstract, and Final Project Materials, on Google-run websites, including the Google Open Source Blog (https://opensource.googleblog.com/) and the Program Website.
6. 2.6 The personal information provided during registration and in any subsequent communications will also be processed by Google's trusted service providers for the purpose of delivering stipends to successful accepted Technical Writers and promotional goods to Participants, based on Google's instructions and in compliance with Google's Privacy Policy and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures.
7. 2.7 Participants can access, update, remove and restrict the processing of their personal information by writing to Google (Attention: Open Source Programs Office) at the address listed in the preamble above or by emailing season-of-docs-support@googlegroups.com.
  The Privacy Policy further explains how data is handled in this service.
3. Program Administration.
1. 3.1 Changes to the Program.
  1. (a) Google may suspend, cancel, or modify the structure of the Program if technical difficulties or events beyond Google's reasonable control prevent or make it unfair to run the Program in accordance with these Program Rules.
  2. (b) Google may modify these Program Rules to reflect any modifications to the Program. Any changes made will be effective immediately upon notice, which will be given by posting the revised Program Rules on this page. Continued participation in the Program after such notice will be deemed acceptance of such changes.
2. 3.2 Verifying Eligibility.
  1. (a) Google reserves the right to verify a Participant's eligibility and to adjudicate on any dispute at any time. Participants must provide Google with any proof of eligibility requested by Google. Refusal or failure to provide such proof within two (2) business days of Google's request via email, may result in removal from the Program.
3. 3.3 Communications. All communications between Google and the Participants, including the Program Website and email communications, will be in English.
4. 3.4 Conduct. Participants must use professional and courteous conduct when interacting with other Participants and the Program Administrators. If a Participant does not use such conduct, Google may remove the Participant from the Program.
5. 3.5 Program Removal. In addition to any terms regarding removal from the Program set forth herein, Google may remove a Participant from the Program if Google reasonably believes that such Participant has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Program, including:
  1. (a) Providing false eligibility information during registration;
  2. (b) Breaching or refusing to comply with these Program Rules;
  3. (c) Threatening or harassing Google or other Participants including Organizations' employees and representatives;
  4. (d) Tampering or interfering with administration of the Program or with the ability of other Participants to participate in the Program;
  5. (e) Submitting content that:
    1. (i) is not original;
    2. (ii) violates the rights of a third party;
    3. (iii) is lewd, obscene, pornographic, racist, sexist, or otherwise inappropriate to the Program; or
    4. (iv) violates any applicable law.
  6. (f) If a Participant is removed from the Program for any reason:
    1. (i) the Participant will no longer be eligible to receive stipends from Google;
    2. (ii) Google may delete the Participant's profile and other data from the Program Website; and
    3. (iii) the Participant may be prohibited from participating in any future programs run by Google Open Source.
4. Organizations.
1. 4.1 Eligibility. To participate in the Program, an Organization must:
  1. (a) run an active and viable open source software project;
  2. (b) have already produced and released software under an Open Source Initiative (OSI)-approved license;
  3. (c) not be based in a United States embargoed country, or otherwise prohibited by applicable export controls and sanctions programs; and
  4. (d) if the Organization is an individual,
    1. (i) not be a resident of a United States embargoed country;
    2. (ii) not be ordinarily resident in a United States embargoed country, or otherwise prohibited by applicable export controls and sanctions programs; and
    3. (iii) be at least eighteen (18) years of age upon registration for the Program.
2. 4.2 How to Apply. Organizations who wish to apply for acceptance in the Program must:
  1. (a) accept the terms of the Organization Participant Agreement, and
  2. (b) submit an Organization Application.
3. 4.3 Organization Application.
  1. (a) The Organization Application must be submitted by an Organization Administrator through the Program Website during the application period described in the Program Timeline.
  2. (b) Each Organization may submit one (1) Organization Application.
4. 4.4 Acceptance.
  1. (a) Google may accept or reject any Organization at its sole discretion.
  2. (b) Google will announce the Organizations accepted to the Program on the Program Website.
5. 4.5 Responsibilities.
  1. (a) Each accepted Organization will perform all necessary additional steps required for the Organization to participate in the Program, including:
    1. (i) providing an Ideas List;
    2. (ii) determining the Organization Project Criteria, provided that the Organization may not discriminate on the basis of age, race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, marital or veteran status or any other basis that is prohibited by applicable law; and
    3. (iii) assigning one or more persons, as applicable, to:
      1. (A) serve as the Organization Administrator(s);
      2. (B) evaluate Technical Writers' Project Proposals submitted to the Organization in accordance with Section 6.4 below and decide which Project Proposals to accept;
      3. (C) help Technical Writers integrate with the Organization's community during the Community Bonding Period;
      4. (D) serve as Mentor(s); and
      5. (E) serve as alternative Mentors in the event an existing Mentor is unable to fulfill his or her responsibilities.
  2. (b) If Google reasonably believes that an Organization has failed to meet the foregoing responsibilities, Google may remove such Organization from the Program.
  3. (c) Each Organization is responsible for its Organization Administrators and Mentors. If Google reasonably believes that an Organization Administrator or Mentor for an Organization has failed to meet any of the responsibilities set forth in Sections 5.3(a) or 6.3(a) below, as applicable, Google is not required to pay any stipends to the Organization.
5. Organization Administrators.
1. 5.1 Role.
  1. (a) Each Organization must have at least two (2) Organization Administrators.
  2. (b) All Organization Administrators must accept the terms of the Mentor Participant Agreement.
  3. (c) An Organization Administrator who has the full legal authority to bind the Organization must register the Organization for the Program and accept the terms of the Organization Participant Agreement on behalf of the Organization.
2. 5.2 Eligibility.
  1. (a) Requirements. To participate in the Program, an Organization Administrator must:
    1. (i) be eighteen (18) years of age or older upon registration for the Program;
    2. (ii) be a contributor to an active and viable open source project run by the Organization; and
    3. (iii) not be a Technical Writer in the Program.
  2. (b) Ineligible Individuals. An Organization Administrator may not participate in the Program if he or she is:
    1. (i) a resident of a United States embargoed country;
    2. (ii) ordinarily resident in a United States embargoed country;
    3. (iii) otherwise prohibited by applicable export controls and sanctions programs; or
    4. (iv) an immediate family member (including a parent, sibling, child, spouse, or life partner) of an accepted Technical Writer in the Program with the same Organization or a member of the same household (whether related or not) as an accepted Technical Writer in the Program with the same Organization.
3. 5.3 Responsibilities.
  1. (a) The Organization Administrators for an accepted Organization will:
    1. (i) act as the main points of contact between Google and the Organization and will respond to any inquiries from Google within thirty-six (36) hours;
    2. (ii) oversee the overall progress of the Organization and its Technical Writers throughout the Program;
    3. (iii) perform administrative tasks regarding the Program for the Organization, including publishing the Organization's Ideas List and designating one or more Mentors for each accepted Technical Writer through the Program Website;
    4. (iv) oversee and manage Mentors to ensure that they meet their responsibilities as set forth in Section 6.3 below;
    5. (v) at the end of the Program, write and publish a blog post about the Organization's participation in the Program; complete the necessary forms required to receive (or decline) the applicable stipends by the posted deadlines as set forth by Google Program Administrators; and
    6. (vi) review the "Organization administrator and mentor responsibilities" document published on the Program Website and be sure they, and each of their Mentors, are meeting the responsibilities outlined therein.
  2. (b) If Google reasonably believes that an Organization Administrator has failed to meet any of the foregoing responsibilities, Google may require the Organization to designate a replacement Organization Administrator.
6. Mentors.
1. 6.1 Role.
  1. (a) Mentors must be designated by an Organization Administrator through the Program Website.
  2. (b) Mentors must accept the terms of the Mentor Participant Agreement.
2. 6.2 Eligibility.
  1. (a) Requirements. To participate in the Program, a Mentor must:
    1. (i) upon registration for the Program, be eighteen (18) years of age or older;
    2. (ii) be a contributor to an active and viable open source project run by the Organization; and
    3. (iii) not be a Technical Writer in the Program.
  2. (b) Ineligible Individuals. A Mentor may not participate in the Program if he or she is:
    1. (i) a resident of a United States embargoed country;
    2. (ii) ordinarily resident in a United States embargoed country; or
    3. (iii) otherwise prohibited by applicable export controls and sanctions programs.
    4. (iv) an immediate family member (including a parent, sibling, child, spouse, or life partner) of an accepted Technical Writer in the Program with the same Organization or a member of the same household (whether related or not) as an accepted Technical Writer in the Program with the same Organization.
3. 6.3 Responsibilities.
  1. (a) Each Mentor for an accepted Organization will:
    1. (i) participate in the Community Bonding Period;
    2. (ii) provide guidance to his or her Technical Writer(s) on their Projects for the Organization;
    3. (iii) use best efforts to respond to Technical Writer requests within thirty-six (36) hours;
    4. (iv) provide Evaluations of his or her Technical Writer(s)' work as described in Section 8.1 below in accordance with the Organization Project Criteria; and
    5. (v) review the "Organization administrator and mentor responsibilities" document published on the Program Website and be sure they are meeting the responsibilities outlined therein.
  2. (b) If Google reasonably believes that a Mentor has failed to meet any of the foregoing responsibilities, Google may require the Organization Administrators to designate a replacement Mentor and remove the former Mentor from the Program.
7. Technical Writers.
1. 7.1 Eligibility.
  1. (a) Requirements. To participate in the Program, a Technical Writer must:
    1. (i) be eighteen (18) years of age or older upon registration for the Program;
    2. (ii) for the duration of the Program, be eligible to work in the country in which he or she resides; and
    3. (iii) not be an Organization Administrator or Mentor in the Program.
  2. (b) Ineligible Individuals. A Technical Writer may not participate in the Program if:
    1. (i) he or she is:
      1. (A) a resident of a United States embargoed country;
      2. (B) ordinarily resident in a United States embargoed country; or
      3. (C) otherwise prohibited by applicable export controls and sanctions programs.
    2. (ii) he or she is an employee (including intern), contractor, officer, or director of:
      1. (A) Google or its affiliates, or
      2. (B) an Organization or any of its affiliates.
    3. (iii) he or she is an immediate family member (including a parent, sibling, child, spouse, or life partner) of a Mentor or Organization Administrator with the same Organization or a member of the same household (whether related or not) as a Mentor or Organization Administrator with the same Organization.
    4. (iv) he or she has previously participated as a Technical Writer in Season of Docs two (2) or more times.
2. 7.2 How to Apply. Technical Writers who wish to apply for acceptance in the Program must:
  1. (a) accept the terms of the Technical Writer Participant Agreement, and
  2. (b) submit a Project Proposal.
3. 7.3 Project Proposals.
  1. (a) Technical Writers may submit Project Proposals to Organizations through the Program Website during the application period described in the Program Timeline.
  2. (b) Each Technical Writer may submit up to three (3) Project Proposals; however, only one (1) Project Proposal may be accepted per Technical Writer.
  3. (c) Project Proposals may, but are not required to, be for Projects on an Organization's Ideas List.
  4. (d) If a Project Proposal is for a Project that the Technical Writer is already working on, the Technical Writer must note this in the Project Proposal. Any work done on the Project prior to acceptance of the Project Proposal will not be considered for Evaluations.
4. 7.4 Acceptance.
  1. (a) Project Proposals will be reviewed by the Organizations to which they were submitted. An Organization may accept or reject any Project Proposal at its sole discretion. In the event that two (2) or more Organizations wish to accept Project Proposals from the same Technical Writer, such Organizations may work amongst themselves to determine which Organization will accept the Technical Writer.
  2. (b) Google will announce the Project Proposals accepted to the Program on the Program Website.
  3. (c) Each Technical Writer with an accepted Project Proposal will be matched with at least one (1) Mentor from the applicable Organization.
  4. (d) Technical Writers without an accepted Project Proposal may not continue with the Program.
5. 7.5 Responsibilities.
  1. (a) Each accepted Technical Writer will perform all necessary additional steps required for the Technical Writer to participate in the Program, including:
    1. (i) participating in the Community Bonding Period;
    2. (ii) providing Evaluations of his or her Mentor as described in Section 8.1 below;
    3. (iii) working diligently to complete the Project as it may be modified with the agreement of the Organization;
    4. (iv) participating in the Organization's community and adhering to the Organization's rules and codes of conduct;
    5. (v) reviewing the "Technical writer responsibilities" document published on the Program Website and making sure he or she is meeting the responsibilities outlined therein; and
    6. (vi) publishing his or her Project code in a publicly accessible location and under an Open Source Initiative approved license of the Organization's choice.
  2. (b) If Google reasonably believes that a Technical Writer has failed to meet the foregoing responsibilities, Google may remove such Technical Writer from the Program.
8. Program Participation.
1. 8.1 Evaluations.
  1. (a) Multiple Mentors. If a Technical Writer has more than one (1) Mentor:
    1. (i) the Technical Writer is only required to submit an overall Evaluation of the Mentors; and
    2. (ii) only one (1) Mentor is required to submit an Evaluation of the Technical Writer. If more than one (1) Mentor submits an Evaluation, only the final Evaluation submitted before the deadline will be accepted.
  2. (b) Form. Evaluations must be in the form of responses to questions provided by Google.
  3. (c) Deadlines. Technical Writers and Mentors must submit Evaluations through the Program Website by the deadlines set forth in the Program Timeline. Evaluations are given at the end of the Final Phase.
  4. (d) Visibility.
    1. (i) Evaluations submitted by a Mentor will only be visible to the Program Administrators.
    2. (ii) Evaluations submitted by a Technical Writer will only be visible to the Program Administrators.
    3. (iii) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in subsections (i) and (ii) above:
      1. (A) Google may make Evaluations available to other Google employees, third parties, or the Organization or Technical Writer, as applicable:
        
        (1) upon the Technical Writer's or Organization's prior written consent, as applicable; or
        
        (2) if Google deems such action necessary to administer the Program (e.g., where the Program Administrators need assistance from other Google employees in their review to reconsider a Technical Writer's grade or where the feedback may be vital to arbitration with the Technical Writer or Organization regarding payment or non-payment of a stipend).
      2. (B) Google may use Evaluations internally to improve Season of Docs and for recruiting purposes.
  5. (e) Grading; Missing Deadlines.
    1. (i) The Mentor will evaluate the Technical Writer's Project Submissions based on the work from the beginning of the work period until the start of the evaluation period.
    2. (ii) The Mentor will evaluate the Technical Writer's Project Submissions against the Organization Project Criteria.
    3. (iii) If a Technical Writer fails to submit an Evaluation by the applicable deadline, the Technical Writer will be deemed to have received a failing grade on the Evaluation, regardless of the actual grade the Technical Writer received from the Mentor.
    4. (iv) If a Technical Writer does not agree with the grade he or she received, the Technical Writer may request a review by Program Administrators to reconsider the grade. The request must be sent to season-of-docs-support@googlegroups.com no more than seven (7) calendar days after the Evaluation deadline. In the event that the Program Administrators agree to perform the review, their decision on the grade is final and binding.
    5. (v) If an Organization Administrator does not agree with the grade given by the Mentor to a Technical Writer, the Organization Administrator may submit an updated Evaluation, which will supersede the original Evaluation. This updated Evaluation must be complete before the original Evaluation deadline.
    6. (vi) In the event that Google holds a Mentor Summit:
      1. (A) If a Mentor fails to submit an Evaluation by the applicable deadline, the Mentor will not be permitted to attend the Mentor Summit, and the Organization's eligible stipend amount for the Mentor Summit will be reduced by half.
      2. (B) If two (2) or more of the Mentors for an Organization fail to submit Evaluations by the applicable deadline, the Organization will not be permitted to send any Members to the Mentor Summit and will not be eligible to receive any stipend for the Mentor Summit.
  6. (f) Final Project Materials. Technical Writers must submit their Final Project Materials through the Program Website by the Final Evaluation deadline. If a Technical Writer fails to do so, the Technical Writer will be deemed to have received a failing grade on the final Evaluation, regardless of the actual grade the Technical Writer received from the Mentor.
2. 8.2 Payment.
  1. (a) Stipends. Subject to subsection (b) below, Technical Writers and Organizations may receive stipends from Google as follows:
    1. (i) Technical Writers. Stipends for Technical Writers are at Google's sole discretion, and are adjusted to cost of living based generally on the country in which the technical writer resides.
      1. (A) Each Technical Writer who has received a passing Evaluation and who has submitted the Evaluation of his or her Mentor on time may receive a stipend after the Evaluation deadline.
    2. (ii) Organizations. At the end of the Program Period or Long-running Program Period (as applicable), Organizations may receive a $500 USD stipend per Technical Writer mentored. Subject to Sections 8.1(e)(vi)(A) and (B), Organizations may receive a $2,200 USD stipend to send up to two (2) Members to the Mentor Summit. To receive payment, Organizations must make a request through the form provided by Google by November 1, 2020. Google is not required to pay amounts requested after this date.
      1. (A) In order to receive payment, Organizations must register with Google's vendor, Payoneer, by December 3, 2020. Payoneer will issue payments for the relevant amount within sixty (60) days of the end of the Program.
      2. (B) Organizations must complete the relevant tax forms by December 3, 2020 or they forfeit all funds.
    3. (iii) Google is not required to pay any stipends to any Technical Writer or Organization who violates any applicable law or regulation, including money laundering regulations.
  2. (b) Tax Documentation. Tax-related documentation must be submitted by December 3, 2020 for Technical Writers and Organizations. Technical Writers or Organizations submitting tax-related documentation after the above dates will be disqualified from receiving any stipends. Google is not required to issue any payments if tax-related documentation is submitted after these dates.
    1. (i) Technical Writers. Technical Writers must submit tax-related documentation during their registration with Payoneer.
    2. (ii) Organizations. Organizations must submit tax-related documentation as part of their registration with Payoneer.
3. 8.3 Final Results. Google will announce the Final Results on the Program Website.
4. 8.4 Mentor Summit. Subject to Sections 8.1(e)(vi)(A) and (B), each Organization may send two (2) Members to the Mentor Summit, in the event that Google holds a Mentor Summit.
5. 9. Disclaimer. PARTICIPANTS' USE OF THE PROGRAM WEBSITE AND PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM IS AT EACH PARTICIPANT'S SOLE RISK. THE PROGRAM WEBSITE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. GOOGLE DISCLAIMS ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES (EXPRESS OR IMPLIED), INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. GOOGLE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INCOMPLETE, FAILED, OR DELAYED TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION DUE TO THE INTERNET, INCLUDING INTERRUPTION OR DELAYS CAUSED BY EQUIPMENT OR SOFTWARE MALFUNCTION OR OTHER TECHNICAL PROBLEMS.
6. 10. Promotional Items. Google may provide promotional items to Participants at its sole discretion. Google makes no guarantee of receipt of promotional items to any Participant.
7. 11. Translations. In the event of any discrepancy between the English version of these Program Rules and a translated version, the English version will govern.