 help.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In parallel to the work the community is doing in preparation for the next major release, WordPress 6.0, March has seen the launch of some exciting projects and proposals. Read on to find out more about the latest updates and how to get involved. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n<h2>The Pattern Directory is open for public submissions</h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https://i2.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2022/04/home-patterns.png?ssl=1\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"659\" src=\"https://i2.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2022/04/home-patterns.png?resize=1024%2C659&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"View of the Pattern Directory page at WordPress.org.\" class=\"wp-image-12584\" srcset=\"https://i2.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2022/04/home-patterns.png?resize=1024%2C659&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i2.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2022/04/home-patterns.png?resize=300%2C193&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i2.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2022/04/home-patterns.png?resize=768%2C494&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i2.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2022/04/home-patterns.png?resize=1536%2C988&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i2.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2022/04/home-patterns.png?resize=2048%2C1318&amp;ssl=1 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" /></a></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/patterns/new-pattern/\">WordPress Pattern Creator</a> is live! This new tool allows anyone with a WordPress.org user account to build, edit and submit their best block patterns to the <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/patterns/\">Pattern Directory</a>.<br><br>If you&#8217;ve used patterns in WordPress, you&#8217;ll know that they make it easy to add unique layouts to your website. These include galleries, testimonials, pricing tables, and more. Opening the directory to public submissions enables any WordPress user to enjoy a wider variety of patterns to use on their sites.</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button aligncenter\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/03/get-creative-with-the-all-new-pattern-creator/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Check out the Pattern Creator announcement to learn more</strong></a></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h2>WordPress 6.0 Walkthrough scheduled for April 5, 2022</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A few updates to the <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/03/11/wordpress-6-0-planning-update/\">WordPress 6.0 planning</a> were published last month. In case you missed them, <strong>today (April 5) at 15:00 UTC</strong> there is a live and interactive <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/03/30/6-0-product-walk-through/\">WordPress 6.0 walkthrough</a> hosted by contributors of the release squad.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The event will take place via Zoom and include a discussion on the new features, potential blockers, and a Q&amp;A session with the community. Attendance is open to anyone who wants to know more about what’s coming in WordPress 6.0.</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button aligncenter\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/03/30/6-0-product-walk-through/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Join the WordPress 6.0 product walkthrough</strong></a></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h2>Gutenberg releases: Versions 12.8 and 12.9 are here</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Versions 12.8 and 12.9 of the Gutenberg plugin were released last month. With them, some new exciting features and updates.</p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/03/16/whats-new-in-gutenberg-12-8-16-march/\">Gutenberg 12.8</a> includes a new Webfonts API, iterative UX enhancements, and bug fixes to increase the editor’s stability.</li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/03/30/whats-new-in-gutenberg-12-9-30-march/\">Gutenberg 12.9</a> introduces the new block locking UI and support for spacing between Gallery images. Also, many other improvements to give you more control over what is editable and presented to users.</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-15 wp-block-buttons\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button aligncenter\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/gutenberg-new/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Follow #gutenberg-new to stay updated on the latest Gutenberg releases</strong></a></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons\"></div>\n\n\n\n<h2>Team updates: Team Reps for the Photo Directory team, community proposals, and more</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/03/wordpress-5-9-2-security-maintenance-release/\">WordPress 5.9.2</a> is available for download. This security and maintenance release features one bug fix and three security fixes.</li><li>The Team Representatives for the Make Photo Directory team for 2022 <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/photos/2022/03/23/announcement-photo-directory-team-reps-2022/\">have been announced</a>. Congrats to Marcus Burnette (<a href=\'https://profiles.wordpress.org/mdburnette/\' class=\'mention\'><span class=\'mentions-prefix\'>@</span>mdburnette</a>), Katie Richards (<a href=\'https://profiles.wordpress.org/katiejrichards/\' class=\'mention\'><span class=\'mentions-prefix\'>@</span>katiejrichards</a>), and Topher DeRosia (<a href=\'https://profiles.wordpress.org/topher1kenobe/\' class=\'mention\'><span class=\'mentions-prefix\'>@</span>topher1kenobe</a>)!</li><li>The Community team considered <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/03/17/discussion-revisiting-in-person-regional-wordcamps/\">revisiting the existing guidelines</a> for in-person regional WordCamps. Conclusions and next steps will be shared soon.</li><li>On a similar note, Cate DeRosia (<a href=\'https://profiles.wordpress.org/mysweetcate/\' class=\'mention\'><span class=\'mentions-prefix\'>@</span>mysweetcate</a>) is <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/03/23/return-to-events-blue-sky-thinking/\">looking for ideas</a> on how to support organizers who are trying to restart in-person events in their communities. Share yours by April 13, 2022.</li><li>The Training team published new lesson plans, workshops, and social learning spaces on Learn WordPress. <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2022/04/01/whats-new-on-learnwp-in-march-2022/\">Check out what’s new in March 2022.</a></li><li>How has WordPress helped grow your story? The Make Marketing team <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/marketing/2022/04/01/grow-your-story-on-wordpress/\">wants to hear about your experience</a>!</li><li>The <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/03/07/the-performance-lab-plugin-has-been-released/\">Performance Lab plugin</a>, a set of modules that aim to improve performance in WordPress, was released last month.</li><li>Openverse released <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/openverse/2022/03/10/openverse-frontend-v3-1-1-release/\">new updates</a> in March. They include a redesigned content reporting flow and new image detail pages.</li><li>WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy posted a <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/project/2022/03/23/removal-of-the-zamir-plugin/\">public statement</a> on the removal of the Zamir plugin a few weeks ago.</li><li>The March 2022 editions of the <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/03/14/meetup-organizer-newsletter-march-2022/\">Meetup Organizer Newsletter</a> and the <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2022/03/22/polyglots-monthly-newsletter-march-2022/\">Polyglots Monthly Newsletter</a> were published.</li><li>The latest edition of People of WordPress features the contributor story of the Argentinian web developer and product manager <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/03/people-of-wordpress-juanfra-aldasoro/\">Juanfra Aldasoro</a>.</li><li>WordPress community members launched the <a href=\"https://block-museum.com/\">Museum of Block Art (MOBA)</a>. This initiative seeks to inspire creativity and push the limits around what can be done with WordPress. All the art curated in this virtual museum is built using the block editor.</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-17 wp-block-buttons\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button aligncenter\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/03/30/proposal-steps-to-integrate-wpdiversity-into-wordpress-event-organizing/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Help us build a thriving and inclusive community. Share your thoughts on this </strong><strong>proposal</strong><strong> to introduce WordCamp and Meetup organizers to #WPDiversity programs by April 8, 2022.</strong></a></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h2>Testing requests: WebP feature, template for author pages</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The Performance Team published a <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/03/28/enabling-webp-by-default/\">proposal</a> to integrate the WebP image format by default into WordPress core. Your feedback on this feature is appreciated.</li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/2022/04/04/call-for-testing-wordpress-for-ios-19-6/\">Version 19.6</a> of WordPress for iOS is available for testing.</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-18 wp-block-buttons\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button aligncenter\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/test/2022/03/31/fse-program-testing-call-13-authoring-an-author-template/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong> There&#8217;s a new call for testing as part of the Full Site Editing Outreach Program: Authoring an Author Template. The deadline to participate is April 21, 2022.</strong></a></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h2>The first flagship WordCamp Asia is looking for organizers</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>WordCamp Asia is tentatively scheduled for February 2023. After two years since the organizing team announced that the first flagship WordCamp Asia was canceled due to the pandemic, they are back together and <a href=\"https://asia.wordcamp.org/2023/call-for-organisers/\">looking for more members</a> to join them in planning the event.</li><li>The <a href=\"https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/apply-to-speak-at-wcus/\">Call for Speakers</a> for WordCamp US 2022 is now open. You can submit your application by April 17, 2022.</li><li>Three in-person WordCamps are happening this month:<ul><li><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f1e8-1f1ed.png\" alt=\"🇨🇭\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" /> <a href=\"https://geneve.wordcamp.org/2022/\">WordCamp Genève</a>, Switzerland on April 9, 2022</li><li><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f1ec-1f1f7.png\" alt=\"🇬🇷\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" /> <a href=\"https://athens.wordcamp.org/2022/\">WordCamp Athens</a>, Greece on April 9-10, 2022</li><li><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f1e6-1f1f9.png\" alt=\"🇦🇹\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" /> <a href=\"https://vienna.wordcamp.org/2022/\">WordCamp Vienna</a>, Austria on April 23-24, 2022</li></ul></li><li>Check out the latest episodes of WordPress Briefing with Josepha Haden:<ul><li><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/04/episode-28-coming-to-a-wordcamp-near-you-a-return-to-in-person-wp-events/\">Coming to a WordCamp Near You: A Return to In-Person WP Events</a></li><li><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/03/episode-27-is-wordpress-made-for-me/\">Is WordPress Made for Me?</a></li></ul></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-19 wp-block-buttons\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button aligncenter\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https://europe.wordcamp.org/2022/call-for-volunteers/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><strong>The </strong><strong>Call for Volunteers</strong><strong> for WordCamp Europe 2022 is still open. If you want to get involved with the WordPress community and have a lot of fun, this is your chance!</strong></strong></a></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Have a story that we could include in the next ‘Month in WordPress’ post? Let us know by filling out </em></strong><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/community/month-in-wordpress-submissions/\"><strong><em>this form</em></strong></a><strong><em>.</em></strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The following folks contributed to this Month in WordPress: </em><a href=\'https://profiles.wordpress.org/rmartinezduque/\' class=\'mention\'><span class=\'mentions-prefix\'>@</span>rmartinezduque</a>, <a href=\'https://profiles.wordpress.org/mysweetcate/\' class=\'mention\'><span class=\'mentions-prefix\'>@</span>mysweetcate</a>, <a href=\'https://profiles.wordpress.org/anjanavasan/\' class=\'mention\'><span class=\'mentions-prefix\'>@</span>anjanavasan</a>.</p>\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:30:\"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1\";a:1:{s:7:\"post-id\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:5:\"12583\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:29;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:61:\"\n		\n		\n		\n		\n		\n				\n		\n		\n\n					\n										\n					\n		\n		\n\n			\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:4:{s:0:\"\";a:7:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:87:\"WP Briefing: Episode 28: Coming to a WordCamp Near You: A Return to In-Person WP Events\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:108:\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/04/episode-28-coming-to-a-wordcamp-near-you-a-return-to-in-person-wp-events/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Mon, 04 Apr 2022 12:00:00 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:8:\"category\";a:2:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:7:\"Podcast\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:11:\"wp-briefing\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:53:\"https://wordpress.org/news/?post_type=podcast&p=12506\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:1:{s:0:\"\";a:1:{s:11:\"isPermaLink\";s:5:\"false\";}}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:172:\"Curious about returning to WordPress events safely? Tune in as WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy discusses guidelines for returning to in-person events. \";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:9:\"enclosure\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:0:\"\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:1:{s:0:\"\";a:3:{s:3:\"url\";s:60:\"https://wordpress.org/news/files/2022/03/WP-Briefing-028.mp3\";s:6:\"length\";s:1:\"0\";s:4:\"type\";s:0:\"\";}}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:14:\"Santana Inniss\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:40:\"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/\";a:1:{s:7:\"encoded\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:11997:\"\n<p>In the twenty-eighth episode of the WordPress Briefing, Executive Director, Josepha Haden Chomphosy discusses returning to in-person WordPress events.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Have a question you&#8217;d like answered? You can submit them to <a href=\"mailto:wpbriefing@wordpress.org\">wpbriefing@wordpress.org</a>, either written or as a voice recording.</strong></em></p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"credits\">Credits</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Editor:&nbsp;<a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/dustinhartzler/\">Dustin Hartzler</a></li><li>Logo:&nbsp;<a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/beafialho/\">Beatriz Fialho</a></li><li>Production:&nbsp;<a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/cbringmann/\">Chloé Bringmann</a> &amp; <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/santanainniss/\">Santana Inniss</a> </li><li>Song: Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod</li><li>Special thanks to: <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/angelasjin/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/angelasjin/\">Angela Jin</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2>References</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://wordcampcentral.survey.fm/2022-host-in-person-wordpress-event-checklist\">Event Safety Checklist</a></li><li><a href=\"https://asia.wordcamp.org/2023/call-for-organisers/\">WordCamp Asia Call for Organizers</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/03/23/return-to-events-blue-sky-thinking/\">Open Discussion: Returning to In-Person Events</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/03/17/discussion-revisiting-in-person-regional-wordcamps/\">Open Discussion: Returning to Regional Events</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2>Transcript</h2>\n\n\n\n<span id=\"more-12506\"></span>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy [00:00:00] </strong>&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hello everyone! And welcome to the WordPress Briefing: the podcast where you can catch quick explanations of the ideas behind the WordPress open source project, some insight into the community that supports it and get a small list of big things coming up in the next two weeks. I&#8217;m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Here we go.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy [00:00:40]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was checking the list of upcoming events recently as part of just my regular work and saw that the call for organizers for WordCamp Asia is open. On the one hand, it made my heart skip a beat with excitement. That event is six years or so in the making. And on the other hand, it reminded me of February 10th, 2020, the day that Matt told me that we had to proactively cancel WordCamp Asia. That week was truly heartbreaking for me as well as I think the entire organizing team.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it also, fortunately, was prescient. As I think back over the two years since then, I&#8217;m grateful for our community wranglers and deputies who have consistently hosted important discussions about how to return to in-person events safely. And with two of our major flagship events returning this year, I&#8217;m here to summarize, sort of, what the rules and guidelines are.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But certainly I hope that you come away from this with an idea of what&#8217;s being done to keep everyone safe as we are best able.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy [00:01:44]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Firstly, before we dig into specifics, I want to be clear upfront that the guidelines for COVID-aware events are mandatory, unless otherwise stated. For folks who&#8217;ve been attending WordPress events, or participating in the community for a long time, this is a change. As a program, we have always done our best to be flexible with guidelines so that we can prioritize local knowledge. But our responsibility is to the long-term success of this community and this program. So moving forward with in-person events that risk the health of our community members poses risks to the program itself. So with that in mind, let&#8217;s learn what we&#8217;re going to see at events for the rest of the.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy [00:02:28]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>For any WordPress event that is gathering more than 50 people, the new mandatory guidelines are:</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Number one, follow local laws and guidelines. If your area has suggested guidelines on top of the mandatory ones, follow those.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, is if you are in a location where laws or guidelines require or permit venues to limit admission based on a person&#8217;s vaccination status and masking, then events can only happen in venues that are willing to provide staff to check for vaccination status at the door. And then also to remind participants to wear masks during the event.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the third thing is if your area or venue legally cannot check vaccination status, your area must pass the in-person checklist, which I will link in the show notes below. But that in-person checklist has to be passed at the time of the application and then again at the time of the event. And in addition to that, the venue must be willing to provide staff who will remind participants to wear masks and check for temperature during the event.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy [00:03:33]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Organizers in these areas must be prepared to move online or cancel if the region fails the safety checklist, which again, will be linked in the show notes below. So those are the three things and they are pretty dense, but also I think allow for a fair amount of flexibility. There is also a tidy flow chart linked in the sidebar of make.wordpress.org/community that will help you to decide what sort of event your own area can support right now.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So those are the mandatory guidelines for WordPress events in general right now, but you probably also have a few specific questions. So I&#8217;ve got the three most common questions ready to go with answers from Angela Jin who helped me to kind of pull together the information for this particular podcast props to Angela. Thank you.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy [00:04:25]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, first question, anything specific to know about WordCamp Europe? WordCamp Europe will be following these guidelines as well. All attendees and participants are expected to wear a mask while they are at the event and catering will be offered outside so people can remove their masks to eat.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second common question is how will these guidelines change as countries and local governments begin deescalating restrictions and safety measures? We should consider these guidelines to be subject to evolution based on what the team is hearing and seeing from the community. But right now we intend to keep these stricter guidelines in place until we see how the loosened rules play out elsewhere.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then a third frequent question is what&#8217;s going to happen to all these online events?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The community team will continue to support online events right now. So if your community doesn&#8217;t feel ready to have an in-person event, but still wants to kind of get everyone together that is still allowed, and still&nbsp; encouraged. And finally the community team will continue to keep a close eye on situations around the world.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If it becomes safe to do so, and your community is interested, they of course will be happy to chat with you about a WordCamp. There is an application that I will share the link to in the show notes below as well. In case that is something that your community is wanting to look into.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy [00:05:54]</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh, and I have a little postscript also. I know I was like finally, and now I&#8217;m doing a finally, finally. That&#8217;s what postscripts are about. P.S. If you have not stopped by the community team’s site or any of their meetings, they&#8217;ve been doing a really great job of keeping things moving through two years of unpredictable changes. If you are a community team member, I want to offer you a huge thanks. Thank you so much for helping us to stay aware and able to move forward.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are an organizer, pat yourself on the back. I want to thank you for pivoting with us, moving through online events, even though they are not at all the same as in-person events and certainly they don&#8217;t share the reasons that we get people together sometimes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And finally, if you are an end to end attendee, if you go to WordPress meetups or you go to any sort of WordPress online events or WordCamps, anything like that, thank your local organizer. They have been doing this probably for a while, and I&#8217;m sure that they are looking forward to getting back to in-person events themselves, but even, so they have been putting in a lot of volunteer hours to help make sure that we all know how to use WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so find them, thank them, and I&#8217;m sure that they&#8217;ll appreciate it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy [00:07:20]</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>And with that, it is time for our small list of big things. Number one, WordCamp Asia has a call for organizers open! This event will be in 2023. And I think that we all simply cannot wait. So I&#8217;ll link the call for organizers in the show notes. And then of course you can follow that whole site to stay up to date on what&#8217;s happening there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second thing is, while we&#8217;re on the topic of events, there&#8217;s also an open discussion about how we can best support organizers who are getting back to in-person events. We&#8217;d like thoughts from both organizers and attendees. So feel free to drop by and leave a note in the comments section. And while you&#8217;re over there, the third thing in my small list of big things, there&#8217;s also an open discussion about regional events. So go over there, get all your thoughts about WordPress events together. Get them all sorted out in one go. Just leave comments, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. All over the place.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that my friends is your small list of big things. Thank you for tuning in today for the WordPress Briefing. I&#8217;m your host Josepha Haden Chomphosy.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I&#8217;ll see you again in a couple of weeks.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy [00:08:54]</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>So my most embarrassing WordCamp story actually has to do with where I was supposed to be versus where people thought I was supposed to be. This was early on in my time with WordPress, with Automattic. And I had convinced someone, I had convinced a colleague and friend of mine to go to my home WordCamp, WordCamp Fayetteville over there in Arkansas.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then I didn&#8217;t go. But I knew I wasn&#8217;t going, I knew I was going to WordCamp Boston, but he did not know that I was not going to go. And so he arrived at WordCamp Fayetteville, WordCamp Northwest Arkansas. I can&#8217;t remember what it was called at the time. And immediately was confused about where I was and why I wasn&#8217;t there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so there was this excellent moment of mass confusion among states where the folks at WordCamp Fayetteville started tweeting about how I had convinced this contributor to go to that event and then didn&#8217;t show up. And then the folks at WordCamp Boston, we&#8217;re looking at all of those tweets, because if you are a WordCamp organizer, you are always looking at the tweets from all the other WordCamps happening in your weekend.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And people got very confused about why I was in Boston while they were thinking that I was in Fayetteville, even though the tweets were talking about how, like, I wasn&#8217;t in Fayetteville. They probably didn&#8217;t say that it was probably more along the lines of like, “Hey, let&#8217;s share a photo with Josepha” to, like, make fun of the fact that I wasn&#8217;t there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so I caused mass confusion in multiple states. That&#8217;s probably my most embarrassing WordCamp story. You&#8217;re welcome. 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As a collaborative of many volunteer developers, it also struggles to impose requirements on its own contributors.&nbsp;</em></p></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>I wonder if that is really true and open source self-regulation is truly impossible. 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This includes smaller related items like the shim for non-supporting browsers and adding PDF  support, which are being handled in separate tickets.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The proposal to generate WebP images by default for new JPEG image uploads has been controversial from the beginning. While the Google-sponsored contributors driving the project have made some revisions after an initial round of significant critical feedback, other contributors have continued to voice concerns that they said were not being considered. 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Any estimate about how many sites may be affected by that? Any suggestions on how to deal with it? Do you know what happens when post-processing of an uploaded image fails?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Frankly for now it seems that this patch will have to be reverted and refactored in order to address this.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adam Silverstein responded to his concerns with clarification on why they chose the current approach, in anticipation of certain edge cases and eventually adding support for formats like AVIF once it is more widely supported:</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>I tend to agree with your assessment that all sub-sizes should be generated as WebP only, that was the shape of the original proposal. For the vast majority of use cases/users this will work the best. I would be open to considering this for the default (with some mitigations, see below).</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason we decided to generate both formats was for backwards compatibility considerations for the few edge cases we identified where WebP images will might not work: namely emailed images (some older outlook/windows clients), Open Graph tags (some services don&#8217;t support WebP) and older Safari browsers. One possibility we considered would be to keep only the full sized JPEG so it is always available for those edge cases.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The &#8220;multi-mime&#8221; support here is built to generating multiple formats so you sites can provide a primary and fallback format with something like the <code>picture</code> element. This is less important for WebP since it is so widely supported, but would be helpful for adopting newer formats like AVIF by plugins or core.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Silverstein also said the option of generating images on the fly was something they need to figure out but &#8220;felt out of scope for this effort.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In response to the complaint regarding the dramatic increase in resources for image uploads, Silverstein said they are relying on the &#8220;retry&#8221; mechanism to mitigate this problem.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;This change also doubles the number of times WordPress will retry&#8217; the image regeneration, so while processing time will increase, I don&#8217;t think we&#8217;ll see a jump in failures necessarily,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I know we had trouble adding new sizes in the past, however that was before we added the retry mechanism.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The team behind the WebP by default project is more focused on serving smaller image sizes on the frontend and considers the additional resource usage on upload a necessary sacrifice for WordPress users.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The additional resources at upload time needs to be weighed against the reduced resources of serving the smaller WebP image, especially since serving typically occurs several orders of magnitude more frequently than uploading,&#8221; Silverstein said.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;If uploading fails after all the retries, the user has the same experience as currently: they are left with a broken, unusable image. That can probably be fixed, although I don&#8217;t think this change will increases failure rates.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress lead developer Dion Hulse also <a href=\"https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/55443#comment:123\">commented</a> on the ticket to report issues with WebP conversions in the WordPress Photo Directory:</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>Just noting here, that these additional webp conversions appear to have been the leading cause of upload failures on the WordPress Photo Directory in recent weeks. See&nbsp;<a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org//intertrac/ticket%3A6142\">#meta6142</a>&nbsp;and tickets closed as duplicate of it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The errors were generally along the lines of&nbsp;<code>Allowed memory size of 256M bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 90M bytes</code>&nbsp;(obviously with byte values) while attempting to perform the initial full-size-original jpeg -&gt; webp conversion.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It hasn&#8217;t affected&nbsp;<em>every upload</em>, only that of certain images. Potentially related to the&nbsp;<code>$quality</code>&nbsp;value being passed for webp requests (IIRC the default of 82 was optimized for jpeg?).</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Hulse <a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/12023\">disabled the JPEG to WebP conversion</a> as a result of these errors, as the photo directory doesn&#8217;t currently use WebP but noted that it &#8220;might be a sign that it might be worth considering only generating webp&#8217;s for the resized images, rather than for the original file too.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Silverstein said they are investigating the issues Hulse reported, as it may have exposed a bug.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ozz circled back to <a href=\"https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/55443#comment:126\">recommend</a> that making sub-sizes on demand would be a better approach that has faster processing of uploaded images and reduced space requirements, since the additional JPEG images would not be generated unless needed. He also noted that the &#8220;retry&#8221; for image post-processing &#8220;doesn&#8217;t work as well as expected.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The bad news is that if the post processing fails, chances are the originally uploaded file will remain,&#8221; Ozz said. &#8220;Then it will be used everywhere as most of the code in WP falls back to available sizes, and the only size will be the original. That means we will be serving huge (4MB &#8211; 8MB average) images. A serious drawback.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Silverstein responded to Ozz&#8217;s suggestions, agreeing with many, and proposed two potential paths forward for the project: </p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<ol><li>Keep the current multi-mime infrastructure, but change the defaults so only WebP files are generated, possibly up to a threshold size beyond which only JPEGs would be generated. Most existing work would continue; content filtering could possibly be removed.</li><li>Revert the multi-mime infrastructure and switch back to a single mime approach, using WebP for images up to a threshold size and adjusting the compatibility layer to use the JPEGs we keep.</li></ol>\n</blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The Performance team is doing more research and has temporarily paused committing anything else until they receive feedback on the next direction for the project.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Wed, 24 Aug 2022 21:25:30 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:2;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:104:\"Post Status: Adjust HTML Block Markup, FSE Back to Basics, WP 6.0.2 RC1, and Updating WP_MEMORY_LIMIT\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:32:\"https://poststatus.com/?p=106506\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:109:\"https://poststatus.com/adjust-html-block-markup-fse-back-to-basics-wp-6-0-2-rc1-and-updating-wp_memory_limit/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:16067:\"<h2 id=\"h-this-week-at-wordpress-org-august-24-2022\">This Week at WordPress.org (August 24, 2022)</h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"has-background has-theme-palette-8-background-color wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">WordPress 6.0.2 is coming soon! Join the next Call for Testing and give your feedback on HTML block markup and increasing the <code>WP_MEMORY_LIMIT</code> variable in <code>wp-config.php</code>. </p></div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"kt-info-box_b3b811-01\" class=\"wp-block-kadence-infobox\"><div class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap kt-blocks-info-box-media-align-left kt-info-halign-left\"><div class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-media-container\"><div class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-media kt-info-media-animate-none\"><div class=\"kadence-info-box-icon-container kt-info-icon-animate-none\"><div class=\"kadence-info-box-icon-inner-container\"><span class=\"kt-info-svg-icon kt-info-svg-icon-ic_pencil\"></span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"kt-infobox-textcontent\"><h2 class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-title\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/10/proposal-stop-merging-experimental-apis-from-gutenberg-to-wordpress-core/\">Feedback</a></h2><p class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-text\">WordPress 6.1 feature freeze is September 20, 2023. There are many ways to weigh in with feedback now.  <br />1&#x20e3;  <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/19/a-new-system-for-simply-and-reliably-updating-html-attributes/\">A new system for simply and reliably updating HTML attributes</a><br /><br />2&#x20e3;  <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/43023\">Add a preview section to the pre-publish sidebar</a><br /><br />3&#x20e3;  <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/hosting/2022/08/18/proposal-updating-wp_memory_limit/\">Updating <code>WP_MEMORY_LIMIT</code></a><br /></code>WP_MEMORY_LIMIT</code></a><br />4&#x20e3;  <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/performance/issues/455\">Database performance health checks</a><br /><br />5&#x20e3;  <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2022/08/15/testing-and-feedback-for-the-fluid-typography-feature/\">Testing and feedback for the Fluid Typography feat</a><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2022/08/15/testing-and-feedback-for-the-fluid-typography-feature/\">ure</a></p></div></div></div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-news\">News</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/23/wordpress-6-0-2-rc1-is-now-available/\">WordPress 6.0.2 RC1 is now available</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/test/2022/08/13/fse-program-testing-call-16-back-to-basics/\">FSE Program Testing Call #16: Back to Basics</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/08/24/tt3-default-theme-one-week-left-to-submit-style-variations/\">TT3 default theme: One week left to submit style variations</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-_598f7a-1a\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\" /></div></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-7 wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-container-5 wp-block-column\">\n<h2 id=\"h-accessibility\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/accessibility\">Accessibility</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/accessibility/2022/08/19/accessibility-team-meeting-agenda-august-19-2022/\">Accessibility Team Meeting Agenda: August 19, 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-community\">Community</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/08/19/meetup-organizer-newsletter-august-2022/\">Meetup Organizer Newsletter: August 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/08/15/call-for-ideas-wordcamp-us-2022-contributor-day/\">Call for Ideas: WordCamp US 2022 Contributor Day</a></li><li><a href=\"https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/what-is-contributor-day/\">What is Contributor Day?</a></li><li><a href=\"https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/organizers-map/\">Where Y’all From? WordCamp US 2022 Organizers Map</a></li><li><a href=\"https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/joining-make-wordpress-slack/\">Joining Make WordPress Slack</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-core\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core\">Core</a> </h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/23/wordpress-6-0-2-rc1-is-now-available/\">WordPress 6.0.2 RC1 is now available</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/19/a-new-system-for-simply-and-reliably-updating-html-attributes/\">A new system for simply and reliably updating HTML attributes</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/18/wordpress-development-setup/\">WordPress Development Setup</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-meetings\">Meetings</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/16/devchat-agenda-august-17-2022/\"></a><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/18/summary-dev-chat-august-17-2022/\">Summary, Dev Chat, August 17, 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/23/editor-chat-agenda-24th-august-2022/\">Editor Chat Agenda: 24th August 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/19/editor-chat-summary-10-august-2022-2/\">Editor chat summary: 17 August, 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-design\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design\">Design</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/08/15/design-share-aug-1-12/\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/08/24/tt3-default-theme-one-week-left-to-submit-style-variations/\">TT3 default theme: One week left to submit style variations</a></a></li><li><strong>FEEDBACK REQUESTED:</strong> <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/43023\">Add a preview section to the pre-publish sidebar</a></li><li><strong>FEEDBACK REQUESTED:</strong> <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/08/04/design-exploration-encourage-editor-configuration-during-on-boarding/\">Design Exploration: Encourage editor configuration during on-boarding</a></li><li><strong>SUBMISSIONS DUE AUG 31:</strong> <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/08/10/twenty-twenty-three-default-theme-project-kickoff/\">Twenty Twenty-Three default theme — project kickoff</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/five-for-the-future/\">Five for the Future</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/five-for-the-future/issues/214\">Deactivate inactive pledges</a></li><li><a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/five-for-the-future/issues/212\">Remove contributor hours when account banned</a>&nbsp;</li><li><a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/five-for-the-future/issues/210\">Use last 5ftF contribution as inactivity criteria</a></li><li><a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/five-for-the-future/issues/208\">Hyperlink not readable on Program Expectations page</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-hosting\">Hosting</h2>\n\n\n\n<ol><li><strong>PROPOSAL:</strong> <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/hosting/2022/08/18/proposal-updating-wp_memory_limit/\">Updating WP_MEMORY_LIMIT</a></li></ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-marketing\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/marketing\">Marketing</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/marketing/2022/08/16/agenda-global-marketing-team-meeting-august-17-2022/\">Agenda: Global Marketing Team Meeting, August 17, 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/marketing/2022/08/16/notes-global-marketing-team-meeting-august-10-2022/\">Notes: Global Marketing Team Meeting, August 10, 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-meta\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/meta\">Meta</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2022/08/18/navigation/\">Navigation</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-mobile\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/mobile\">Mobile</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/2022/08/23/call-for-testing-wordpress-for-android-20-6/\">Call for Testing: WordPress for Android 20.6</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/2022/08/22/call-for-testing-wordpress-for-ios-20-6/\">Call for Testing: WordPress for iOS 20.6</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2022/08/23/mobile-team-update-august-23rd/\">Mobile Team Update – August 23rd</a></li></ul>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-6 wp-block-column\">\n<h2 id=\"h-openverse\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/openverse\">Openverse</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/openverse/2022/08/22/openverse-priorities-brainstorm/\">Openverse Priorities Brainstorm</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/openverse/2022/08/17/openverse-maintainers-welcome-ramadan-omar-as-a-new-committer/\">Openverse maintainers welcome Ramadan Omar as a new committer</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-performance\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/performance/\">Performance</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/22/performance-chat-agenda-23-august-2022/\">Performance Chat Agenda: 23 August 2022</a></li><li>Proposal: <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/performance/issues/455\">Database performance Health Checks</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-photos\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/photos\">Photos</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/photos/2022/08/18/wordpress-world-photography-day-challenge-2022/\">WordPress World Photography Day Challenge 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-polyglots\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots\">Polyglots</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2022/08/22/polyglots-monthly-newsletter-august-2022/\">Polyglots Monthly Newsletter: August 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-test\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/test\">Test</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/test/2022/08/13/fse-program-testing-call-16-back-to-basics/\">FSE Program Testing Call #16: Back to Basics</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/test/2022/08/16/week-in-test-16-august-2022/\">Week in Test: 16 August 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-themes\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/themes\">Themes</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>FEEDBACK REQUESTED:</strong> <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2022/08/15/testing-and-feedback-for-the-fluid-typography-feature/\">Testing and Feedback for the Fluid Typography Feature</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2022/08/16/themes-team-update-august-16-2022/\"></a><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2022/08/23/themes-team-meeting-notes-august-23-2022/\">Themes Team Meeting Notes –&nbsp;August 23, 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2022/08/23/themes-team-update-august-23-2022/\">Themes team update August 23, 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-training\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/training\">Training</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/training/2022/07/27/information-sources-for-wp-6-1/\">Information Sources for WP 6.1</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/training/2022/08/10/minimizing-zoom-disruptions-in-online-workshops/\"></a><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/training/2022/08/22/meeting-agenda-august-23-2022/\">Meeting Agenda August 23, 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/training/2022/08/10/minimizing-zoom-disruptions-in-online-workshops/\"></a><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/training/2022/08/16/training-team-meeting-recap-august-9/\">Training Team Meeting Recap – August 9</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-video-tutorials\">Video Tutorials</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/tutorial/customizing-your-post-content-layout/\">Customizing your post content layout</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-online-workshops\">Online Workshops:</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=lets-code-diving-into-theme-json\">Let’s code! Diving into theme.json</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=10-%e7%a8%ae%e9%a1%9e%e3%81%ae%e3%83%86%e3%82%ad%e3%82%b9%e3%83%88%e3%83%96%e3%83%ad%e3%83%83%e3%82%af%e3%80%80%e3%80%9c%e4%bd%bf%e3%81%84%e5%88%86%e3%81%91%e3%81%ae%e3%82%b3%e3%83%84%e3%80%9c-2\">10 種類のテキストブロック　〜使い分けのコツ〜</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=10-%e7%a8%ae%e9%a1%9e%e3%81%ae%e3%83%86%e3%82%ad%e3%82%b9%e3%83%88%e3%83%96%e3%83%ad%e3%83%83%e3%82%af%e3%80%80%e3%80%9c%e4%bd%bf%e3%81%84%e5%88%86%e3%81%91%e3%81%ae%e3%82%b3%e3%83%84%e3%80%9c\">10 種類のテキストブロック　〜使い分けのコツ〜</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=intro-to-templates\">Intro to Templates</a><a href=\"https://github.com/courtneyr-dev/make-wp/#test\"></a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-wordcamp-central\">WordCamp Central</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://central.wordcamp.org/news/2022/07/wordcamp-jinja-diverse-speaker-sessions-web-design-hackathon-teachers-workshop-and-fun-at-the-nile-source/\">WordCamp Jinja: Diverse Speaker Sessions, Web Design Hackathon, Teachers Workshop and Fun at the Nile Source!</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-wptv\">WPTV</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://wordpress.tv/category/year/2022/\">Latest WordPress TV videos</a></li></ul>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-related-news\">Related News:</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://tc39.es/#proposals\">ECMAScript Proposals</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.php.net/archive/2022.php#2022-07-21-1\">PHP 8.2.0 Beta 1 available for testing</a></li><li><a href=\"https://php.watch/articles/composer-24\">What\'s New in Composer 2.4</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-theme-palette-7-background-color has-background\">Thanks for reading our WP dot .org roundup! Each week we are highlighting the news and discussions coming from the good folks making WordPress possible. If you or your company create products or services that use WordPress, you need to be engaged with them and their work. Be sure to share this resource with your product and project managers. <br /><br /><strong>Are you interested in giving back and contributing your time and skills to WordPress.org?</strong> <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f64f.png\" alt=\"🙏\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/support/article/contributing-to-wordpress/\">Start Here ›</a><br /><br /><strong>Get our weekly WordPress community news digest</strong> — Post Status\' <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/news/week-in-review/\">Week in Review</a> — covering the WP/Woo news plus significant writing and podcasts. It\'s also available in <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/newsletter\">our newsletter</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f48c.png\" alt=\"💌\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /></p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile has-background\"><a href=\"https://poststatus.com/\"><img src=\"https://cdn.poststatus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/vertical-post-status-logo-250.png\" alt=\"Post Status\" class=\"wp-image-85823 size-full\" /></a><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-normal-font-size\" id=\"h-get-ready-for-remote-work\">You — and <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/business-membership/\">your whole team</a> can <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/post-status-membership-club/\">Join Post Status</a> too!</p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-small-font-size\"><strong>Build your network. Learn with others. Find your next job — or your next hire.</strong> Read the <strong>Post Status</strong> <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/newsletter/\">newsletter</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/2709.png\" alt=\"✉\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Listen to <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/podcasts/\">podcasts</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f399.png\" alt=\"🎙\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Follow <a href=\"https://twitter.com/post_status/\">@Post_Status</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f426.png\" alt=\"🐦\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /></p>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status</a> • <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status - The Community for WordPress Professionals</a></p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Wed, 24 Aug 2022 16:49:33 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:18:\"Courtney Robertson\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:3;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:73:\"WPTavern: #40 – Andrew Palmer on Using AI To Help Your Website Workflow\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:48:\"https://wptavern.com/?post_type=podcast&p=137100\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:87:\"https://wptavern.com/podcast/40-andrew-palmer-on-using-ai-to-help-your-website-workflow\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:41383:\"<p>On the podcast today we have <a href=\"https://twitter.com/arniepalmer\">Andrew Palmer</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Andrew has been in the WordPress space for many years as a product owner and open source advocate. He founded and later sold Elegant Marketplace, and more recently is the co-founder of <a href=\"https://bertha.ai/\">Bertha.ai</a>, which is a WordPress plugin which assists you in creating text content directly in the WordPress admin.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you’ve not played with AI, then you might be surprised by  how good it’s becoming. A few years ago, anything written by a computer would be easy to distinguish from that of a human. These boundaries are becoming blurred, as systems like GPT-3 have become remarkably adept at rapidly creating content which is useful and competent.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many SaaS products have come to the market which enable you to create AI content by seeding it with a small amount of information. Andrew’s product is a little different because it allows you to create that content within the WordPress editor and a raft of page builders.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We get into how you can create AI content and when it’s suitable to do so. Can you rely on the text that’s created and hand over complete editorial control to the plugin, or does the generated content still need human intervention?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We also dig into some aspects of AI which have people concerned. Are we going to become too reliant on AI tools, and will they put copywriters out of work? Will people create content simply to swamp the search engines and make it harder for truly important information to rise to the top?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>There’s a lot of functionality in the plugin and Andrew tells us some of the possible scenarios where he feels it works best. Creating titles, longer form text, and even sprinkling in a little sarcasm here and there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically, when we record the podcast, there’s not a lot of background noise, but that’s not always the case with these WordCamp Europe interviews. We were competing against crowds and the air-conditioning. Whilst the podcasts are more than listenable, I hope that you understand that the vagaries of the real world were at play.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Useful links.</h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://elegantmarketplace.com/\">Elegant Marketplace</a></p>\n\n\n\nTranscript<div>\n<p>[00:00:00] Nathan Wrigley: Welcome to the Jukebox podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jukebox is a podcast which is dedicated to all things WordPress. The people, the events, the plugins, the blocks, the themes, and in this case how AI can speed up your website building workflow.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;d like to subscribe to the podcast, you can do that by searching for WP Tavern in your podcast player of choice. Or by going to WPTavern.com forward slash feed forward slash podcast. And you can copy that URL into most podcast players. If you have a topic that you&#8217;d like us to feature on the podcast, I&#8217;m very keen to hear from you, and hopefully get you all your idea featured on the show. Head over to WPTavern.com forward slash contact forward slash jukebox and use the form there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So on the podcast today we have Andrew Palmer. Andrew has been in the WordPress space for many years as a product owner and open source advocate. He founded and later sold Elegant Marketplace, and more recently is the co-founder of bertha.ai, which is a WordPress plugin, which assists you in creating content directly in the WordPress admin.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;ve not played with AI, then you might be surprised by how good it&#8217;s becoming. A few years ago, anything written by a computer would be easy to distinguish from that of a human. These boundaries are becoming blurred, as systems like GPT-3 have become remarkably adept at rapidly creating content which is useful and competent.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many SaaS products have come to the market which enabled you to create AI content by seeding it with a small amount of information. Andrew&#8217;s product is a little different because it allows you to create that content within the WordPress editor and a raft of page builders.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We get into how you can create AI content and when it&#8217;s suitable to do so. Can you rely on the text that&#8217;s created and handover complete editorial control to the plugin.? Or does the generated content still need human intervention?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We also dig into some of the aspects of AI which have people concerned. Are we going to become too reliant on AI tools and will they put copywriters out of work? Will people create content simply to swamp the search engines and make it harder for truly important information to rise to the top.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>There&#8217;s a lot of functionality in the plugin, and Andrew tells us some of the possible scenarios where he feels it works best. Creating titles, longer form text, and even sprinkling in a little sarcasm here and there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically when we record the podcast, there&#8217;s not a lot of background noise, but that&#8217;s not always the case with these WordCamp Europe interviews. We were competing against crowds and the air conditioning. And whilst the podcasts are more than listable, I hope that you understand that the vagaries of the real world where at play.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re interested in finding out more, you can find all of the links in the show notes by heading over to WPTavern.com forward slash podcast. And you&#8217;ll find all the other episodes there as well. And so without further delay, I bring you Andrew Palmer.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am joined on the podcast today by Andrew Palmer. How are you doing Andrew?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:02] Andrew Palmer: I&#8217;m very good. Nathan. Thanks very much for inviting me on.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:04] Nathan Wrigley: We are in the bowels of the Super Bock Arena and let&#8217;s be honest, it was a challenge finding this room, wasn&#8217;t it?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:10] Andrew Palmer: It was, and especially as I was running late and you&#8217;ve been very kind to still accommodate me, thank you.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:15] Nathan Wrigley: You are, most welcome. Andrew&#8217;s been in the WordPress community for years and years and years, but it&#8217;s not been always on the up and up has it? You&#8217;ve had your moments where you&#8217;ve stepped away for a little while and now you&#8217;ve reemerged. Is that true? Is that fair to say?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:28] Andrew Palmer: Kind of, I mean, I sold Elegant Marketplace to the wonderful people that InMotion Hosting. So that enabled me to go off and play golf for a little while, and invest in other businesses and interests.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:39] Nathan Wrigley: Do you think this is for you, you know, a moment of excitement or are you still with tentative steps?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:46] Andrew Palmer: It could be construed as a resurgence. I mean, I&#8217;ve always connected with the WordPress community, cuz we&#8217;re such a friendly bunch. I had an opportunity to develop plugins and be a product maker, and I took over a lot of products from a very good friend of mine and hopefully we&#8217;ve enhanced them and made them better.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:05:04] Nathan Wrigley: You&#8217;ve listed a, a few of the things that you&#8217;ve been involved in, but you&#8217;ve obviously been involved in lots of different businesses. Do you think with 50,000 plus plugins in the WordPress repository, countless commercial plugins, are we in a saturated marketplace? What I mean by that is if you are creating a new product, is it very difficult to be discovered? Is discoverability really difficult? Okay, let&#8217;s take two scenarios. The first one you&#8217;ve got a budget to advertise. And the second one is if you have to bootstrap it and do more or less all of it yourself. So two parts.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:05:36] Andrew Palmer: You know, if you&#8217;re gonna do jerk sauce it&#8217;s still hard. You know, you&#8217;ve got supermarkets, they do their own brand as well. As soon as a brand new hot sauce comes out, the supermarkets go, oh, we&#8217;ve got our own version of this, and they charge you a few hundred thousand pounds to be put on the supermarket shelves. So, there&#8217;s always a price to pay isn&#8217;t it, it&#8217;s a pay to play arena in every single business aspect. So the benefit that we have in WordPress is that we can throw something onto WordPress dot org, which is great.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I mean, throw is maybe not the right word because it does go through a, a little bit of moderation, one would hope, but, um, you know, you can throw out a free version of what you&#8217;ve got and test the market. That&#8217;s really cool because, you throw out an MVP and people then like it and you then put some pro versions together or pro bits and pieces and say, okay, yeah, I&#8217;m, I&#8217;m willing to pay 10 30, 50, a hundred bucks for that a month or a year or whatever.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So the competitive landscape of every business in the world is competitive by nature, because there are so many products out there that are similar. There&#8217;s loads of light bulbs out there. It&#8217;s not just Phillips. Loads of CDs, you know, it&#8217;s just not Phillips. So you gotta make your own way, I think.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:06:51] Nathan Wrigley: With the whole plugin thing and the whole of saturation thing, you&#8217;ve launched several products over the course of your career. Most recently, maybe there&#8217;s something after this, but I think the most recent one is Bertha.ai. That&#8217;s actually the URL as well as the name of the product I think.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:07:07] Andrew Palmer: It is Bertha.ai. It&#8217;s uh, my very good friend and, uh, co-founder Vito Peleg phoned me far too early in the morning, because he gets up at five o&#8217;clock and said, hey, I got an idea, man, let&#8217;s do it. We did and financial situations, I&#8217;m the, you know, I&#8217;m the guy that&#8217;s got the cash and we invested in it and Vito invested, blood, sweat and tears as we all did. And I&#8217;ve got a development team, you know, and they worked really, really hard and we launched it at the end of September, 2021. It&#8217;s going well.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:07:37] Nathan Wrigley: Is that the primary reason that you are here at WordCamp EU? Actually just rewind that a little bit. When the tickets were announced, I think you were the first person that I know who committed to coming. You probably weren&#8217;t the first person that bought a ticket, but in my social network, you were the first person who said, oh, I&#8217;ve done it. I&#8217;ve bought a plane ticket. I&#8217;ve got the hotel and blah, blah, blah. You must be fairly committed to these kind of events. And if that&#8217;s the case, what&#8217;s the thing? What&#8217;s the angle. Is it the community? Is it a bit of community, a bit of networking, a bit of marketing?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:08:06] Andrew Palmer: It&#8217;s a lot about the community because, uh, I&#8217;m looking for developers, you know, so I need to chat to people and meet with people. And we are very lucky yesterday and got treated to a gin fest, by Codeable. Marcel who actually works in, for Codeable rather, in Portugal, did an event for Codeable and invited us all along.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it&#8217;s all about networking, and we met a few, I met a few coders and had a good old chat, and that&#8217;s what it&#8217;s about. It&#8217;s me networking. Supporting the community, as much as I possibly can, being a bootstrap business. It&#8217;s quite expensive developing a plugin and there&#8217;s lots of things you have to commit to like getting a new CMO, you know, in Stephanie Hudson. She&#8217;s got her own business to run and, and we&#8217;re all kind of bootstrap minded.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So we all have to do little things and Vito&#8217;s got Atarim to do so he&#8217;s gonna concentrate more on that now. So, you know, I needed a sidekick. Stephanie&#8217;s that sidekick, who&#8217;s got the strategy and the marketing nouse and she&#8217;s also based in the U.S. Which is good. And Bertha is now incorporated in the U.S. as well. So it&#8217;s all. Moving along swiftly, but I did actually release a GDPR plugin last week.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So GDPR friendly fonts, but it&#8217;s a commercial one. There&#8217;s a few free ones out there, but ours is good. So, launching things all the time and improving the plugins and making sure that we are in touch with what people in the community actually want, because we are here. Plugins, I think are more here to support the developer than the, than the end client. To give them an easier way to market if you like, or an easier or quicker, faster speedier way to get their product out, whether it&#8217;s, uh, an MVP for themselves or whether it&#8217;s a website for a direct client .</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plugins and extensions and themes. And you know, what Gutenberg Hub doing with Gutenberg? What Extendify are doing with Gutenberg is quite amazing and all the form plugins out there, you know, we&#8217;ve got, I&#8217;ve got very good friend Mark Westguard who&#8217;s does WS Form. It happens to be my favorite form. We happen to get on, which is really cool. So it&#8217;s about meeting these people. Coming together in Europe, biggest WordCamp in the world. You know, pretty good.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:10:15] Nathan Wrigley: Do you have a battle plan though? Do you have, before you set off. I was wondering, because you said earlier you wanted to meet developers and today was contributor day.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:10:22] Andrew Palmer: I couldn&#8217;t get in.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:10:23] Nathan Wrigley: Was it just because you were a bit late?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:10:25] Andrew Palmer: No, I was a contributor, I was just late. I just kind of thought, well, do you know what? And Stephanie runs the Focus WP Facebook group. So we had a little meet up and we&#8217;ve gone out on the town and just met with a few people from the Focus Facebook group as well. So there&#8217;s always networking opportunities. There&#8217;s nothing else to do a WordCamp than have a great look at Porto, which is probably one of the best venues you could choose.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Food&#8217;s cheap, and good. The weather has turned out to be better than we thought it would be. There&#8217;s a little spits and spots of rain, but effectively Porto&#8217;s a great historical town as So, you know, it&#8217;s a, it&#8217;s a bit of a vacation stroke job bit.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:11:04] Nathan Wrigley: You said that you were in search of developers and the bit was gonna develop there was, so there was 500 odd today and it felt busy. Tomorrow, maybe more like, touching 3000. So it&#8217;s gonna be really busy. And if you haven&#8217;t got a, I don&#8217;t know, an agenda and a meeting list, do you literally just try to work out who in the room is a developer by just going up and talking?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:11:26] Andrew Palmer: Well, I&#8217;m gonna be standing on a booth as well for an hour or so. And I&#8217;m also going to, I&#8217;ve got a few meetings scheduled, which is pretty cool. With developers as well as, you know, funders and people like that who are interested in either investing in Bertha or doing some partnerships with Bertha and stuff like that. Because once you&#8217;ve got a plugin that kind of answers all the questions with copywriting within WordPress, people want to talk to you, which is really cool.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it&#8217;s a long day, Nathan, you know, it&#8217;s a very long day and it goes into the evening. I&#8217;m gonna have opportunities to meet and chat with people all the time. I&#8217;ve got tons of Twitter messages to answer, and stuff like that. You know what it&#8217;s like.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:12:02] Nathan Wrigley: I&#8217;m struggling keep up with the different platforms. This person is over here on Slack, this person is over here on Twitter. Yeah it can be difficult. So let&#8217;s talk about your, well, I&#8217;m guessing the booth tomorrow is Bertha.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:12:13] Andrew Palmer: No, the booth I&#8217;m gonna be helping out Atarim, because Vito&#8217;s a very good friend of mine and I know Atarim pretty well. I&#8217;ve used it from the very, very beginning, and now it&#8217;s on version three. It&#8217;s their third birthday. And Vito likes to run around. You can&#8217;t really keep him to a spot. There&#8217;s a bit of super glue we&#8217;ve snuck in there. But Alex Panagis, he&#8217;s gonna be on the booth as well, and I&#8217;ll be hanging around and just answering some questions that people don&#8217;t really get it or something.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, you know, it&#8217;s so dual role. But of course Bertha&#8217;s gonna be mentioned in the conversations. Well, because that was actually the idea, is that Vito wanted an AI to be able to write within the note making facility, you know, you put these little notes on websites. So our first job was to make Bertha work in the front end of Atarim. And it does. So you can now, so customers can now say, right, I want this headline and then ask Bertha to generate an option for headlines and they&#8217;ll put it in. I want this paragraph here and all that kind of stuff, and Bertha can do that within Atarim.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:13:10] Nathan Wrigley: Okay. I feel at this point, we should explain because we&#8217;ve stepped ahead. So okay, Bertha is a plugin for WordPress, which enables you to create AI content. So that could be any form of content. It&#8217;s just text, right?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:13:23] Andrew Palmer: Yeah, I think the best way to describe Bertha is that she is an AI copywriting assistant. So you are the editor, she&#8217;s the journalist that&#8217;s gone out and found the stories and the facts and the general content, and you working as the editor within WordPress, then edit that content and make it your own. And that&#8217;s the best way to describe Bertha. She&#8217;s not just a machine that says, right, write me a blog about this. We&#8217;ve got three things coming next week for the pro version. And one of them is very, very long form where you just give her a hint and she will write it for you. And then you just edit that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:13:58] Nathan Wrigley: All right, let&#8217;s build up the jigsaw of how it all works. So we install the plugin, all of that normal stuff. How do we seed Bertha with the idea? So for example, let&#8217;s say that we want to write a blog post about WordCamp Europe. How do we seed the idea into Bertha, and how much do we need to seed in, in order to get something decent back? Let&#8217;s go with a title first, just the title.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:14:19] Andrew Palmer: Okay. Title you just say, what do I want to write about? So you just write, what do I wanna write about, I wanna write about blog posts being written by AI. And then say generate a headline around that. And Bertha will give you four alternatives, or two alternatives or three, depending on how good your one was, and you click and that&#8217;s, that then goes into the text bit.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then you say, right, okay, I&#8217;m writing a blog post about this. So I&#8217;m gonna go to the blog post topic ideas model, and I&#8217;m going to give it the title and then, or going to give Bertha the title and then you press generate text and Bertha will come up with one to four or one to five blog post topic ideas. And then you put number one in as the title in a paragraph generator, and that will generate your paragraphs around that first topic idea. And then you just go through. It&#8217;s of a workflow that you get into.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:15:07] Nathan Wrigley: People listening to this, they&#8217;re gonna think, okay, this is voodoo. How does this work? How does it work?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:15:13] Andrew Palmer: Well we&#8217;re very open about how it&#8217;s done. It&#8217;s it is open AI dot com, and we&#8217;ve written our own models. And we now use the latest version of GPT-3, which is really fast and uses things called suffixes and prefixes. And it writes much, much better quality AI generated content. And it has the previous GPT, DaVinci was up to, I think, uh, 1999 or whatever it was. It was ages ago. It scraped 10% of the web to get the ideas for the content.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This one is now 2021. June 2021. So much more recent content. If you wanna write about crypto, if you wanna write about FinTech or modern FinTech or anything that&#8217;s going on in the modern world. COVID for instance, you wanna write about that or the history of COVID from 1990, whenever it was. I can&#8217;t remember the dates COVID&#8217;s done my head in. It will write that history for you now. So it&#8217;s much better, much quicker, faster, better quality and, easier use.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:16:16] Nathan Wrigley: People who&#8217;ve never used these tools before, they might have sort of concerns about a, does it scan, does it even read like a human wrote it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:16:24] Andrew Palmer: Oh, for sure it does, yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:16:25] Nathan Wrigley: Okay. So you can be pretty confident that it&#8217;s gonna scan well. But in terms of the quality, where do you stand on how much supervision. Is it like an aberrant child? Do you need to go back to it and give it some love and attention? Or is this a case of, I am just gonna press the button, not read, publish. There&#8217;s probably a bit of a spectrum, but how much of you come to trust it to be left to its own devices? Or how much do you go back through and read everything that it generated?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:16:52] Andrew Palmer: Well, when you are writing, you&#8217;re thinking about what you&#8217;re writing and Bertha does exactly the same thing. Doesn&#8217;t know what she&#8217;s gonna write a paragraph ahead. Just like I don&#8217;t know what I&#8217;m gonna say 10 seconds ahead. But I&#8217;m forming the words in my head and then they come outta my mouth and whatever. And I will make a few missteps.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We know politicians make missteps all the time, cause they, maybe they don&#8217;t engage brain before whatever, but, you have to be the editor. What I don&#8217;t want Bertha to be is a total AI copywriting situation. Just write everything for you, because that&#8217;s not fair on you as a producer of content, it&#8217;s not fair on your readers and it will eventually work against you because your content will become repetitive.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It will become not unique. You won&#8217;t have your tone of voice necessarily. So it&#8217;s, it&#8217;s up to you, which AI generator you want to use. If you&#8217;re gonna be a spammer, then use the others. If you&#8217;re gonna, gonna really invest in your copy, but with the help of an AI, Bertha&#8217;s the way to go.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:17:57] Nathan Wrigley: So would it be fair to categorize if you&#8217;re gonna do longish form, it&#8217;s a launchpad. You click the button and there&#8217;s an idea here&#8217;s where you could go. Not necessarily, there&#8217;s the finished product. It&#8217;s a bit like a junior journalist would hand to an editor and say, I think that this is the finished product.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:18:15] Andrew Palmer: Exactly.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:18:15] Nathan Wrigley: Is that where we&#8217;re at? You should generate this content, then look at it yourself on every occasion because the AI, right where we are now is not quite to be trusted.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:18:25] Andrew Palmer: Well, yeah, just exactly like Tesla. They do an auto drive. It&#8217;s definitely not to be trusted. I was in one a few weeks ago on my travels in the States and all of a sudden we turned left into a bunch of roadworks, well what&#8217;s that about?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Luckily, the driver was supervising quite well, but you know, you can&#8217;t trust AI completely. And I don&#8217;t think you ever should. There should always be some human interaction. That&#8217;s what I believe in that. My aim is with website production is to make it quicker, better, faster.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:18:55] Nathan Wrigley: Okay. Yeah. And it helps with those?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:18:57] Andrew Palmer: Yeah. I mean you&#8217;re gonna save between 80 and 90% of your time that you would normally write a thousand word blog post.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:19:03] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah I guess one of the concerns from people who maybe want to rail against this a little bit would be that that kind of control, that self control to go and read it, may not be forthcoming. In other words, we may have an internet where there&#8217;s tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, possibly of blogs out there that are just pumping out content, click the button, publish.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:19:27] Andrew Palmer: Yeah but we&#8217;ve, let&#8217;s not be naive about this. We&#8217;ve always had that. There&#8217;s always been spinners of text and you know, the affiliate marketing world and the health and fitness world for years, you know, even before WordPress dare I say, you know, there was always people spinning content.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s why things like Copyscape exist. Try and make sure that nobody&#8217;s using your content. But Bertha&#8217;s not just for blog post writing. Bertha actually helps you with every single aspect of your website. And the whole reason that we&#8217;ve got it in WordPress is because you can go through each model or each template. And you can write your homepage. You can write your services page, you can write your about us page. You can enhance your product descriptions.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>There&#8217;s so many models now in templates in there now, and next week we&#8217;ll be launching social media templates as well. So you can write a Facebook ad or Twitter post or whatever, within Bertha. So, you know, there&#8217;s plenty to look at, and the fact it&#8217;s free is where I&#8217;m at. I think we&#8217;re helping the community get a grip with free AI. You get a thousand words a month for free.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:20:35] Nathan Wrigley: How does the UI actually work? So presumably we&#8217;re in Gutenberg or the old classic editor. How do we interact with it? So we click into the title, take us from there. Is it like Grammarly? Does something sort of hover over us, which says engage Bertha?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:20:48] Andrew Palmer: Pretty much. And it&#8217;s any page builder. It doesn&#8217;t need to be just classic editor or, it is literally any page builder. And the guys at visual builder, or Visual Composer rather. They helped us immensely with Visual Composer because they&#8217;ve rebuilt that from the ground up and helped us code Bertha so that she works perfectly with Visual Composer.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m a Divi guy. I needed it to work within Divi. That was quite challenging. We&#8217;ve managed to do that. And Elementor as well. So whatever you are in, whether you are in a text field in Gutenberg or a text field within any page builder that you choose to use, Bertha&#8217;s little icon is there, just winking at you saying, I&#8217;m here to help. You click on that and then a sidebar comes out and then you&#8217;ve got all the models and you&#8217;ve got the web or the blog, website, content, blog, AIDA, PAS, P A S.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Uh, we&#8217;ve even got evil Bertha, she&#8217;s quite fun. Bit of a sarcastic bot there. That was one of my favorites that we put in there. Uh, and then you have, on a separate dashboard, you have long form as well. So that&#8217;s a separate thing where you can just write long form content. Format it for your blog, and that will save, save it within your own database. And the benefit of Bertha is one, it&#8217;s unlimited users, because anybody that can sign into your website can use Bertha. Two it&#8217;s really accessible for WordPress users. If you&#8217;re used to WordPress, you can use Bertha and you can start using Bertha effectively within 10 minutes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The nice thing is, is that every single template has either a 30 second or one minute instructional video embedded in the sidebar. So you just play the video. You go, okay, that&#8217;s how I do that. The long form one, because it&#8217;s long form and it&#8217;s slightly more complex, you need to use a bit more logic with it, the instructional video is 10 minutes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:22:30] Nathan Wrigley: The different language models that you&#8217;ve got, you mentioned the evil one and, you know, we could have the pirate one for example.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:22:36] Andrew Palmer: There is, we can do that tomorrow.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:22:37] Nathan Wrigley: Okay. But there could be the sales for example, or I don&#8217;t know, whatever it may be. They genuinely spit out different content? And is that composed with a different choice of verbs or a different choice of vocabulary. And if you go for the humorous one it&#8217;s gonna throw out some curve balls and some interesting fruity language?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:22:54] Andrew Palmer: Frank Sinatra.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:22:55] Nathan Wrigley: Okay.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:22:55] Andrew Palmer: Hey blue eyes, how you doing? We wanted it to be fun, right? So you&#8217;ve got the tone of voice. So you have your title. Who&#8217;s it aimed at? Is it business users, people that buy flowers, people that buy motorbikes, people that love WP Tavern? What&#8217;s the tone? Is it fun? Is it innovative? Is it classy? Is it hilarious? Is it Frank Sinatra? You know, you can put in those. Is it Rocky Balboa? You know, whatever you wanna put in there as the tone of voice. And, uh, Bertha will speak in that tone.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:23:25] Nathan Wrigley: Presumably GPT-3 means that there was a two and there will be a 4. Do you have any insight into that? Is that the kind of thing which rolls out on an annual basis?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:23:34] Andrew Palmer: GPT-3 has actually been improved. You&#8217;re on now DaVinci two. We use the highest engine, which is DaVinci ,and we use DaVinci two and there&#8217;s, there&#8217;s another thing called babble and other things within it. You can kind of downgrade it. So for evil Bertha we use, um, I think it&#8217;s babble because it kind of just, it&#8217;s more sarcastic. It kind of gives better results. So we test all the models within the playground of Open AI and then we go, okay, well that&#8217;s how we can write that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because we write the, we write the prompts and that&#8217;s the benefit of us being web developers. You know, Vito&#8217;s done thousand websites, I&#8217;ve done hundreds and maybe a couple of thousand three, three or 4,000 actually, if I look back on it, cuz I&#8217;m old these days and I&#8217;ve been building websites pre WebPress, right. Macromedia jobs and, even Front Page, but there you go.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We know what people want in a website. The content, the kind of flow, the blurbs, even the content. We&#8217;ve actually got a model for the contact form blurb. How to ask people to contact you. Because we know websites. We&#8217;ve built it specifically for website owners and website developers and producers, because getting content out of a client, that&#8217;s why Atarim exists. Getting content out of a client is like getting blood out of a stone. if you give them a method to do it or a way to do it, you&#8217;ll get it much quicker. You&#8217;ll complete your projects quicker. You will then be able to take on more projects.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:24:59] Nathan Wrigley: So that&#8217;s an interesting piece, isn&#8217;t it? The idea that you can, well previously you&#8217;d fill it up with lorem. If the client didn&#8217;t deliver the text, in goes lorem just to fill the space. To give it some indication of how it might look.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:25:10] Andrew Palmer: That&#8217;s why Bertha is called the Lorem Ipsum killer.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:25:13] Nathan Wrigley: There you go, so that&#8217;s a really bonafide use of it, isn&#8217;t You basically push the button, fill it up with actual content. And even if the client doesn&#8217;t want to use it, then of course, I guess they could go in and edit it, or just start again.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:25:25] Andrew Palmer: Exactly. Yeah. You can actually deliver a completed website to a client with text. In the right format, in the right places, everything. And it won&#8217;t add a great deal of time to your development process. It will save a massive amount of time on deliverables. The client will see it. They&#8217;ll get it. And they&#8217;ll go, well, actually, I don&#8217;t wanna use that word or I don&#8217;t, I think that&#8217;s outta context, let&#8217;s rewrite it to that, and you can even use Bertha to do that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:25:50] Nathan Wrigley: So can you, as a website builder who maybe only wants certain permissions to go out to your clients, you can enable them to use Bertha or not use Bertha? There&#8217;s different permissions?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:26:00] Andrew Palmer: Yeah there is within the settings page. We&#8217;ve done a, a nice little dashboard, nice little onboarding as well, you know, makes it easier for people to understand what it is. And there&#8217;s an intro video on the onboarding as well, which will probably update because couple of things have slightly changed, but because we&#8217;ve embedded the instruction videos within Bertha, it makes it much easier.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;re launching a deep dive academy in a few weeks time, and it is a few weeks time, because we&#8217;re just building out the long form videos. So educational videos of how to write a blog post, how to build a website from scratch using Bertha. How to use particular page builders and stuff. And that&#8217;s being done by Imran Sadiq who has been a godsend on the training. I mean he produced 54 training videos in just under 21 days. So he was a find, I&#8217;ve gotta tell you. He&#8217;s my, he&#8217;s my favorite person currently.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:26:50] Nathan Wrigley: When you push the button, and it spits out content. Presumably there&#8217;s a cost to that. In other words, it goes to a computer somewhere else. Maybe that&#8217;s your computer. Maybe it&#8217;s somebody else&#8217;s infrastructure. I don&#8217;t know, but there&#8217;s a cost for that transaction.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I&#8217;m guessing that there&#8217;s gonna be constraints on the free version. Maybe that&#8217;s the number of times you can click the button, the amount of text you can produce, because I know that there&#8217;s a premium version as well. Just talk us around the pricing and the constraints that you&#8217;ve got.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:27:15] Andrew Palmer: Well, I made a decision because I, you know, I&#8217;ve invested in Bertha both time and money. I want people to use her. So a thousand words a month will cost me money, but that&#8217;s part of the investment, right? So currently, and I have no real reason to change this, everybody can use Bertha for free with every single model in it, except the new ones that I&#8217;ve said, because they are expensive to us.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So somebody&#8217;s gonna have to pay for those, and also pro users only get to use the academy as well. It&#8217;s free to pro users. So there are some constraints on the free use. But I, I love the fact that people are signing up. We&#8217;re getting probably 15 to 20 users signing up free per day, and they&#8217;re using it. Because we have a monitor. We, we don&#8217;t monitor what they use. We keep a record of what&#8217;s generated, but not by whom. You know, we don&#8217;t know which websites have generated, but that also helps us improve the model as well.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also if it gives empty responses, which sometimes it does. But we can see we&#8217;ve got a little, when a new user starts, we can see that there&#8217;s zero. And then within 10 minutes of them starting, they&#8217;ve used 250 words. We&#8217;re thinking, yay. You know, they&#8217;re getting it. They&#8217;re really looking at it. And then they go to 1,012 words because we&#8217;ve done it just over the thousand, because there&#8217;s nothing more frustrating when you click that button, you run out of words.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, you know, we let them, if it&#8217;s got to 998 and then they want to generate more, we let them generate the next sentence and they go, sorry, you gotta wait another month or upgrade. You know, of course I&#8217;m a very commercial person and people who know me know that I&#8217;m commercial, but you know, wait another month. But with a thousand words, you could write a homepage. You could write good about us page, whatever.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:28:57] Nathan Wrigley: The thought occurs to me that AI is getting its claw into almost everything. You&#8217;ve got Alexa in the living room and you&#8217;ve got the possibility to create pieces of artwork with all sorts of AI content. And I&#8217;m just wondering given your position, you&#8217;re obviously thinking a lot about AI. What do you make of the future of website building? So not the, not the content. Not that piece. The bit about the layout, the feel, the color palette, use of fonts.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because I just find it almost inevitable that at some point we&#8217;re gonna be talking to the website building process, and we&#8217;re gonna be saying, I want a homepage with a picture of a stadium in the background with these words, and then you&#8217;ll see what it puts out and actually no change the font. Make it H2 instead of an H1 and so on. Do you think that&#8217;s closer than I&#8217;m imagining? Cause I&#8217;m still thinking that&#8217;s decades off.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:29:49] Andrew Palmer: Oh, it&#8217;s definitely not decades off. It&#8217;s 24 months off. You know, if you really, really get into it because, um, Google are working on image generation. But let&#8217;s also not forget that AI can examine an image and see what&#8217;s in it. So, the stock Adobes, the Shutterstocks of this world will think, well, hang on a second, we can tie up with an AI and ask it to recognize this gray head fella in a rowing boat, doing some fishing, whatever, no offense Nathan, and then produce that image.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it would be, it wouldn&#8217;t necessarily have to be an AI generated image because there are millions of, of images out there. And imagine if you&#8217;ve got the WordPress repository with that&#8217;s now, and I&#8217;ve forgotten the name of where the images are on WordPress, but…</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:30:34] Nathan Wrigley: Openverse.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:30:36] Andrew Palmer: So Openverse is an AI feeder of images. You know, I want a nice lakeside image with no people in it, because that&#8217;s part of the Openverse terms and conditions. There&#8217;s no people in it, but I want a nice lakeside view, in landscape and I want the sun to be shining. And the AI will go out and search that, find that, and place it within your Gutenberg block.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:30:55] Nathan Wrigley: It&#8217;s interesting because I wonder, I wonder if people, so the particular next thing I&#8217;m gonna say relates to Bertha.ai. So I wonder if it&#8217;s got content creators, people whose job is to create copy. She&#8217;s got them shaking in their boots.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And also, I wonder if this event that we&#8217;re at WordCamp Europe, 2022. I wonder if in two or three years time given everything that you&#8217;ve just said, maybe coming down the pipe, if it will be a totally different experience. The whole build process will be different and we&#8217;ll be concerning ourselves with all sorts of other things.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the block editor might be a very, very different thing. And page builders look different. With the rate of change, and the fact that AI can sort of seed itself and make itself cleverer, much, much more quickly than we can, I do wonder what it&#8217;s gonna be like in a few years.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:31:40] Andrew Palmer: There are some very clever people out there as well. You know, let&#8217;s not name drop too many people. Elementor for instance, who&#8217;ve got their cloud version now. In there, there&#8217;s a, a workflow and say, what type of websites you want? What do you want it to look like? What&#8217;s the colorways and boom, there it is. Extendify doing the same. You&#8217;ve got all the content blocks. What do you want in there? And you take you through a workflow.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress will do that with their new $5 a month package, you know, and hosting and they&#8217;ll, they will build your website on the fly and, and, BoldGrid, I think it&#8217;s BoldGrid by, InMotion. It&#8217;s like a page builder that people don&#8217;t actually know about, but when I got into conversations with InMotion about them buying Elegant Marketplace, and I was basically a Divi marketplace, I&#8217;m saying, why don&#8217;t we make stuff BoldGrid, because you can go in there and say, I want a florist website.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Press a button, you&#8217;ve got 10 pages of flourish websites with all the images and the text. All you do is go in and edit the text. So that&#8217;s not AI, that&#8217;s just intelligent people saying, this is how we want people to build websites. So, with the advantages of AI and people like Matthew Renze, who I met in Las Vegas a few weeks ago. He&#8217;s at the top level of AI, and some conversations that I have with him, what&#8217;s coming, man is gonna blow your head off. It&#8217;s crazy what&#8217;s coming.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:32:57] Nathan Wrigley: On that bombshell. Andrew Palmer. Thanks for joining us.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:33:00] Andrew Palmer: You&#8217;re more than welcome Nathan. Thanks for letting me rabbit it on.</p>\n</div>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Wed, 24 Aug 2022 14:00:00 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:14:\"Nathan Wrigley\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:4;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:130:\"WPTavern: Theme Redone: A New Block-Based Starter Theme for Building WordPress Websites and Gutenberg Blocks with an MVC Framework\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=137284\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:140:\"https://wptavern.com/theme-redone-a-new-block-based-starter-theme-for-building-wordpress-websites-and-gutenberg-blocks-with-an-mvc-framework\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:5612:\"<p>In the days before Gutenberg, the maturity of the WordPress theme ecosystem offered a diverse selection of dozens of well-known starter themes where developers were likely to find one that suited their individual preferences or could easily be modified. Theme authors have frequently <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/ask-the-bartender-is-there-a-starter-for-building-block-themes\">asked if there is a good starter theme for building block themes</a>, but at the moment there are really only a handful, as the block themes era is just dawning. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>WebREDONE, a Serbia-based web agency, has open sourced its new starter theme, <a href=\"https://webredone.com/blog/wordpress-theme-starter-theme-redone/\">Theme Redone</a>, that offers a foundation for building websites and Gutenberg blocks with an MVC framework:</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>We’ve taken the inspiration from Laravel and other similar projects that really approached this aspect of coding cleverly and made it a breeze to organize and reason about the code.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Laravel, we would write plain old PHP for the logic, and then we would use Blade templates for the View layer, we also have model, view, and controller files to separate the concerns and organize code logically and efficiently. We have adopted that same approach but in the context of the WordPress environment. Conceptually, the way we organize code is similar to Laravel, but with a few differences.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Theme Redone brings this approach to Gutenberg block files, identifying a &nbsp;<a href=\"https://webredone.com/theme-redone/gutenberg-blocks-framework/block-structure/model-json/\">model.json</a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https://webredone.com/theme-redone/gutenberg-blocks-framework/block-structure/controller-php/\">controller.php</a>, and&nbsp;<a href=\"https://webredone.com/theme-redone/gutenberg-blocks-framework/block-structure/view-latte/\">view.latte</a> file. It uses the Latte templating engine. The JSON file contains the fields schemas with the data passed through to controller.php where it can be filtered or modified before getting passed to view.latte to be rendered on the front end. </p>\n\n\n\n<img />Theme Redone Latte template files example\n\n\n\n<p>The starter theme uses Gulp 4 and ESBuild for compilation and watching tasks, configured to support React, Svelte, Vue, and Petite Vue out of the box. Its <a href=\"https://github.com/webredone/theme-redone\">GitHub page</a> summarizes everything included in the framework:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>&nbsp;<a href=\"https://webredone.com/theme-redone/why-latte-as-a-templating-engine/\">Latte templating engine</a>&nbsp;for its beautiful syntax and a more streamlined and manageable workflow</li><li>&nbsp;EsBuild/Webpack + Gulp task tasks for&nbsp;<a href=\"https://webredone.com/theme-redone/scss-and-js-compilation-bundling/\">compiling SCSS and JS</a></li><li>&nbsp;SCSS (SMACSS folder/files structure)</li><li>&nbsp;Javascript (ES8 and React/Svelte/Vue support, thanks to EsBuild and Babel)</li><li>&nbsp;In-theme&nbsp;<a href=\"https://webredone.com/theme-redone/gutenberg-blocks-framework/\">framework for building Gutenberg blocks</a>&nbsp;in a streamlined and standardized way</li><li>&nbsp;<a href=\"https://webredone.com/theme-redone/gutenberg-blocks-framework/trb-cli/\">TRB CLI</a>&nbsp;helper for scaffolding new Gutenberg blocks</li><li>&nbsp;<a href=\"https://webredone.com/theme-redone/simple-grid-system/\">Bare-bones grid system</a>&nbsp;coded with Flex and CSS variables (about 15 lines of code)</li><li>&nbsp;<a href=\"https://webredone.com/theme-redone/theme-functions/\">Helper functions</a>&nbsp;for repetitive tasks such as rendering images, links, SVG code, and more</li><li>&nbsp;Just a few&nbsp;<a href=\"https://webredone.com/theme-redone/javascript-ui-elements-classes/\">well-written UI components</a>&nbsp;to get you started (we don’t like bloat in our code): Modal, Accordion, Tabs, Menu, Dropdowns, Sliders, and simple “in view fade-in transitions”</li><li>&nbsp;<a href=\"https://webredone.com/theme-redone/svg-handling/\">SVG support</a></li><li>&nbsp;<a href=\"https://webredone.com/theme-redone/debugging-tracy/\">Tracy Debugger</a>&nbsp;to help us make sure we write stable and error-free code</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p>WebREDONE has developed a fast way to create new blocks through its <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https://www.npmjs.com/package/@webredone/trb-cli\" target=\"_blank\">TRB CLI (Theme Redone Blocks)</a> NPM package, which will instantly create a new block with a single terminal command. It includes a custom UI along with the block preview image. The UI looks out of place inside block editor and somewhat more restricted in terms of controls available to users. This may not matter if the agency is creating sites that are not edited by users, but it seems confusing. </p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\n</div>\n\n\n\n<p>The theme&#8217;s creators have also written <a href=\"https://webredone.com/theme-redone/\">50 pages of documentation</a> over the course of two months, including how to get started, working with the template files, the theme&#8217;s helper functions, block structure within the framework, and more. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Theme Redone is an opinionated starter theme. WebREDONE decided to share it because it saves their agency time. It may not work for everyone, but it&#8217;s interesting to see the diverse ways agencies are evolving their tools to build websites more efficiently in the block era. Check out Theme Redone <a href=\"https://github.com/webredone/theme-redone\">on GitHub</a> for detailed installation instructions.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Wed, 24 Aug 2022 00:18:08 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:5;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:74:\"WPTavern: WooCommerce.com Brings Back Sandbox Sites for Testing Extensions\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=137255\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:85:\"https://wptavern.com/woocommerce-com-brings-back-sandbox-sites-for-testing-extensions\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:3245:\"<p><a href=\"https://woocommerce.com/\">WooCommerce.com</a> is bringing back a feature that made it possible for customers to test extensions in a sandbox environment before purchasing them. Select extensions can be loaded up on a private test site for 30 days before the site self-destructs.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although WooCommerce.com already offers a 30 day money back guarantee if users are unhappy with a purchase, the sandbox testing offers a frontline prevention for customers having to invoke the money back guarantee. It saves both parties time and resources by allowing customers to test extensions against their unique inventory of needs without committing to buy.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The flow for this feature is strategic in that it requires prospective customers to log in or create an account in order to test an extension. This enables users to come back and revisit their test sites later during the decision-making process. WooCommerce.com can also collect data on how many sandboxes are started for each of its extensions and determine which ones are struggling to convert. I would not be surprised if WooCommerce ends up streamlining these sandboxes for better conversions.</p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>In my test of this feature I chose the WooCommerce Pre-Orders extension. Once logged in, the site loaded up in seconds with the extension already activated on an empty store. I was successfully able to create a product as being available for pre-order.</p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>The live testing feature is not yet available for all extensions. WooCommerce engineer Rémi Corson reports that it&#8217;s currently active on the following products (with more on come in the future): follow-up emails, product add-ons, product CSV import suite, product vendors, table rate shipping, bookings, checkout field editor, points and rewards, and  pre-orders. Any of the available extensions can be simultaneously activated on an existing test site.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WooCommerce.com&#8217;s sandbox sites are set up strictly for testing extensions in a simple way. This may not be the best if you need to rule out conflicts with other extensions during your tests. The test sites do not allow you to install a different theme or add any other plugins.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In most cases, the live testing feature should be adequate to answer most questions users have prior to purchasing an extension. It&#8217;s also great for demonstrating to a client in case of the necessity to justify the expense. Some of these extensions are in the range of $100-$249/year billed annually, which is not a trivial expense for people who are just getting started with a store and wondering if the extension will suit their needs.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WooCommerce.com is one of many digital product creators in the WordPress space that already employs this type of testing, though the life of the sandbox varies from an hour to several weeks. Offering instant live testing is definitely the way to go if you don&#8217;t want to offer a free version of your extension where users would pay to upgrade. It saves users the hassle of having to set up their own test sites and get a refund, but also allows them to truly browse a host of commercial add-ons that they may not have otherwise thought to explore.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Tue, 23 Aug 2022 01:37:56 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:6;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:88:\"WPTavern: WordPress 6.1 to Add a Block Themes Filter to Menu on the Theme Install Screen\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=137238\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:99:\"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-6-1-to-add-a-block-themes-filter-to-menu-on-the-theme-install-screen\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:1575:\"<p>In July, WordPress&#8217; Themes and Meta teams collaborated to <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-themes-directory-adds-block-themes-to-filter-menu\">add a new “Block Themes” menu item</a> to the filter menu on the directory homepage in an effort to improve block themes&#8217; visibility. <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/themes/tags/full-site-editing/\">Block themes</a> currently account for less than 2% of the directory&#8217;s 9,900 themes but activating one is the only way users can take advantage of WordPress&#8217; full-site editing capabilities.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not all users hunt for their next theme directly on WordPress.org. One reason is that browsing themes inside the admin allows for using the Live Preview feature to see how the theme might look with a site&#8217;s particular content.  Four weeks ago, WordPress contributor Jessica Lyschik <a href=\"https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/56283\">opened a ticket</a> proposing to add the same Block Themes filter menu to the theme browsing experience inside the admin.</p>\n\n\n\n<img />image source: ticket <a href=\"https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/56283\">#56283</a>\n\n\n\n<p>The code to add this menu item was <a href=\"https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/56283#comment:17\">committed</a> and users will be able to filter for block themes in WordPress 6.1, expected on October 25, 2022. This change also introduces two new action hooks:  <code>install_themes_pre_block-themes</code> (fires before the tab is rendered) and <code>install_themes_block-themes</code> (fires at the top the tab).</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Mon, 22 Aug 2022 21:20:41 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:7;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:123:\"Gutenberg Times: Experimental APIs, Testing Fluid Typography, Twenty-Twenty-Three Kick-off and more — Weekend Edition 226\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:35:\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?p=21854\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:128:\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/experimental-apis-testing-fluid-typography-twenty-twenty-three-kick-off-and-more-weekend-edition-226/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:22740:\"<p>Howdy, </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lots of things happening on the block editor side of WordPress. A new WordPress homepage is now available! Join a new call for testing by Anne McCarthy for Full-site Editing and another one by  Justin Tadlock for the Fluid Typography in themes.  </p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a round-up of many articles, blog posts and updates from various teams, and extenders. It might not have been the right time to take a two week break. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yours, 💕<br /><em>Birgit</em></p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-layout-flow wp-block-group has-light-background-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-sortabrilliant-guidepost\"><ul><li><a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-word-press-release-information\">Developing Gutenberg and WordPress</a><ul><li><a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#1-g\">Gutenberg Plugin Releases</a></li></ul></li><li><a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#2-word-press-6-0-1-and-6-1-scheduled\">Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks</a></li><li><a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#2-site-owners-and-nocode-site-builders-using-the-block-editor\">Site owners and nocode site builders using the Block editor</a></li><li><a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#3-building-themes-for-fse-and-word-press\">Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor. </a></li><li><a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#5-upcoming-word-press-events\">Upcoming WordPress events</a><ul><li><a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#6-word-camps-around-the-world\">WordCamps around the World</a></li><li><a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#8-learn-word-press-online-meetups\">Learn WordPress Online Meetups</a></li></ul></li></ul></div>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"0-word-press-release-information\">Developing Gutenberg and WordPress</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress meta , design and marketing teams collaborated to revamp the design on the WordPress.org homepage and download page. They built it in public, with all the scrutiny that comes with it. The first version went live this week. More of course is certainly to come. </p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>You can read more on the genesis of the homepage via the following posts: </p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Nicholas Garofalo</strong> (marketing team)  <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/07/08/project-kickoff-wordpress-org-homepage-and-download-page-redesign/\">Project Kickoff: WordPress.org Homepage and Download page redesign</a></li><li><strong>Channing Ritter</strong> (design team) <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/07/27/project-update-wordpress-org-homepage-and-download-page-mockups/\">Project Update: WordPress.org Homepage and Download page mockups</a></li><li><strong>Alex Shiels</strong> (meta team) <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2022/08/01/developing-the-redesigned-home-and-download-pages/\">Developing the redesigned Home and Download Pages</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This is an interative process, and more pages on .org are in the works. The next step is to get the Navigation right, as with 12 top-level menu items it&#8217;s confusion and can send people into decision paralysis as to where they might find the relevant information. The discussion was kicked-off by <strong>Matt Mullenweg</strong>, co-founder of WordPress in his latest post: <strong>Navigation</strong>. With so many different target audiences, content creators, plugin and themes developers, contributors, free-lance and agency developers, developers at companies, #nocoe site builders, there is probably not one pathway into the information about wordPress. What do you think? Chime in. </p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Jamie Marsland,</strong> poweruser of the block editor, video creator and educator on all thing block editor, asked in his video <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRrrYGpz9Qo\"><strong>Can I re-create the new WordPress home page in 20 minutes?</strong></a>.  </p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sarah Gooding</strong>, WPTavern, has more details for you:  <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/jamie-marsland-recreates-wordpress-org-homepage-in-20-minutes-using-the-block-editor\">Jamie Marsland Recreates WordPress.org Homepage in 20 Minutes Using the Block Editor</a></p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>In here <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/08/15/design-share-aug-1-12/\"><strong>Design Share: Aug 1–12</strong></a>, <strong>Channing Ritter</strong>, gives a shout-out to the work in progress from the design team. Among other things, she highlights: </p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Visual template building</li><li>Pre-publish&nbsp;sidebar&nbsp;summary section</li><li>Editor welcome guide with setup</li><li>Global Styles previews</li><li>Stepped Slider</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p>All could use your input while in the process of being designed. Chime in on the linked GitHub issues. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Andrew Ozz</strong>, Core Committer, explained in his latest post the <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/18/wordpress-development-setup/\"><strong>WordPress Development Setup</strong></a> and answered questions, like: &#8220;Why is Gutenberg being developed on GitHub or why is Core not being developed there?&#8221; and &#8220;Is Gutenberg a WordPress&nbsp;feature plugin?&#8221; He started out stating: <em>Core is Gutenberg and Gutenberg is Core. </em></p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>After discussion over several months, <strong>Adam Zielinski </strong>published a <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/10/proposal-stop-merging-experimental-apis-from-gutenberg-to-wordpress-core/\"><strong>Proposal to stop merging experimental APIs from Gutenberg to WordPress Core</strong></a>. The Gutenberg plugin is in active development and new features are created all the time. These new features come also with new APIs that are declared &#8216;experimental&#8217; until the team is sure that it&#8217;s a prudent implementation for this part of block editor. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>When a major WordPress release is worked on, Gutenberg plugin code is merged with WordPress Core, and when these experimental APIs make it into the stable version of WordPress, they also earn consideration for backwards compatibility and de-facto code that needs to be maintained for a  few versions before they can be deprecated again.  </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adam Zielinski suggests that before a feature makes it into Core that experiemental APis are audited and either are not merged into WordPress or worked on to migrate them as stable APIs. If a feature depending on  an experiemental API is not yet stable enough, and other features also depend on the API, both should not be deemed mergable to the next major WordPress version. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other developers caution, that it might slow down the pace when new block editor features come to WordPress. For the impatient that might be of concern, I also have the feeling that it&#8217;s not a bad thing, when Gutenberg latests features stay in the oven to bake a little longer before they are merged and used by millions of people. </p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sarah Gooding </strong>also <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/new-proposal-calls-for-contributors-to-stop-merging-experimental-apis-from-gutenberg-to-wordpress-core\"><strong>New Proposal Calls for Contributors to Stop Merging Experimental APIs from Gutenberg to WordPress Core</strong></a>. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-layout-flow wp-block-group has-light-background-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<p><strong>🎙️ </strong> New episode: <a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-71-fluid-typography-block-api/\">Gutenberg Changelog #71 – Gutenberg 13.8, Fluid Typography, updates to the  Block API and more</a> &#8211; with co-hosts Grzegorz Ziolkowski and Birgit Pauli-Haack </p>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"1-g\">Gutenberg Plugin Releases</h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sarah Gooding</strong> wrote about Gutenberg 13.8 on the WP Tavern. <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-13-8-introduces-fluid-typography-support-and-revamped-quote-block\"><strong>Gutenberg 13.8 Introduces Fluid Typography Support and Revamped Quote Block</strong></a></p>\n\n\n\n<p>With Gutenberg 13.8, the first implementation of fluid typography is available. <strong>Justin Tadlock</strong> posted a Call for <strong><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2022/08/15/testing-and-feedback-for-the-fluid-typography-feature/\">Testing and Feedback for the Fluid Typography Feature</a> </strong>asking theme developer to stress test the feature with classic, hybrid and block themes and various other scenarios. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the meantime Gutenberg 13.9 was released. <strong><a href=\"https://twitter.com/oandregal\">André Maneiro</a></strong> was the release lead and published the posted <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/17/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-9-17-august/\"><strong>What’s new in Gutenberg 13.9? (17 August)</strong></a>. It adds tooltips to Image block, and a long-awaited <strong>View Site</strong> link for the site editor. Now you have a one click method to see the actual design you are building with your templates. </p>\n\n\n\n<img /><em>Tooltips enhancements of the Image block</em>\n\n\n\n<p><em>On the Gutenberg Changelog we will produces a double-feature  episode at the beginning of September with the 13.9 and 14.0 releases and more. </em></p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"2-word-press-6-0-1-and-6-1-scheduled\">Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks</h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Justin Tadlock</strong> explains in his post <strong><a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/layouts-and-wide-alignments-in-wordpress-then-now-and-upcoming-changes/\">Layouts and Wide Alignments in WordPress: Then, Now, and Upcoming Changes</a></strong> the progress with align wide and full width settings of blocks its behavior as inner blocks, or in template parts. Sometimes the settings causes ompatibility issues for classic theme adoption of&nbsp;<code>theme.json</code>. Tadlock has some clarifying code examples and use cases, and also mentioned what&#8217;s in the works to help any theme developer to control their layouts and at the same time allow for different width of blocks. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Channing Ritter,</strong> WordPress Design Team posted the <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/08/10/twenty-twenty-three-default-theme-project-kickoff/\"><strong>Twenty Twenty-Three default theme —&nbsp;Project kickoff</strong></a>. First she introduces the the base theme, and then invites theme developer from the community to submit their Style variations via GitHub. <em>Colin Chadwick</em> submitted the <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/twentytwentythree/issues/34\">first style variation called Maresa</a> already. Ritter also has a few tips on how to create Style variations, amont them to use the <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/plugins/create-block-theme/\">Create Block Theme plugin</a>. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nick Diego</strong> recently published an article on <strong><a href=\"https://wpengine.com/builders/per-block-stylesheets/\">Exploring Per-Block Stylesheets in Block Themes</a></strong>. You will learn how to conditionally register per-block stylesheets with&nbsp;<code>wp_enqueue_block_style</code>&nbsp;as well as a more advanced registration technique using this function. Diego also discussed the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach.</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Caroline Nymark</strong> updated her<a href=\"https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=CarolinaNymark.wordpress-block-markup\"><strong> Code Block markup Extension for VS Code</strong></a>. For the version 1.3 she added the markup for the new blocks and patterns: the Avatar Pattern, the No results block, the Read More block and the experimental Table of Contents block. She also added Block Pattern php file header and the Cmment template part section.  </p>\n\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;Keeping up with Gutenberg &#8211; Index 2022&#8221;</a>&nbsp;</strong><br />A chronological list of the WordPress Make Blog posts from various teams involved in Gutenberg development: Design, Theme Review Team, Core Editor, Core JS, Core CSS, Test and Meta team from Jan. 2021 on. Updated by yours truly.  <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index-2020/\"><em>The index 2020 is here</em></a></p>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"2-site-owners-and-nocode-site-builders-using-the-block-editor\">Site owners and nocode site builders using the Block editor</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In his post <a href=\"https://www.anarieldesign.com/create-a-wordpress-website-with-block-fse-theme/\"><strong>Create a WordPress website with a Block (FSE) Theme ( Beginner Friendly)</strong></a> <strong>Marko Segato, </strong><a href=\"https://twitter.com/AnarielDesign\">Anariel Design</a><strong> </strong>walks you through the process of creating a website with an FSE theme from scratch and explore the latest WordPress features. It&#8217;s a primer that takes site owners from selecting hosting to add content, and additional functionality on a new WordPress site. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https://twitter.com/m_munirkamal\">Munir Kamal</a></strong>, Gutenberg Hub, shows you in his video:  <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiqTAonZ9no\"><strong>How to Create Image Sliding Overlay Hover Effect in WordPress using CSS</strong></a> and how to create the creative content design in Gutenberg using default blocks without a 3rd party block plugin</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>In <a href=\"https://speckyboy.com/enhance-custom-layouts-wordpress-block-editor/\"><strong>Three Ways to Enhance Custom Layouts with the WordPress Block Editor</strong></a>, <strong>Eric Karkovack</strong> shows you how to create layout by writing CSS, set default styles via theme.json and or customize your site via the Editor Plus plugin</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sarah Gooding</strong> reported that Automattic is <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-editor-now-in-testing-on-tumblr-and-day-one-web-apps\"><strong>now testing the Gutenberg editor on Tumblr and Day One web apps</strong></a>. She also went and tested the beta experience on her Tumblr account. This is her review. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>In his opinion piece, <strong>Jamie Marsland </strong>wonders <a href=\"https://www.pootlepress.com/2022/07/are-gutenberg-third-party-plugins-heading-in-the-wrong-direction/\"><strong>Are Gutenberg Third Party Plugins heading in the wrong direction?</strong></a> In a clever back and forth with scenes from the movie Jurrassic part, Marsland, also answers the question what Dinosaurs have to do with WordPress and Gutenberg editor. It&#8217;s an interesting perspective on a discussion on how plugin follow along core development or isolate their features from future core development and by that lock any plugin use in their specific functionality and architecture. </p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"3-building-themes-for-fse-and-word-press\">Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor. </h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The workshop: <a href=\"https://wordpress.tv/2022/08/10/using-the-create-block-tool/\"><strong>Using the create-block Tool</strong></a>, with <strong>Jonathan Bossenger</strong> is not available on WordPressYC. &#8220;The WordPress create-block tool allows you to quickly scaffold a new block plugin. You will learn what you need to get started with create-block, how to use it, and review the code it generates.</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Adam Zielinski</strong> posted a tutorial on how to <a href=\"https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/how-to-guides/data-basics/\"><strong>create your First App with Gutenberg Data</strong></a> in the block editor handbook.  This tutorial aims to get you comfortable with the Gutenberg data layer. It guides you through building a simple React application that enables the user to manage their WordPress pages. It had five chapters. You&#8217;ll learn the environment setup, build a basic set of pages, create an edit form, create a page form and how to add a delete button.</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ryan Welcher</strong> covered in his live stream on <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fldNvfWW7U\"><strong>how to access and use attributes from other blocks in a custom block.</strong></a> He followed up on a <a href=\"https://github.com/ryanwelcher/twitch/issues/16\">suggestion by David Gwyer</a>, who had a use case for consuming a block&#8217;s attributes from another block on the same page.</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>Another post by <strong>Adam Zielinski </strong>describes <strong><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/19/a-new-system-for-simply-and-reliably-updating-html-attributes/\">A new system for simply and reliably updating HTML attributes</a>. </strong>In collaboration with Dennis Snell and Grzegorz Ziolkowski, the team introduce a dedicated tool for reliably updating the HTML markup. It’s called <code>WP_HTML_Walker</code> PHP class. The article provides code examples with <code>preg_replace</code> and explain why this is method is prone to errors and adjustments. The underlying code for the WP HTML Walker class takes advantage of the same official HTML specification major browser engines use as well. <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/19/a-new-system-for-simply-and-reliably-updating-html-attributes/\">More details and explanations are in the post.</a> To <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/42485\">review the Pull Request</a> join the conversation on GitHub. </p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Grzegorz Ziolkowski</strong> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/gziolo/status/1560587316371918850\">tweeted:</a> &#8220;I’m glad to see this proposal that should make it more ergonomic to adjust the attributes in HTML rendered by blocks or in other areas of WordPress.&#8221; </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/need-a-zip-from-master/\">Need a plugin .zip from Gutenberg&#8217;s master branch?</a></strong><br />Gutenberg Times provides daily build for testing and review. <br />Have you been using it? Hit reply and let me know.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><img alt=\"GitHub all releases\" src=\"https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/bph/gutenberg/total?style=for-the-badge\" /></p>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"5-upcoming-word-press-events\">Upcoming WordPress events</h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>November 18, 2022</strong><br /><a href=\"https://www.wordfest.live/2022/november/\"><strong>WordFest Live 2022</strong></a></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>October 11-13, 2022</strong><br /><a href=\"https://woosesh.com/\"><strong>WooSesh 2022</strong></a></p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"6-word-camps-around-the-world\">WordCamps around the World</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>September 2 + 3, 2022<br /><strong><a href=\"https://jinja.wordcamp.org/2022/\">WordCamp Jinja 2022</a></strong>, about 2 hrs West of Kampala, Uganda. Calls for sponsors, speakers, and volunteers are open now.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>September 3 + 4, 2022<br /><a href=\"https://kathmandu.wordcamp.org/2022/\"><strong>WordCamp Kathmandu</strong></a>, Nepal</p>\n\n\n\n<p>September 9 – 11, 2022<br /><strong><a href=\"https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/\">WordCamp US</a></strong>&nbsp;in San Diego</p>\n\n\n\n<p>September 15 + 16, 2022<br /><a href=\"https://netherlands.wordcamp.org/2022/\"><strong>WordCamp Netherlands</strong></a>&nbsp;at the&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.burgerszoo.com/\">Royal Burger’s Zoo</a>&nbsp;in Arnhem</p>\n\n\n\n<p>September 24 + 25, 2022<br /><a href=\"https://pontevedra.wordcamp.org/2022\"><strong>WordCamp Pontevedra</strong></a></p>\n\n\n\n<p>February 17 – 19, 2023<br /><strong><a href=\"https://asia.wordcamp.org/2023/\">WordCamp Asia</a></strong>, Bangkok, Thailand<br /><a href=\"https://asia.wordcamp.org/2023/call-for-speakers/\">Call for speaker was just published</a>. Deadline: September 15th, 2022 (UTC +7)<br />Contributor Day is planned for February 17, 2023 (Day 1)</p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"8-learn-word-press-online-meetups\">Learn WordPress Online Meetups</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>August 25, 2022 &#8211; 3 pm EDT / 19:00 UTC<br /><strong><a href=\"https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/287686993/\">Exploring the Power of Block Variations</a></strong> with Nick Diego</p>\n\n\n\n<p>September 6, 2022 4 pm EDT / 20:00 UTC <br /><a href=\"https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/287786811/\"><strong>The Creative Side of Blocks, Vol. 2</strong></a> with Brian Gardner</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n\n<p><em>Featured Image: Photo by Nick Nice on Unsplash</em></p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><strong>Don&#8217;t want to miss the next Weekend Edition? </strong></p>\n\n\n\n<form class=\"wp-block-newsletterglue-form ngl-form ngl-portrait\" action=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/\" method=\"post\"><div class=\"ngl-form-container\"><div class=\"ngl-form-field\"><label class=\"ngl-form-label\" for=\"ngl_email\"><br />Type in your Email address to subscribe.</label><div class=\"ngl-form-input\"><input type=\"email\" class=\"ngl-form-input-text\" name=\"ngl_email\" id=\"ngl_email\" /></div></div><button type=\"submit\" class=\"ngl-form-button\">Subscribe</button><p class=\"ngl-form-text\">We hate spam, too and won&#8217;t give your email address to anyone except Mailchimp to send out our Weekend Edition</p></div><div class=\"ngl-message-overlay\"><div class=\"ngl-message-svg-wrap\"></div><div class=\"ngl-message-overlay-text\">Thanks for subscribing.</div></div><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"ngl_list_id\" id=\"ngl_list_id\" value=\"26f81bd8ae\" /><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"ngl_double_optin\" id=\"ngl_double_optin\" value=\"yes\" /></form>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide\" />\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Sat, 20 Aug 2022 13:00:10 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:18:\"Birgit Pauli-Haack\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:8;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:51:\"Post Status: Languages of Contribution and Creation\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:32:\"https://poststatus.com/?p=106167\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:57:\"https://poststatus.com/lets-not-lose-the-creator-economy/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:16542:\"<div class=\"wp-container-11 wp-block-group has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\"><div class=\"has-background has-theme-palette-8-background-color wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">The Creator Economy owes a lot to WordPress, but that doesn\'t mean WordPress is valued or even understood by Creators as an open source project and community. Are the stories we tell and the words we use compelling to newcomers and the younger generations we need to succeed us? Is the story and language that got WordPress where it is adequate to take it where it wants to go? </p></div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"yoast-reading-time__wrapper\"><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__icon\"></span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__spacer\"></span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__descriptive-text\">Estimated reading time:  </span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__reading-time\">2</span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__time-unit\"> minutes</span></p>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\" id=\"block-8a500c95-b0bb-4e84-9b38-6d634a0946b2\">I\'ve appreciated much of the criticism that\'s been offered to the Five for the Future program in the last few weeks. It represents an investment in time, thought, and care of a lot of people who all have positive intentions, however harsh many of the more candid takes have been. </p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-8a500c95-b0bb-4e84-9b38-6d634a0946b2\">And it has been a real heap of opinion that\'s not easy to sort. Still, it\'s been an occasion to learn and think more deeply about the culture and history of WordPress, how things work or don\'t work. WordPress needs that.</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote><p>It\'s not a bad thing if pushback on some concepts like &#8220;tragedy of the commons&#8221; and &#8220;free riders&#8221; drives us to find better ones.</p></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-e9c2d9c0-bab0-4396-8095-5420f2f96305\">It\'s not a bad thing if pushback on some concepts like &#8220;tragedy of the commons&#8221; and &#8220;free riders&#8221; drives us to find better ones. Clarifying language and coming to some consensus about the terms and definitions that help people understand the project is really important.</p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-718bb272-a14c-4904-ab72-ded6fd3e100e\">However, a lot of valid points about those terms and the details of the 5ftF program got deep into the weeds or focused on things that simply are what they are and aren\'t going to change.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>(That\'s the stuff that gets labelled &#8220;drama&#8221; and falls on deaf ears or gets batted around unhelpfully by people who should have better things to do.  Everyone has heard it a million times. Don\'t worry, I\'m not going to touch any of it.)</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"block-5c310172-f0f5-4a15-89fb-9d9383586416\">We can only move forward, but are we living in the past?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-6c135ce9-57d9-48af-8a0d-e0bd756ba174\">As an open source project, the only question that really matters is, &#8220;What will drive WordPress forward?&#8221; Not in an ideal or theoretical world but with the army we have.</p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-563ef72a-ad24-4271-bdaa-2d540b279c33\">Or, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/project/2022/08/01/open-source-and-the-free-rider-problem/\">as Josepha Haden-Chomphosy put it</a>: &#8220;How can we rebalance the tenacious need for contribution with the immense benefit WordPress brings to everyone&#8221; in the WordPress ecosystem?</p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-cb7c0968-427e-4652-8704-a63477ffcd44\">That question got lost in the reactions, but it\'s the one that matters most.</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote><p>Notice how these words are delicately balanced and easily tipped over. You can read &#8220;tenacious need for contribution&#8221; as a threatening demand — a clawback on a &#8220;benefit&#8221; you might not consider &#8220;immense&#8221; or as immense as someone else\'s.</p></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-907aaa2f-8d3f-45af-9c7a-9bfe571224f6\">Notice how these words are delicately balanced and easily tipped over. You can read that &#8220;tenacious need for contribution&#8221; as a threatening demand — a clawback on a &#8220;benefit&#8221; you might not consider &#8220;immense&#8221; or as immense as someone else\'s. You can read it as a description of scarcity all on one side and abundance all on the other. You could tear it up and set it on fire. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>And some people do do that. </p>\n\n\n\n<h2>The world as it is</h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-42326f40-b8b4-4d74-af21-e69be310347a\">Especially in the world of WordPress extenders, builders, and generally small business operators doing well enough to start a podcast or opinion blog, this seems to be where we get stuck. (That\'s the big, long tail of the open source communities I\'ve been in for two decades.) I\'ve watched this all happen before around an open source CMS that once dominated the market. Imbalances, inequities, and unfairness got emphasized, and the community didn\'t get past its deadlock of grievances.</p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-42326f40-b8b4-4d74-af21-e69be310347a\">I\'m not going to say there aren\'t imbalances and all the playing fields are perfectly level because that\'s not true. (It never is, anywhere.) But I will say it doesn\'t do any good to keep saying this. Repetition of failed patterns is not just a definition of derangement, it is a failure to grow into mature thinking. To really face the world as it is requires a capacity for living with apparently unsolvable contradictions. It is less about &#8220;being smart&#8221; and more about a tolerance for the mental stress and pain of not having control or all the answers. It\'s fucking hard, but not being able to do it does harm to individuals and the groups they\'re in. </p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote><p>We can cope better with hard problems and survive to solve them another day if we first get ourselves united around common interests, motivations, and values. And that is the task our oldest, most adapatable, legacy systems — human languages — were invented to do as we muddle along together on this planet.</p></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-505bdd5e-f2fe-4c3c-9673-566df571dcf1\">I\'m also not going to say we can make deep problems disappear by not talking about them or by using evasive language. I do think we can cope better with hard problems and survive to solve them another day if we first get ourselves united around common interests, motivations, and values. And that is the task that human languages were invented for.</p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-24ad1539-b961-418f-b0f9-9d1098a1392a\">There\'s nothing like an external threat to unite people, usually. Lately there\'s been a lot of concern about the end to growth and possible losses in WordPress\' market share. I\'d worry more about losing relevance with younger generations of people with different outlooks, interests, and needs. That\'s people doing stuff. It\'s real. Market share will always be a statistic that dimly reflects what people are doing long after they started doing it. Today\'s failure to connect and communicate won\'t register on <a href=\"https://trends.builtwith.com/cms\">the BuiltWith pie chart</a> for years when it\'s too late to get in front of.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Creators in community</h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-7dad336b-aaf2-4a48-a2c5-be3f8cb710ce\">So let\'s talk about the &#8220;Creator Economy.&#8221; It\'s not a trend but a pretty established thing now. Creators with a course, service, or product to sell generally don\'t want to focus too much on tools and even less on code — unless code is their service or product.</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote><p>That\'s where WordPress should be, and in a sense it is, but it uses the language of a 20 year-old open source project that is illegible to people in their 20s today.</p></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-7d4fd33c-af8a-440d-807f-2e3f36ae4772\">WordPress and ever-increasing, low-cost, easy-to-use SaaS platforms have enabled Creators to focus on their business. Unlike those of us who were doing this back in the Stone Age, Creators don\'t have to install WordPress, try to bolt on installs of phpBB, GNU Mailman, and learn PHP4 to cope with a once-popular horror like osCommerce. Creators are in, or adjacent to the WordPress community, but they\'re unlikely to participate in it and contribute in the old, traditional ways that start with bugs and hacking. Software that\'s free as in beer and speech isn\'t attractive or even meaningful unless it\'s presented as a useful platform for their particular niche. </p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-7d4fd33c-af8a-440d-807f-2e3f36ae4772\">This is painful to hear, especially if this is how you entered the open source and WordPress community. Many of us became developers, designers, freelancers, communication and marketing consultants, and even product or agency founders this way. That was a different time in a different country — once the main doorway into WordPress, it\'s now a small, creaky backdoor.</p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-f154735a-096a-4c53-a676-455606234ca8\">If you think this means Creators are narcissists and mercenaries who don\'t participate in communities or care about their tools, you are wrong. Helping them organize into communities that give them value is a smart move. WordPress products, especially ecosystem plugins, virtually grow their own communities. With a now-private Facebook page that\'s grown to over 133,000 members, <a href=\"https://elementor.com/\">Elementor is the biggest example of this</a>, and they are pivoting to redefine themselves accordingly. Their identity doesn\'t emphasize a WordPress plugin but a platform (and community) for Creators. </p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-f02749a6-c26d-4c1c-a349-444397d597d0\">That\'s where WordPress should be, and in a sense it is, but it uses the language of a 20 year-old open source project that is illegible to most people in their teens and twenties today. And if they look a little way into the very limited &#8220;WordPress news&#8221; space, Creators aren\'t going to see Creators there. Certainly not a wide range of artists and makers. They may see &#8220;drama&#8221; and arguments, or &#8220;inside-baseball&#8221; like this post.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"block-b4807b88-ab9a-4ce7-9086-3d43929ede71\">Craft + Commerce and WordCamp US</h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-60bdea77-3b00-4542-8adb-25b820780a7d\">I found Joe Casabona\'s &#8220;<a href=\"https://wpreview.io/a-tale-of-two-keynotes/\">Tale of Two Keynotes</a>&#8221; really helpful for understanding some key threats and opportunities WordPress needs to face in the context of today\'s Creator Economy. Joe\'s main point is that Creators focus on earning and growth in their businesses in a context where this message is encouraged and prioritized — and WordPress needs more of that. I\'m not opposed to that view, but it\'s not the main thing I got out of Joe\'s post and want to elaborate here.</p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-3af73ea5-8fda-4846-8a60-557c2b9dc5ee\">Joe looks at the language ConvertKit founder Nathan Barry used to invite community participation in his last keynote for Craft + Commerce, a major conference aimed at Creators in his hometown of Boise, Idaho. Then he looks at the language of participation in Matt Mullenweg\'s speech in <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/post-status-comments-no-4-state-of-the-word-2021-analysis/\">the last State of the Word</a>. </p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-fff2770d-4439-4673-9878-843a5481044a\">Barry emphasized goals that could be summed up as, &#8220;You can and should make a good living doing what you love in the creator economy!&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote><p>Here are the <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/post-status-team-responses-to-the-state-of-the-word-2021/\">Post Status team responses to SotW 2021</a>. Rereading my own remarks, I\'m reminded of how optimistic that moment was — about all the same themes I\'m touching here.</p></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-98dc48a3-e947-4e5f-8260-33984b488b5d\">Matt emphasized learning through contribution and the danger of more being taken out than given back. What stands out most in my memory is his &#8220;Give a penny, take a penny&#8221; analogy for open source.</p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-18f2b1bb-119f-47db-b4cf-0ec4cb188eec\">(That\'s not a knock on Matt, pennies, his analogy, or least of all the idea that you learn by doing — with others who know more. Post Status is all about that. We repeat &#8220;learn by helping&#8221; all the time. An example of this actually went out in our latest newsletter. But I do think &#8220;learn how to earn together&#8221; is a unique emphasis of the Post Status community within WordPress, and it is closer to Barry\'s language than anything as close to the project as Post Status is.)</p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-2c2832da-0b83-467c-80a9-e5a11f17d025\">As he seemed to intend, Matt\'s keynote reminded me of the values of small towns at their best, where I\'ve lived about half my life. That part of me sees Barry as a bit of a huckster — sure, everyone\'s winner! What exactly is he giving you? Lifetime free access to ConvertKit? Or just high fives?</p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-a1fad17e-5613-49e7-85d8-4783932d616c\">I don\'t see the two keynotes reflecting scarcity versus abundance thinking or even two very different attitudes, but if you wanted to polarize people over them you could. Pick on the vulnerabilities of one, and amplify the strengths of the other. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are strengths and limitations to both emphases — Creating and Contributing.</p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-a1fad17e-5613-49e7-85d8-4783932d616c\">What if we tried to combine the strengths of the language of contribution with new, complementary ideas and language from the Creator Economy?</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"block-145fb39a-674f-43b8-8c1f-67c8f17881cb\">&#8220;Creators&#8221; vs. &#8220;Contributors&#8221;</h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-9a877702-0b72-40e0-a837-7a43f5155548\">There are strengths and limitations attached to both of these words when they\'re used to define identity and participation in a creative community. <em>Creating</em> and <em>Contributing</em>. They don\'t seem very different until you take a close look.</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote><p>Creating manages to hold together both ideas of giving <em>and</em> gaining. Creativity is about making things you care about deeply and are inspired to work on. When you create something it\'s a gift to everyone, potentially, and to yourself.</p></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-254f7428-0dd8-4a8e-adfb-d7d3f458a8eb\">Contributing has distinct emphasis on giving, not getting back. It is a zero-sum transaction between a contributor and recipient of contributions. To use the language of contribution effectively, you probably have to be seen as truly having a greater need than the people you are asking to contribute more. Better yet, they should see themselves as implicitly benefiting from their contributions. </p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-254f7428-0dd8-4a8e-adfb-d7d3f458a8eb\">If they don\'t believe this is true, repeating the old magic words will not work unless you do it live on air, interrupting normal programming until enough contributions have come in. Until next time. (Kind of like Admin Notifications used for upselling premium plugins.) </p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-991b730c-d674-41c3-abf1-e7068185e881\">Creating manages to hold together both ideas of giving <em>and</em> gaining. Creativity is about making things you care about deeply and are inspired to work on. When you create something it\'s a gift to everyone, potentially, and to yourself.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>So what should we do differently?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-9231192c-53a9-490f-b067-64e4d295c356\">Am I proposing a massive Search and Replace targeting all forms of the word &#8220;Contribute&#8221; in WordPress? Nope. I personally find calling people &#8220;Creators&#8221; more cringey than the older, grammatically tortured term, &#8220;Creatives.&#8221; But I recognize when I am out of date, and I am willing to adapt where I see value in doing so.</p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-9231192c-53a9-490f-b067-64e4d295c356\">I\'m not proposing anything but that we think more carefully about language, tone, and audience. What we emphasize with one word or story as opposed to another may close or open doors with different people. It\'s good to have a lot of options to engage a lot of people. It\'s good to be flexible and adaptable. It\'s good to know what connects and unites.</p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-e55a849a-8cf5-48f7-b311-570266746adf\">Do we know?<br /><br />Can we create it?</p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-2d71356b-5b29-428e-a3e8-3618cb28851a\">Can we teach it to each other?</p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status</a> • <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status - The Community for WordPress Professionals</a></p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Sat, 20 Aug 2022 03:28:37 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:10:\"Dan Knauss\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:9;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:60:\"WPTavern: Join the WordPress World Photography Day Challenge\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=137161\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:71:\"https://wptavern.com/join-the-wordpress-world-photography-day-challenge\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:3044:\"<img />photo credit: <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/photos/author/chrisedwardsce/\">ChrisEdwardsCE</a>\n\n\n\n<p>In celebration of World Photography Day, WordPress&#8217; Photo Directory team has <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/photos/2022/08/18/wordpress-world-photography-day-challenge-2022/\">issued a challenge</a> designed to get people contributing:</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p><strong>Submit a photo that captures something unique about your local area</strong>, in a way that helps represent the geographic diversity of the WordPress community.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Since its launch, the WordPress Photo Directory has grown to 3,633 free, CC0-licensed photos. The purpose of this challenge is to raise awareness of the directory project and encourage people to contribute photos to expand the collection.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Photo contributors are encouraged to submit an original image of something from their local area (neighborhood, town, city, or country), such as a landscape, street, local wildlife, nature, or a landmark. In addition to following the directory guidelines, participants should also add the following information to denote their work as part of this initiative: </p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>(1) The location or where the image was taken (e.g. the city and/or country)</li><li>(2) The word WorldPhotographyDay22</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Photo Directory team contributor Marco Almeida has an additional recommendation for well-known locations that have an English counterpart for the name in the original language:</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>Quick suggestion for submissions: if you’re uploading a photo that has regional interest and the name of the place is not the same in English and the local language, do repeat the photo description in both languages. For example: “<em>Walking on Lisbon’s sidewalk &#8211; A andar na calçada de Lisboa</em>”. This will ensure the photo is both searchable by “Lisbon” and “Lisboa”.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Submitted photos that are approved may be featured across WordPress.org&#8217;s social media channels. Photo contributors will also get a contributor badge on their WordPress.org profiles, which I was surprised to find on mine after contributing <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/26962070d8/\">a picture of my morning oatmeal</a> a few months ago. </p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>Participants can submit up to five photos at a time but will have to wait until those pass through review before submitting more. If your photo is approved, the Photo Directory team requests you leave a comment on the <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/photos/2022/08/18/wordpress-world-photography-day-challenge-2022/\">challenge post</a> with the link to the photo and the story behind it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>More specific instructions for submitting photos are available in the announcement. If you are a photography enthusiast, this challenge is a great opportunity to give back to the world of free WordPress resources. The challenge will conclude on August 28, 2022.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Sat, 20 Aug 2022 01:24:48 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:10;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:100:\"WPTavern: YITH Wonder: A New Free WordPress Theme with Support for WooCommerce and Full-Site Editing\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=137134\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:110:\"https://wptavern.com/yith-wonder-a-new-free-wordpress-theme-with-support-for-woocommerce-and-full-site-editing\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:3194:\"<p><a href=\"https://yithemes.com/\">YITH</a>, a WooCommerce plugin development company that was <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/newfold-digital-acquires-yith-to-expand-woocommerce-expertise\">acquired by Newfold Digital</a> in March 2022,  has released its first block theme on WordPress.org. <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/themes/yith-wonder/\">YITH Wonder</a> is now listed among 122 other <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/themes/tags/full-site-editing/\">block themes</a> that support full-site editing and have recently <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-themes-directory-adds-block-themes-to-filter-menu\">gained their own menu link in the directory</a> to improve their visibility.</p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>YITH Wonder includes 24 different patterns &#8211; many of them aimed at shops. Since the company specializes in WooCommerce products, it&#8217;s no surprise that YITH Wonder offers corresponding styles for WooCommerce products, shop pages, cart, and checkout.</p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>The theme also includes three full-page patterns for different homepage layouts and designs. These are very helpful for quickly putting together a page without having to hunt for and place each pattern in the right place. The full-page patterns can easily be previewed on the theme&#8217;s listing on WordPress.org: (<a href=\"https://wp-themes.com/yith-wonder/?page_id=2&pattern_name=yith-wonder/homepage-1\">Homepage 1</a>, <a href=\"https://wp-themes.com/yith-wonder/?page_id=2&pattern_name=yith-wonder/homepage-2\">Homepage 2</a>, and <a href=\"https://wp-themes.com/yith-wonder/?page_id=2&pattern_name=yith-wonder/homepage-3\">Homepage 3)</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>YITH Wonder comes with six different style variations that make it easy to change the the accent color combinations and typography for the site.</p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>Check out the <a href=\"https://wonder.yithemes.com/ecommerce/\">live demo</a> on the theme&#8217;s website. One handy feature on the demo is that you can click &#8220;Launch Sandbox&#8221; to instantly spin up a test site with the theme and WooCommerce pre-loaded. The sandbox sites expire after one hour. This gives a user the opportunity to explore the full-site editing features and see if the theme will work for their particular use case. For example, users can see how the WooCommerce product catalog template will look with their own customizations applied. The theme packages two dozen different templates and template parts that can be customized inside the Site Editor.</p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>YITH Wonder is listed as a multi-purpose WordPress theme in the directory but it really shines as one of the few free block-based themes built with WooCommerce in mind. Creating a new page and slapping one of the full-page patterns on it is a delightful experience that will save users time in getting started and also enable them to build targeted pages featuring different product categories or sale items.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/themes/yith-wonder/\">YITH Wonder</a> is available to download on WordPress.org for free. I couldn&#8217;t find any documentation for the theme, but it may be available once the company formally announces the theme on the YITH website.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Fri, 19 Aug 2022 21:29:34 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:11;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:86:\"Post Status: Post Status Excerpt (No. 65) — How We Talk When We Talk About WordPress\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:32:\"https://poststatus.com/?p=106145\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:64:\"https://poststatus.com/how-we-talk-when-we-talk-about-wordpress/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:53009:\"<div class=\"wp-container-13 wp-block-group has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\"><div class=\"has-background has-theme-palette-8-background-color wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">What\'s it like to enter the WordPress community media space, especially as the editor of a publication with many voices, personalities, and perspectives? </p></div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"yoast-reading-time__wrapper\"><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__icon\"></span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__spacer\"></span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__descriptive-text\">Estimated reading time:  </span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__reading-time\">2</span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__time-unit\"> minutes</span></p>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">My friend and dialogue partner, <strong>Nyasha Green</strong>, is six months into her role as Editorial Director at <strong>MasterWP</strong>, so today we\'re talking about what that\'s been like for Ny, what she\'s learned, and how we look at the WordPress media space we both work in.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unsurprisingly we talk about conflict, communication, personality, and the importance of in-person events. That brings up WCUS — a first for both of us — where we\'ll meet each other and a lot of people we\'ve only known remotely. It also sounds like I might get roped into a karaoke duet. (Not if I can help it.)</p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-17 wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<div class=\"wp-container-16 wp-block-columns sponsor has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\" id=\"StellarWP\">\n<div class=\"wp-container-14 wp-block-column\">\n<h3 class=\"StellarWP has-theme-palette-1-color has-text-color\" id=\"Sponsor\"><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f64f.png\" alt=\"🙏\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Sponsor: <span><a href=\"https://poststat.us/elementor\" rel=\"sponsored nofollow\">Elementor</a></span></h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Elementor </strong>enables web creators to build professional, pixel-perfect websites with an intuitive visual builder. Quickly create amazing websites for your clients or your business with complete control over every piece, without writing a single line of code. Join <a href=\"https://elementor.com/community/\">a vast community of web creators</a> from all around the world who deliver exceptional websites using Elementor.</p>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-15 wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top\"><div class=\"wp-block-image elementor-logo\">\n<img src=\"https://cdn.poststatus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Elementor-Logo-Symbol-Blue-150x150.png\" alt=\"Elementor\" class=\"wp-image-104033\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" title=\"Elementor Logo\" />Elementor</div></div>\n</div>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-mentioned-in-the-show\"><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f517.png\" alt=\"🔗\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Mentioned in the Show</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul id=\"block-a3e9962f-97ca-4009-be8e-db47b5d1fddf\"><li><a href=\"https://masterwp.com/6-months-of-masterwp-from-nyashas-view/\">Six Months of MasterWP from Nyasha\'s View</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqfUW_wEFHM\">The Danger of Avoiding Conflict</a> — Patrick Lencioni</li><li><a href=\"https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/\">WordCamp US</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h3><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f44b.png\" alt=\"👋\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Credits</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul id=\"block-a3e9962f-97ca-4009-be8e-db47b5d1fddf\"><li><a href=\"https://twitter.com/Ny_The_Creator\">Nyasha Green</a>, Editorial Director at <a href=\"https://twitter.com/_MasterWP\">MasterWP</a> (Twitter)</li><li><a href=\"https://twitter.com/dan_knauss\">Dan Knauss</a>, Editor for <a href=\"https://twitter.com/post_status\">Post Status</a> (Twitter)</li><li><a href=\"https://twitter.com/lemonadecode\">Olivia Bisset</a>, Web Producer intern for Post Status (Twitter)</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\">Every week <strong><a href=\"https://poststatus.com/podcast/the-excerpt/\">Post Status Excerpt</a></strong> will bring you a conversation about important news and issues in the WordPress community and business ecosystem. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f399.png\" alt=\"🎙\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /><br /><br />You can listen to <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/podcast/the-excerpt/\">past episodes</a> of <strong>The Excerpt</strong>, <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/category/post-status-podcasts/\">browse all our podcasts</a>, and don’t forget to subscribe on <a href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/1m3xwXbe0MG5BzFVPtB0A7\">Spotify</a>, Amazon Music, <a href=\"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS8ySkU5c2M4UA\">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/post-status-draft-wordpress/id976403008\">iTunes</a>, <a href=\"https://castro.fm/podcast/c53552c6-1ee0-4fc4-9de4-08ed6bf1ee4d\">Castro</a>, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/c/PostStatus\">YouTube</a>, <a href=\"http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/krogsgard/post-status-draft-wordpress-podcast\">Stitcher</a>, <a href=\"https://player.fm/series/wordpress-post-status-podcasts\">Player.fm</a>, <a href=\"https://pca.st/05rR\">Pocket Casts</a>, <a href=\"https://wordpress-post-status-draft-podcast.simplecast.com/\">Simplecast</a>, or by <a href=\"https://feeds.simplecast.com/2JE9sc8P\">RSS</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f3a7.png\" alt=\"🎧\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /></p>\n\n\n\n<h1 id=\"h-transcript\">Transcript</h1>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> [00:00:00] Hey NY, how are you doing today?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> Hey, Dan, I\'m doing well. How are you?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Good. Good. Pretty good for, uh, winding in towards the end of the week. I know. Um, let\'s see, your, your newsletter from master VP goes out Tuesday in our productions Friday. So maybe you can, it goes out Wednesday. Oh Wednesday now. Okay. Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tuesday, Tuesdays. You\'re getting it already. Yeah. Okay. So you\'re kind of, is this the down slope for you? easier time,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> eh, yeah, it is. It is. The beginning of the week is always like, alright, make sure everything\'s together. And then it\'s like, ah, you know, breathe and like can hop in and getting ready for next week.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So it definitely is. And it\'s almost Friday. Yeah. All good news.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> yeah, for us it\'s like, yeah, it\'s the, the high, when you get it all done on, on Friday and then the weekend. So, um, you\'ve been at it for about six months. I read your your six month. Article, uh, post [00:01:00] there and reflection on all the stuff you, you guys have done in that time.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, yeah. How are you, how are you feeling about, um, about not just doing master WP, but this is kind of a new thing for you jumping straight into the, um, the WordPress community as someone who\'s, um, you know, come, come in from, uh, not that, not that long ago for the first. .</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> Yeah. So, um, I\'ve had, I have a experience in WordPress, so I\'ve been coding in WordPress for a couple years.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, I\'ve been writing and editing for what 16 years. Um, and just, yeah, putting it all together to be like a part of the community to be a part of the writing, to be a part of, you know, everything that\'s going on. Um, it has been. Fun. I don\'t wanna say that first. It\'s been very fun. Um, it\'s also been very entertaining.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>it\'s been [00:02:00] very interesting. Um, Hmm. It\'s been. Oh, oh, it\'s been just a journey. And, um, it\'s just been six months, but I\'ve learned a lot. I\'ve met a lot of really good people and I\'ve got to do, I\'ve gotten to do a lot of really cool things. Um, I\'m really excited for the rest of this, the next six months. I\'m just I\'m ready for that year article, like to just talk about everything we did in a year, um, But, um, I think the most interesting thing about it is, um, just, just getting to know so many people in the community, not just in the community, because like I was, I\'ve been in the community for years as a coder, but I haven\'t been like, you know, an active participant in like, as far as meeting people.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So meeting active people in the community has been really awesome.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Yeah, that\'s really different. Isn\'t it? I, I relate. It\'s a lot. I feel, um, I, I feel similarly because despite going back early long way with open source and, and WordPress [00:03:00] site, I probably got more involved long ago in other communities and I\'ve stayed.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stayed for a long time in a, you know, relatively quiet, neutral space relative to, to post status and, and, um, and just, um, my own work for a long time. But it\'s, yeah, it\'s relatively recently that my role has kind of expanded and changed and re not, I wouldn\'t say required, but made it natural to, um, and if not, Necessary to, uh, you know, be more engaged in social media and, um, and just, yeah, the kind of networking that, that comes around from that and the, the way that people, uh, connect with you more when you\'re, you\'re taking more of a public role.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, yeah. There\'s ups and downs, ups and downs to that. How, how do you, what, what do you see the pros and cons [00:04:00] or what have been the highs and lows for you?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> Um, the pros would be the people I\'ve met, um, as a relative newcomer to the community and someone that\'s trying to get more people in, um, being, you know, editorial director of master WP has opened me to so many resources.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are so many people that want to help in this community. And I feel like that does not, nobody really talks about that. That doesn\'t, uh, that never makes it out of the screams. Drama whatever\'s going on that week in WordPress, but there are so many people that want to help the community, especially newbies, but they don\'t know how, or they they\'re more.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I will, I have resources for you to help, which is still helping. And I was able to connect with a lot of people. Um, I have been given a lot of resources for just starting my own word, press meetups in my city. I was just living in and the city I\'m doing now. People just they\'ve read and they\'ve seen things I\'ve [00:05:00] doing they\'re let me start over.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>They\'ve read things I\'ve written and they\'ve seen things I\'m doing and that spurred them to help. So it\'s been mostly positive. Um, for me. Great. Um, some of the cons is, um, something I, I\'m not new to leadership. I\'m not new to taking ownership of things. I\'ve had my own business before, things like that. Um, I guess the biggest thing for me is when master WP gets negative, press.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>that\'s all people wanna talk about to me. Uh, if they talk about that, amongs the self that\'s, whatever that\'s it\'s okay. But when lots of really positive things happen, like I said, like me gaining these resources, us having, helping new people get into the community, people, uh, you know, changing their tune on things.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>They just didn\'t have information about which we\'ve, we\'ve been told all of us that that\'s helped at least someone, no, it is nothing. Nobody really wants to talk about it. And it could be because negative stuff, you know, people aren\'t louder when they\'re negative. Versus they\'re a little bit more [00:06:00] quiet when they\'re positive, but that\'s something that it didn\'t bother me at first, but it was overwhelming after a little while.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mm. Because. I\'m a person, like if it\'s something\'s negative, that\'s going on, I would like to work with you on it. But I quickly discovered a lot of people don\'t want that. They just wanna be negative and, you know, yeah. So navigating that\'s been interesting. Um, and then we, we, we shifted a lot. Master WP is completely different than what it was under.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, the old ownership. And I think a lot of people had a problem with that as well. Um, especially when we talked about race and diversity and oh, my favorite giving people money. I understand that. Cuz I talk about that in regular life. I\'ve been a community organizer for years. I do community service. Um, and I don\'t, I don\'t have to answer to an organization to do that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I do stuff out of my own pocket. That\'s how I am. So this stuff is not new to me. Um, but it\'s, it\'s interesting to see people [00:07:00] take on those. You shouldn\'t be helping people or you shouldn\'t be doing. In a space where they constantly is, need a need for help. So I\'ve, I\'ve learned a lot. It\'s it\'s it helps me ponder and wonder.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, um, I, I don\'t know. I\'m just, I\'m very interested to see what else I learned because six months, depending on who you talk to is not a long time. I don\'t feel like that was a long time, but I poof I\'ve learned a lot. So this year should be pretty epic.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> yeah. You really jump right in and yeah, when you do so.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Public like that. And you\'re, you\'re putting out the kind of material you do on, um, writing and, and podcasting mm-hmm um, yeah, you get, you get a lot, learn a lot from getting a lot of reactions fast and when you become the news it\'s, it\'s not, not awesome. I have a little experience with that. But yeah, no one can really control the message all the time.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, [00:08:00] uh, being able to roll with that is, is good. But, um, yeah, I hope the, the positives outweigh the negatives. Where, where do you think the, um, some of the pushback or raised hackles? Come from, is it just, who are you to say, just where does this new, you know, just reaction of, of established or familiar, um, people who are familiar with the space and, and feel really, um, comfortable in it, the way it is.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then I don\'t know who you are. You just come out of, you know, you\'re offering new perspectives and, you know, different, different takes on things or, um, is that. Is that just kind of the newcomer, um, challenge that I don\'t know, human social groups always seem to, to</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> have. Oh, I would be surprised if that wasn\'t playing a part into it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I mean, because, um, some people I have talked [00:09:00] with interviewed, you know, written to they\'ve written to me, you know, they\'ve been in this community like. Years and years while I might have been still been in high school, things like that. So I definitely, I, I could see some of that. Definitely. Um, I guess the big thing is nobody really addresses a lot of negative issues with me, which, which I\'m totally prepared for as editorial director.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I it\'s, it\'s always secondhand stuff. And it\'s like, how do you address that? I\'m one of these people, like I said, I address things and that people take that in a negative way. I don\'t understand that. Like I. I have always been able to communicate with people. If there\'s a issue, I think we can solve it if we talk about it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I don\'t think a lot of people have that point of view. They don\'t want to talk, they don\'t wanna solve issues. They just want you to know they are not feeling it. And that\'s also fun. But, you know, as a person who\'s a doer, I can only accept so much of that, you know, send it to me, but what do you want me to do with it after a while it\'s gonna be my response.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, so it, [00:10:00] you know, there. I\'m a newbie, you know, we\'re new, I guess we\'re as a whole newish people on the scene. Um, although Rob and Brian and a lot of our, uh, developers have been in WordPress years. Mm-hmm um, there\'s also I don\'t know what I I\'ll call it. I always try to make up my own names for things.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, it\'s getting into the group. I guess liking what everyone else likes and hating what everyone else hates, which we, we won\'t do. And master WP is right. Individual people. We, we also, that\'s a big issue too. We get, if Rob has an issue on something, that means we all think it, if Brian has an issue on something that makes we all think it, if I have an issue with something that means we all think it and, um, that\'s not true at all.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah. We are very open and diverse about that, but that, that gets lost too. So I think it\'s. , you know, we\'re not as a whole waiting and liking the right things. I can tell you as a person, an individual that will never be me. I\'ve never been able to do that. [00:11:00] Friends, family work. Yeah. I\'ve never been able to do that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So it won\'t be me, but, um, I think that plays a part into it too. And then I just think, you know, We\'re saying things that some people have told me privately, they wanna say, but they can\'t. So it\'s a number of things which I am so interested and totally down to explore in the next six months.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> That\'s good curiosity.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>helps, especially with, with negatives. Um, yeah. Why in, instead of just hardening up or closing off or writing people off, um, there\'s always something to learn. You know, it occurred to me listening. what you\'re, um, saying there about a publication with a lot of voices. Mm-hmm um, it occurs to me that there isn\'t we, and we talk about this a lot, the WordPress news space or whatever you want to call it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\'s pretty small. Mm-hmm and um, most of the people in it are, you know, we\'re pretty [00:12:00] small team at post status, but, um, there\'s, there\'s multiple voices and we, we aspire to. To have that, um, kind of sense of dialogue, but a lot of people are just doing, you know, it\'s one, one person, one personality. And so you, you get kind of used to their perspective on things mm-hmm , mm-hmm and maybe there\'s not as much of a familiarity with, um, in, in the space with, um, Hey, this is a publication where we actually want to have a lot of D.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>People and different diversity of views and they may not stack up or align and it\'s not planned. It\'s not to, to do so. It\'s not meant to, um, push a certain stance, but yeah, inevitably there are some kind of ranges of opinion that a, a publication will kind of get known, known for. Mm-hmm um, I wonder if that\'s just too new of a thing.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>People don\'t [00:13:00] distinguish between, oh, who wrote this? Who wrote that? Um, yeah, I think that can, that can easily be part of it, but, um,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> you know, I didn\'t, you pray up a good point. I didn\'t, I, I did not. And we have talked about this, but I never really, I didn\'t, I didn\'t think about that. You just like enlighten me at that moment.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are, uh, a lot of publications where it\'s not as many people. Getting a platform to talk about this many different things. So that could be very confusing to readers and people consuming our media. And that\'s. Thank you. That\'s something we need to work on.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Thank you. Yeah. And, and a lot of, a lot of those individual voices have kind of been typecast, maybe unfairly.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think sometimes even individuals change their views, moderate them, come to new opinions and things. But over time people tend, oh, this podcast, he thinks this way, she, she looks that way. [00:14:00] Um, That might be some of it. And, and also everyone\'s just guilty going so fast, having so much going by how, how deeply do we read or listen to things?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes. And we just kinda box people up quickly. Yes. Um, I, I, I, I think we\'re in personality. We\'re probably a bit alike in that, you know, liking a certain amount of. Friction and difference to have some have things to talk about, um, to learn from something that\'s not familiar or someone who doesn\'t agree with you.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh yeah. Um, yeah. And you guys actually, you know, pay for advertise that you want, you disagree with this. You, we pay you just as much to write for us.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> yeah. Come pay. We\'ll pay you $300 an article to come disagree with us and yeah. S I\'m hearing again, secondhand. So many people have these disagreements and I\'m like, why not get, get paid for it?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\'s my dream to go disagree with people and get paid for it. Like if [00:15:00] someone had given me this opportunity when I was younger, I probably would be a lawyer because I would be so good at arguing with people. but, uh, yeah, we do because we do, we want to. Opposing views. Like we don\'t all, and we all don\'t agree with each other, you know?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, I love BTS. Brian does it. Um, Rob has his views on multisite. I\'m indifferent to it. , you know, we, but we all get labeled, like, you know, oh, if that\'s Rob\'s idea, then it\'s our idea. And I, I don\'t completely blame the community for that because that\'s life. Right. You know, when you think about, well, it\'s you think about like companies, sometimes companies get, um, mislabeled.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like, I, I like to use the New York times as an example. Like the New York times is pretty progressive. Most of the time left leaning, in my opinion, that\'s subjective. And they will run op-eds with conservative point of views and Republicans and things like that. And they get crucified and it\'s like, everybody forgets that , they\'re running different opinions all the [00:16:00] time.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, you know, I, I think that\'s that\'s life sometimes too, so I don\'t take it personally. And, um, right. It\'s something we can always work on. I\'m always open to working on things. Yeah. And that\'s</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> what you get from a democratized publication space that no, one\'s able to squash out one particular voice and, and ideally it, they can be in some kind of productive dialogue with each other.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You know, I, I think too listening to if, if you go, if your publication is, and, and a lot of, a lot of the. WordPress space is, is geared towards what\'s the drama of the day or what\'s, you know, what\'s the controversy up here. The, um, I wonder how much of it has to do with like energy levels, cause that stuff can raise energy and levels, expenditure and anxiety.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, and, and it also, there\'s a cognitive load to who is this? Who wrote this? Do I know them? Who are, you know, there\'s all this, it, it takes real effort to. To make that three dimensional to [00:17:00] make that connect, um, more deeply. And, and I think that\'s just what happens on the, on the internet, unless you make the effort or, you know, you meet it at word camp or something, something like that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You don\'t, you don\'t have context. And, um, I understand you don\'t want to deal with, um, a lot of noise some of the time. And, um, since I\'m not really running. Opinion or oriented, um, publication and actually going slow and focusing on more business pragmatics, a lot of the time and avoiding drama. That\'s, that\'s kind of what our longstanding, um, Attributes that people like that I</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> thinks for the special sauce where\'s in that Dan where\'s oh, actually life is meant to be fun.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I [00:18:00] like to have fun. risk. Oh,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> it\'s in, it\'s in there. I think it, I think it just comes SL it comes slower and. When you\'re able to do more listening and, and cover a lot of things, not just like what is going on in the core project, but, or automatic, but there\'s a whole ecosystem. There\'s little fish and big fish.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, there\'s middle, middle sized ones. There\'s, there\'s all these different, um, concerns around the. The commons around, uh, WordPress that everyone has in common as they\'re what they\'re basing their business on in some way. So I don\'t know. I don\'t, I don\'t, I don\'t, I think that\'s fun too. It\'s a different kind though.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>and, and it doesn\'t, uh, it\'s, it\'s definitely, um, definitely a different maintains, a different mood. Um, but. [00:19:00] Yeah. What do do you, do you think that there\'s a, there\'s a, a regular current, we need to maintain in this space where there\'s critical questioning, um, a kind of dialogue going on that, um, that hits maybe some of the bigger, um, Bigger tougher questions.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> Nope. I think people should be able to say whatever they want, you know, um, as long as it\'s not hate speech and no one yells bomb in a crowded theater, that\'s my opinion on that. Um, no, one\'s even when. Profess your love of things. People are going to disagree. I think no matter what you write, people are going to dis disagree.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And as you said, post status, you know, y\'all, y\'all have a pretty neutral stance on things and y\'all do a good job of it. And people still disagree with you. So, oh yeah. Um, no, I mean, you know, so it\'s like, there\'s no ways to avoid it. I don\'t think there\'s a plan for that, but, um, I don\'t, I don\'t, I don\'t [00:20:00] know the, I guess I\'m ponding that answer as well.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\'s something I\'m thinking about, but until then, I\'m not going to, you know, limit anyone. I want them to speak about everything. If we could talk about everything everywhere all at once, I would love that, but being realistic, you know?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Right. Yeah. I wasn\'t suggesting it\'d be a limit limited in some way, but that, um, just the, the, this, the public, the WordPress public sphere, I say sometimes, you know, kind of the, the debate, um, arena, the public square it\'s.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\'s not always in the greatest shape, especially now you might, might, might exist. um, is there, is there work to be done there where there are unavoidable differences, disagreements, big thorny questions that do need to be maintain? Yeah. There [00:21:00] needs to be some dialogue maintained about those. And is that kind of more, what you\'re you\'re tackling.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> Um, honestly, no. Um, but because this is the thing and I, I\'m not just, just saying it for you. It\'s something I had to work with too. We\'re all. We\'re all from different places. We have different cultural backgrounds and we have different, even if we have the same cultural background, we have different upbringings.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\'re different people. I don\'t think there\'s going to be a uniform way to do that with so many different personalities. I\'m not saying, you know, if it could be done. Sure. I just don\'t think it can be done. Um, we\'re also different. And I think honestly, if we embrace that more people wouldn\'t be, as you know, what\'s the word.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>it wouldn\'t come off as, um, antagonistic. Is that a word? Did I make that up? Yeah. Yeah. I think people wouldn\'t be, be like that, but it\'s, it\'s like, okay, this person is this type of way. And we\'re just gonna write [00:22:00] them off as oh, that\'s them? No, let\'s, let\'s bring \'em in. Let\'s see why they\'re that way let\'s work together in this, this, this community, like a community should, um, if we\'re a community, a community.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>They take, they take care of each other, they\'re they, you know, even their craziest member. Well, I gotta stop saying that. Um, even their members that we think are eccentric or we think are not like us, we take care of our, we take care of our own. And, um, I don\'t see that in the WordPress community. I see. Oh, that\'s just the way they are when that person could be one of the greatest people you\'ve ever made in your life.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you gave it a chance, um, or they could be horrible, but you know, what are we gonna do? We\'re gonna try. We\'re gonna not try. We\'re gonna give. Are we a community or not?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Yeah, that, that\'s kind of what I mean, like, do you see yourself as kind of in your mission to, to try to create an inclusive space?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\'s not one person or one, you know, organization or just one particular agenda and on any issue, [00:23:00] but, um, open kind of the open stage, um, ally, ally kind of brought that up. What was the mm-hmm the, um, podcast episode she did recently where. She talked, she called it debate club, which to me sounds a little little on the antagonistic side of, and she meant it more on, you know, like back in the olden days when maybe high, high school debate clubs were, were, uh, not, not as, uh, intense as I imagine they might be now.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, just a space where, where you can, um, you. You can try out different ideas and it\'s, you know, it\'s not to be taken personally like this is, we\'re gonna try to, what\'s the best case you can make for this. What\'s the best way to look at this issue. And, and then how does someone who totally takes it another way?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>How do they respond to it? Is that the kind of, would that be like a healthy, healthy thing [00:24:00] that you guys are shooting?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> we don\'t have a uniform goal. So that\'s, that\'s again, a thing like is master WP. Doesn\'t have a, a, a one thing we\'re all trying to do. Um, so I mean, if you\'re asking me personally, um, I, again, I don\'t think that\'s possible because the people are so different and, um, I wanna just spin that on. Like, I\'m not saying like, everybody is like so different from me and I just feel overwhelmed.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like I meet a. Uh, kindred spirits in the community. Um, but it\'s just like, even when you just said like, you know, debate club was kind of harsh, that was like probably the most, I think, polite thing you can say. I can\'t think of anything polite or to say and that\'s not anything wrong with you. That\'s just something I have to look at.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like, um, I try to, I\'m trying to make my language more accessible. Like not say things like crazy, like it tears me up to say that like, so, you know, that\'s something, um, I think, you know, I wanna work on, but also like I [00:25:00] don\'t, I don\'t know. That\'s something I\'ve never thought about. That\'s a that\'s Ally\'s idea and, you know, ally works with master WP, but we, we haven\'t talked about that as a whole, as master WP because master WP lets everybody express themselves and be their own person and have their own ideas.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, Not saying no one else does, but yeah. Um, I don\'t think it\'s possible me. Naisha saying that now the rest of my team may have different thoughts on that. And actually I think that\'s really awesome. And I want to talk to Allie about it. I wanna talk to my team about it. So, um, yeah, I\'ll definitely talk to them about it, but, um, I just don\'t see it as possible.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I also don\'t see it as necessary. Um, I don\'t, I don\'t, people are always going to yell and Twitter has given people the ability to yell from their homes. Like, you know, it\'s people who would yell at about stuff and complain and say things. They would never say if they had to say it in public, Twitter has given them that space and right.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We can\'t really take it away. Um, so I don\'t know Dan, to answer your question. I don\'t think it\'ll work, but I don\'t, I don\'t like saying nothing will work. I think everything should at least be [00:26:00] tried. Hmm.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Well, I think, yeah, the more good models there are, um, the better, yeah, like checking, checking ourselves on the, what seems like crazy far out irrational, extreme opinion.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I mean, that\'s just, so that\'s such a common feature of when things get bad in a, in a community, um, inability to talk because. You\'re, you know, some other perspective is just so far, far out. And, uh, that, that may be the case. Maybe things are, you know, really that broken sometimes. But I would like to think, and I, I don\'t think they are in, um, something like in an open source community like WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, you just kind of have to give people that, that tolerance. Forbearance is a good word. Um, and step back from, you know, recognizing this, okay. I don\'t know where they\'re coming [00:27:00] from. This doesn\'t make sense. I\'m gonna try to find out, I\'m gonna try to understand it from their point of view rather than oh yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You know, call it just nuts. Um, yeah, I think that\'s hard to do when we don\'t, we don\'t have a space where that, um, seems to happen. A lot. And it reminds me, it actually reminds me of way back when I did a lot with Jula kind of when they\'re at their high point and then over it, um, it\'s a lot, it was a lot similar to WordPress in that, um, They developed a, a third party plugin theme ecosystem is where there are a lot of people making good money and agencies and so on, and who really feel in invested in, in the product and then very, sometimes alienated from where it\'s going and how decisions get made and so on.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, and. That kind of language emerged, like just complete your perspective is so far out from mine clearly. , [00:28:00] it\'s, it\'s, um, not worth any time to try to understand. And yeah. Do you see that kind of thing going on? Is that something we can help in, in some way, is that just helped by letting more people. Have the</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> floor, more people need to be elevated in the community.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes. Um, I get asked to do a lot of podcasts and things, you know, like what we\'re doing now. Sometimes I just say no, because I don\'t think I should be the only voice. I don\'t think I should be the only one talking for master WP. I don\'t think I should be the. No, nobody\'s like done this, but in, uh, outside of nobody\'s done this in the WordPress community, but outside of the WordPress community, I don\'t think I should be the black person you go to talk to about, about black issues.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think, um, Once I, I, you know, I, I have my voice and if I wanna say something and if I wanna talk to people, I can do it. Um, but other than that, I think we should be elevating people. I think if the community was a little bit more diverse, I know I say that all the [00:29:00] time, people would know how to deal with opposing opinions, from different people who may be from different backgrounds.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I see that I see it as diversity issue. I see some of the same people who click together, not agreeing with some of the other people who were the same and click together. And I\'m like, if you guys didn\'t do that, maybe you wouldn\'t be so upset all the time, but I don\'t know. What do I know? I\'m new. I\'m I\'m joking.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, um, I guess would the, would there be a space where everybody could just be, not use bad language or threatening language and it\'d be like a little safer space for people. Again, culturally, I, I think that\'s impossible. Um, because you know, my, you could disagree with me as long as you don\'t cuss at me or yell at me.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can disagree with me all day, but that\'s not with other people. It\'s like, you can\'t use certain word and completely understandable. You can\'t use certain words with me. You do that. That\'s that\'s, that\'s why I tap out. We have to learn that about each other. And if like, if [00:30:00] nobody\'s willing to learn that, and I mean, on both sides of people who don\'t want you to use any strong language, don\'t wanna learn that about other people.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>That, you know, strong language is not a big red flag to them. And I think people are misunderstanding each other. They\'re like, wow, he\'s, you know, they are just so threatening toward me. And they\'re like, I thought we were having a regular conversation or maybe on the other side of that, like, you know, I, I just it\'s people need to talk to each other.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think it\'s communication problem. It\'s a diversity problem. It\'s communication problem. If we want those spaces to happen, people need to talk to each other. I don\'t see a lot of people talking to each other in the C. unless they agree with each other and that\'s bad in any community,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> right? Yeah. The absence of, of any, any friction there, it\'s, it\'s a tough mm-hmm seeming paradox of the absence of, of conflict tends to indicate a problem because people are just individuals and, and different and you, and you need that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You need questions and [00:31:00] friction to be. To come up with better ideas and to grow, to grow, to see things that you didn\'t wouldn\'t otherwise see. And, and if you\'re repressing all of that, it\'s gonna blow up some more dysfunctional way. Oh yeah. So yeah, the high conflict personality, I think in. Psychology is, is actually someone who, who just doesn\'t doesn\'t have any repertoire of responses to it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\'s a normal part of life and they try to avoid it and try to suppress it. And that actually causes more conflict than they just don\'t have the tools to, um, to deal with it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> Do you think, uh, maybe I, I have a question. I\'m sorry. You said high conflict people. Yeah. Right. Who, what would, uh, be your definition of high conflict people?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then I\'ll tell you mine, and then I can tell you, and then we can talk. Um,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> I think, I think the psychological model, um, that I dimly have read about is, um, it, you, it is [00:32:00] just the simple definition would be someone who ends up in conflict a lot. Um, and maybe they don\'t know why , um, mm-hmm they may not think they are because they\'re trying to avoid it all the time.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mm-hmm and. you know, like, um, say like the worst example would be like, you know, estrangement in a family or something like that. Mm-hmm so these two people don\'t talk mm-hmm at all. That\'s not a condition of detachment or peace. Uh it\'s a, it\'s a cold, it\'s a simmering thing that will go off as soon as they get together or something triggers it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So mm-hmm um, Yeah, high conflict tends to come from not being able to manage reasonable levels of conflict in reasonable ways, because that\'s just what human groups require.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> You don\'t think like most of what you said is kind of subjective though.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Oh, sure. , it\'s just a, a model, uh, a hypothesis, I guess,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> but like, I, I think I could fit into [00:33:00] that because I, like I said, when I told tell people, like I address things, people can take that as like, if.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>She\'ll like yell at you. If you say something to her, I can say, but it\'s not that I like to talk to people like positive, or it could be positive or negative. You could come to me and say, oh my God, ni I just had the great day ever. And I\'m gonna say what happened? Let\'s talk about it. You could come to me and say, I just had the worst day ever.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\'m like, dude, what happened? Let\'s talk about it. My responses will not change. Um, but just people who address things because we\'re in a community, we\'re in a society. , we\'re in a place where. People are very nonconfrontational. They are very nonconfrontational in the text space, not even just WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Right. So I, I could come off as like confrontational or aggressive and I\'m not I\'m I will, my responses will be the same. I just, yeah. I like, I\'m curious. I told you, I\'m a naturally curious person. I ask you like 50 million questions a day and you always answer, and I appreciate you. and I, I, that, but that could be taken the wrong way.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So it\'s [00:34:00] like, I\'m not a psychiatry person or psych psychological person. I can\'t look into all these things to see how we should treat these different people. And that, I just think we should have more opposing or diverse thoughts so we can, you know, get more people who are not just like in a echo chamber together, and then we can grow and make changes from that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We just, there\'s no way we\'re gonna get to a point where everybody\'s nice to each other because nice is subjective.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Right. Well, yeah, and there\'s a lot of culture in it too. I, I think what in the way I I\'m looking at it, um, the way you describe yourself and, um, I would probably fit in that, in that too, is, is not a high conflict personality, but people might who, because, because you\'re a pressure valve because you\'re, you\'re, you\'re not gonna bury stuff or, and it\'s not that big of a deal to you.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah. But the per the person who\'s trying to avoid. Conflict that every turn is suppressing. What they really think is suppressing, [00:35:00] uh, things that probably matter a lot to them. And you don\'t even know. And then boom, it comes out at one point that\'s. Oh yeah. That\'s a really negative kind of conflict to have.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So if, I don\'t know, you keep it kind of at a Luke warm level. A lot of the time, it\'s not, you know, that\'s pretty good. I\'m I\'m originally from the, the Northeast and. And there\'s , there\'s generally more time, especially in the Metro Northern New Jersey, New York, um, region there it\'s um, it\'s, uh, it\'s probably looked on as, as high conflict personality.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\'s aggressive. aggressive. Yeah. Drive. Sure. Learning to drive in, in New Jersey is fun. Um but it\'s actually, it gives you a lot of, it\'s a lot of tolerance. It\'s a lot of space because you can, people can push each other a long way and it\'s, and they have a lot of options to, um, , there\'s a lot of moves you can make.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, and a lot of it is. You know, [00:36:00] it\'s just, it\'s just talk it just Jerry Feld, people like to talk um, but then, you know, moving to the Midwest or the south at different times, totally different thing. And people don\'t interpret, um, you know, the threshold that they have for tolerating. Um, Um, open disagreement or questioning is lower.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh. So low differently.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> And , they love me here.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> yeah. I mean, I kind of missed the Southern ways of, of kind of. Backhanded dealing with</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> things. I don\'t miss this. We see we, we are opposing each other again. I, I love that New Jersey, New York, Boston way of, of being of talking to people because it\'s, you know me to understand it\'s it\'s so it\'s genuine, like here, like people could be talking to you and hate your gut, so you\'d never know oh, bless your heart.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So awesome. Like, [00:37:00] oh God, I hate that. Those are fighting words. So again, like someone might say, bless your heart. Oh, they\'re they\'re blessing you. I\'m like, no, they wanna fight. I\'m just kidding.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> I got used to it. I don\'t know it, but it\'s, it\'s a way of everyone knows is they\'re putting it off to the side. I, I never really figured out the, the Midwest.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, doesn\'t really have anywhere for it to go and that, uh, that\'s a problem. I don\'t have a lot of west coast experience. I don\'t get it at all then. Oh, I love the west.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> You don\'t like the west coast. We disagreeing again. Dan, we\'re supposed to be, I don\'t</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> know. I\'m just saying I\'m neutral. I mean, I hardly, I\'ve only been there a few times.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\'m kind of probably biased against Southern California car, all that. I probably like the north in the bay area, but we\'re gonna, we\'ll actually meet each other. In San Diego so we can, yes, we can check it out.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> that\'s gonna be fun now that you say that I love the voice closed. The people are so laid back in my opinion.[00:38:00]</p>\n\n\n\n<p>They\'re so laid back.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> that\'s the reputation. It just, yeah. Is there, is there something else going on underneath? I don\'t know.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> That is so funny to me.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>huh? Insidious Californians.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Well, yeah, it\'s a big, well, that\'s, it\'s a huge, we generalize like that. So these it\'s like GDP of a top, one of the largest countries, big population, very first, every respect and yeah, WordPress is, it\'s like California. It\'s like, like any big country. It\'s just, I think the diversity is there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\'s not, yeah, it\'s in, it\'s</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> in. I\'m</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> sorry. There\'s there\'s not, there\'s a lot of underrepresentation of mm-hmm underrepresented groups. We that\'s definitely there, but there\'s huge diversity in the types of personalities and people and what their [00:39:00] experiences are and how they came into WordPress and how their business works and what ships they\'ve got on their shoulder or what words will trigger them off.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And we don\'t know that, that stuff until you get up pretty, pretty close and. Yeah, I don\'t, I don\'t know if there\'s much we can do, um, podcasts or articles to, uh, smooth that process of, um, connection. I think that\'s more of an in person thing, your, your meetups that you\'re starting are probably most important.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mentoring, you know, gets people together.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> Yeah. But I mean, if it\'s me mentoring and you. I have this stigma against me who people really be happy about that. not saying I do. I\'m just saying, um, just adding on what you said about diversity. Um, we need more diverse people too. I know we had diversity diverse minds, but if we were as diverse as Iowa am comfortable with every podcast I would get asked on, wouldn\'t be led by [00:40:00] white men.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\'s been one, there\'s only been one I\'ve been. Or been asked to be beyond that wasn\'t led by white man, and it was led by alley my homie alley. So it\'s like, yeah, that\'s not diverse. That\'s that\'s not it at all. Um, diverse minds. Yeah. What do those mind, what are those minds attached to so I I\'ll, um, I think we need to go a little further with that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think, I think we need to go a little further with that, but, um, I lost my thought. I\'m sorry. We need to go further. We need to go further.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Definitely. And well, yeah, I think you\'ve affected change in that area. Winston, I think was early voice there and Allie and love her and you and love her. Um, yeah, I mean all people I, I hope to meet, um, and getting, um, kind of beginning to normalize.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>What would you call it? Uh, travel [00:41:00] scholarships. Um, and yeah, you know, you wanna have underrepresented people here. Well, let\'s, let\'s meet the needs. Let\'s actually talk about that. I kind of like it\'s, it\'s too bad that, um, people are kind of desperate for getting tickets to word, word, camp us. Um, but I kind of like the fact that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>People are talking more openly about, um, about the process, you know, there\'s the whole what\'s, when are you going? What, what days? And all of this stuff, that\'s kind of all out, out in the open rather than just, um, I don\'t remember seeing that quite so much. It</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> used to be as like a secret, what was it? Tell me about it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You know, I don\'t know. No, no, no.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Maybe I just wasn\'t paying attention. It was not a secret, but, um, I think, I think that. That it\'s been a couple of things that it it\'s been so long since the last one, that this is kind of a [00:42:00] reboot plus everything else that\'s going on in the community. And then 600 5650 tickets, um, that went on the market and got snapped up in 45 minutes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, it\'s, it\'s definitely, there\'s definitely more talk about. About the journey there and the importance and the importance of it. Um, and I don\'t know, that just seems good. Um, in some ways I, I wish, um, you know, I hope everyone can, well, I wish everyone could make it. Who wants to, I wasn\'t, I wasn\'t sure if I would, um, initially, but, um, Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>When people are saying, Hey, I need . Is there a way I can get, um, then, then that\'s in the, in the community there it\'s in like an a, it\'s a basic question of, um, can I get there? Can I be in, I wanna [00:43:00] be included in this, is that possible? Um, I just haven\'t seen that, that come up before. It\'s just a very private thing.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah. Oh,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> well, I think that\'s. Well</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> it\'s upside. I mean, it\'s not awesome that people, people are gonna get shot out. I or it\'s to something. No.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> Yeah, of course not. It\'s awesome. That. The want is that high, like, oh yeah. Especially to network and meet everybody in the community. Cuz I mean meeting face to face, I think, eh, it is COVID, I\'m kind of hesitant on that and what monkey pop now?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ugh. Oh yeah. But um, I think meeting will actually help people too. I think the internet gives you a lot. Gives not you. A lot of people louder, negative voices than they. Would usually have, yeah. I think a lot of, um, impersonal contact will, that\'ll be one thing that helps. So that that\'s an answer to your question earlier.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think that\'s gonna help. We\'re gonna have such a good time at work camp and like, everybody\'s gonna be like happy and they\'re gonna love each other and your face. [00:44:00] I, I just wanna see your face, but I think you be like, Hmm, we\'re gonna, what,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> but it\'s gonna be good. You\'re reminding me of my. Friend and cop neighbor when I lived in, in Milwaukee and he, uh, what, nothing go ahead, get a certain personality type.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, and he was actually very sensitive and, uh, well, red guy, but, uh, if I mentioned. Anything that sounded like that. He\'d say something about like, uh, yeah. And all the animals and people will hold hands and dance around the trees together or something like that was</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> his. And why can\'t we do that? It\'s California.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\'s Southern California. We can do that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Well, it\'s always, it\'s always worth the effort of getting, getting people together and it does happen. It\'s a very individual thing and I, I hope there is. More of that. I\'ve only gotten it online when, when I take the time to, [00:45:00] you know, take some blows and talk to people, um, listen, don\'t react and, and try to understand where they\'re coming from.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\'s just, yeah, it\'s, it\'s so much easier in person usually because, um, yeah,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> just empathy. Oh yeah. We need a lot more. You do you want me to end by like singing some Julie Andrews? I have a really great voice. Oh, wow. I\'m joking. I\'m joking, Dan. No, you look too excited. Never mind you look so excited by me.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>No,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> there\'s a, there\'s a karaoke request from Miriam Schwab. Um, in our, in post dad, slack. Yeah. People are lining up. And then out burger trips</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> and I do love karaoke. Okay. We\'ll we\'ll do it in California. We\'re</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> you are, you are a singer. Is that</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> true? I am not. I lied. No. Okay. I, I have like a people tell me I have a singing voice.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don\'t know what that [00:46:00] means. I guess I kind of, I, I like, sometimes my sentences are like long, like a song, like I\'ll extend out a word that I, I don\'t know, but I cannot sing. I will sing though, especially at karaoke. So you\'ll see. All</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> right. I will definitely be watching. avoiding . I have never, never really?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, no, I don\'t think</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> I\'ve ever done it. No duet. We can\'t do it. Duet. Wouldn\'t do it. Oh, really? damn. Come on. Depends what</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> it is. I\'m sure you\'ll pick something. All</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> right. Something</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> fabulous. All right. Well, good talking to. You</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> too see you</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> next week. Do you think we\'re the same? What\'s changed. Who\'s we WordPress Royal.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We, if you\'d like to carry on this conversation or start another one, get in touch with us post status, you can email me Dan, post [00:47:00] status.com. And if you\'re a post status member, you know where to find me. If you\'re not, it\'s not a cult. Come check us. We\'ve got the most amazing slack channels where members give and grow together.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And we have a lot of fun on Twitter at post underscore status.</p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status</a> • <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status - The Community for WordPress Professionals</a></p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Fri, 19 Aug 2022 15:11:45 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:10:\"Dan Knauss\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:12;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:59:\"Do The Woo Community: Five for the Future, Drawing the Line\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:28:\"https://dothewoo.io/?p=72655\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:57:\"https://dothewoo.io/five-for-the-future-drawing-the-line/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:418:\"<p>Some say that all contributions outside of contributing to teams on WordPress.org should be part of for Five for the Future. I question that logic.</p>\n<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://dothewoo.io/five-for-the-future-drawing-the-line/\">Five for the Future, Drawing the Line</a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://dothewoo.io\">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce Builder Community</a>	.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Fri, 19 Aug 2022 09:50:00 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:5:\"BobWP\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:13;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:94:\"WPTavern: Jamie Marsland Recreates WordPress.org Homepage in 20 Minutes Using the Block Editor\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=137103\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:105:\"https://wptavern.com/jamie-marsland-recreates-wordpress-org-homepage-in-20-minutes-using-the-block-editor\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:8220:\"<p>In response to the recent controversy about how long <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-launches-new-homepage-and-download-page-designs\">WordPress.org&#8217;s new homepage and download page designs</a> should take to implement, Gutenberg YouTuber Jamie Marsland decided to try his hand at recreating it with the block editor.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Matt Mullenweg had <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2022/08/01/developing-the-redesigned-home-and-download-pages/#comment-9362\">commented</a> on the plans for the new designs moving into development, saying that it should have taken &#8220;hours not weeks to implement.&#8221; His most incendiary comments, that fired up a subsequent conversations about the realities of working with the block editor, referenced WordPress&#8217; competitors.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>“It’s such a basic layout, it’s hard to imagine it taking a single person more than a day on Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, or one of the WP page builders,” Mullenweg said. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marsland decided to take the challenge using Gutenberg. For this exercise he used WordPress&#8217; most recent default theme, Twenty Twenty-Two. His results are not identical to WordPress&#8217; new designs but are very close, and he was able to whip up the homepage in approximately 20 minutes.</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Can I re-create the new <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/wordpress?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#wordpress</a> home page in 20 mins? <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f605.png\" alt=\"😅\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Here\'s my attempt on <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/youtube?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#youtube</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/YeEDv914BF\">https://t.co/YeEDv914BF</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/gutenberg?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#gutenberg</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/Vy7SB0HYYv\">pic.twitter.com/Vy7SB0HYYv</a></p>&mdash; Jamie Pootlepress &#8211; Gutenberg YouTuber and Builder (@pootlepress) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/pootlepress/status/1559852989858332674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 17, 2022</a></blockquote>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<p>In the <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRrrYGpz9Qo\">video</a> (embedded below), Marsland walks through the creation of each section of the homepage. He is what one might describe as a power user with the block editor. He can quickly shuffle rows, columns, and groups around, adjusting padding and margins as necessary, and assign each section the corresponding color for the design. At this point, this is not something most average WordPress users could do, which is why the video had such a strong response from viewers. Marsland&#8217;s YouTube channel is centered around helping users <a href=\"https://www.pootlepress.com/wordpress-gutenberg-block-editor-guide/\">master building pages using Gutenberg</a> and stores with WooCommerce.</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\n</div>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;My conclusion was that it&#8217;s pretty easy to quickly get 95% of the design done, but it&#8217;s the final 5% that always takes the most time in my experience,&#8221; Marsland said. &#8220;My guess is that it was more about internal process that caused the delays, but without being involved its hard to say for sure. I really wanted to show that it wasn&#8217;t a Gutenberg issue with building the design (as Matt Mullenweg mentioned Wix and Squarespace and other WP pagebuilders.)&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alex Shiels, an Automattic-sponsored contributor on the project, cited a few items unrelated to the block editor, that caused the delays, including working towards &#8220;reasonable standards for a11y, responsiveness, browser compatibility, SEO, and performance,&#8221; as well as collaborating with contributors across different continents.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In response to Marsland&#8217;s attempt, WordPress developer Patrick Boehner commented on how the little details remain extremely important. &#8220;You can definitely tell what was design driven first vs designed in the editor,&#8221; Boehner <a href=\"https://twitter.com/pootlepress/status/1559550927731937280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1559550927731937280%7Ctwgr%5Ec3a5e9c1f1cbbf40cff90acba6f4cdf2acfe138a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwptavern.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D137103action%3Dedit\">said</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Five years after Gutenberg&#8217;s debut in WordPress, theme developers are still challenged to bring designs to life that were not created with a block-first approach in mind.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;It remains today fundamentally difficult to impossible to take a traditionally mocked up page design and execute that design using blocks,&#8221; WordPress developer Jon Brown <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-launches-new-homepage-and-download-page-designs#comment-431942\">said</a>. &#8220;This is a problem.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Sure, blocks are fine to &#8216;design a page in the browser&#8217; and accept what you get out of blocks, but blocks continue to lack the flexibility and controls needed to produce a responsive, accessible, pixel perfect layout based on a mock-up.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;What used to take a day and a dozen lines of php and a dozen lines of css, now takes weeks of building custom blocks because the core blocks can’t easily be tweaked via hooks and lack the basic controls necessary.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gutenberg contributors are making strides by <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-13-8-introduces-fluid-typography-support-and-revamped-quote-block\">introducing fluid typography</a> and are <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/43241\">tracking a host of issues</a> related to improving design tooling consistency. In the meantime, theme developers are enduring the necessary growing pains as the block editor matures to accommodate those hoping to make their designs instantly responsive.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I’ve been building a full FSE theme from scratch and was surprised at how much of my design I was able to successfully replicate with the editor, theme.json and minimal-to-no custom CSS,&#8221; veteran theme developer Mike McAlister said. &#8220;Sure, it took a lot of tinkering, but I was impressed nonetheless.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;However, as Jon mentions, the second you need to adjust something for a smaller screen (or bigger screen if you dare to try mobile-first design in the editor), you hit a wall. It’s particularly apparent with margin, padding, and block gap, which have no responsive controls yet. You can see this adjusted via CSS in the new theme on .org.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Responsiveness is one of the issues Shiels cited in why implementing the designs took more time than simply recreating the design in the block editor.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;However, there are hints of improvements coming for responsiveness,&#8221; McAlister commented. &#8220;Fluid typography and clamp() certainly have helped get typography in check, but there will always be circumstances where you need even finer control. Every other site builder has solved this, there’s no reason to think WordPress can’t or won’t. (I certainly hope so, as ~50-60% of traffic is coming from mobile devices these days!)</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;One of the best ways to push past these growing pains is to have as much dog-fooding as possible — using the editor and FSE to build for as many real-life scenarios as possible to uncover these blindspots.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marsland&#8217;s short exercise shows just how close you can get to recreating WordPress.org&#8217;s design in a short amount of time if you know your way around the block editor. He was successful in proving that the Gutenberg page building UI isn&#8217;t the holdup in reproducing designs created in other applications. Rather, it&#8217;s all the other related checklist items that developers generally have to resolve outside of the editor &#8211; including accessibility, responsiveness, and SEO considerations. The closer Gutenberg can get to reducing extra work related to responsiveness and accessibility, the more approachable it will be for regular users trying to produce the designs they dream up on their own.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Thu, 18 Aug 2022 21:34:16 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:14;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:56:\"Post Status: Post Status Picks for the Week of August 15\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:32:\"https://poststatus.com/?p=106098\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:67:\"https://poststatus.com/post-status-picks-for-the-week-of-august-15/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:3061:\"<div class=\"has-background has-theme-palette-7-background-color wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">Post Status Podcast Picks <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f399.png\" alt=\"🎙\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Shop Talk Show: Andrew Walpole and Alex Riviere from Traina talk about their WordPress experience but also how they want to go further with more tools. Matt Report: A nice chat with Yaw Owusu-Ansah with a reminder of how big the WordPress space is. Changelog: If you are an RSS&#8230; </p></div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-post-status-podcast-picks\">Post Status Podcast Picks <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f399.png\" alt=\"🎙\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Shop Talk Show</strong>: <strong>Andrew Walpole</strong> and <strong>Alex Riviere</strong> from <strong>Traina</strong> <a href=\"https://shoptalkshow.com/528/\">talk about their WordPress experience</a> but also how they want to go further with more tools.</li><li><strong>Matt Report</strong>: A <a href=\"https://mattreport.com/wordpress-as-a-career-freelancing-to-automattic/\">nice chat with <strong>Yaw Owusu-Ansah</strong></a> with a reminder of how big the WordPress space is.</li><li><strong>Changelog</strong>: If you are an RSS fan, <a href=\"https://changelog.com/podcast/499\">then this episode from July</a> is worth a listen.</li><li><strong>Seeking Satisfaction</strong>: <strong>Maddy Osman</strong> <a href=\"https://jenniferbourn.com/podcast/writing-book-building-content-agency-maddy-osman/\">on her transition</a> from freelance content creator to agency owner and writing a book during the pandemic. Maddy <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/maddy-osman-on-writing-for-humans-and-robots/\">also spoke</a> with <strong>Dan Knauss</strong> for <strong>Post Status</strong>.</li><li><strong>Working Code</strong>: A discussion about <a href=\"https://workingcode.dev/episodes/085-shipping-complexity/\">quality documentation</a> — what it is and how to write it.</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-23 wp-block-group has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<p><strong>Get our weekly WordPress community news digest</strong> — Post Status\' <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/news-and-insights/week-in-review/\">Week in Review</a> — also available in <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/newsletter\">our newsletter</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f48c.png\" alt=\"💌\" class=\"wp-smiley\" />  </p>\n\n\n\n<p>And don\'t miss <strong>the latest updates from the people making WordPress</strong>. We\'ve got you covered with <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/make-wordpress/\">This Week at WordPress.org</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/2699.png\" alt=\"⚙\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /></p>\n</div></div>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status</a> • <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status - The Community for WordPress Professionals</a></p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Thu, 18 Aug 2022 20:16:27 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:10:\"Dan Knauss\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:15;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:57:\"Post Status: Tech Roundup for the Week of August 15, 2022\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:32:\"https://poststatus.com/?p=106100\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:67:\"https://poststatus.com/tech-roundup-for-the-week-of-august-15-2022/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:5683:\"<div class=\"wp-container-25 wp-block-group has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\"><div class=\"has-background has-theme-palette-8-background-color wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">This week Daniel shares some resources for creating React Apps using Gutenberg Data, static WordPress sites with Eleventy, and a Figma to FSE workflow. Also a reminder to test and give feedback on fluid typography — and one cool tool: Programming Fonts. </p></div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"yoast-reading-time__wrapper\"><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__icon\"></span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__spacer\"></span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__descriptive-text\">Estimated reading time:  </span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__reading-time\">2</span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__time-unit\"> minutes</span></p>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-wordpress-development-around-the-web\">WordPress Development Around the Web</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A glimpse of what’s going on in the world of development and design in the WordPress space.<br /><br /><a href=\"https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/how-to-guides/data-basics/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Create your First App with Gutenberg Data</strong></a><br />Are you struggling to understand how to work with <strong>React</strong> in WordPress? <strong>Automattic</strong> developer&nbsp;<a href=\"https://twitter.com/adamzielin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Adam Zieliński</strong></a>&nbsp;has put together a very nice tutorial to get you comfortable creating a simple React application and learning how to work with data. I know I’ve tried to learn React several times, but this was very succinct and explained the details in a way that made me realize the “why” for creating something like this.<br /><br /><a href=\"https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/287744779/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Block Theme Builders: Figma to Block Theme</strong></a><br />Last week I alluded to some folks working on finding a good workflow from <strong>Figma</strong> to <strong>FSE</strong>. This week there’s a webinar on one of those methods! Even if you can’t join, I’d encourage you to check it out later. This session is the follow up to a previous webinar,&nbsp;<a href=\"https://wordpress.tv/2022/08/10/block-theme-builders-design-with-figma/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Block Theme Builders: Design in Figma</a>, which showed how to use the&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.figma.com/community/file/1136340417938880987\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Theme Template</a>&nbsp;— something I did NOT know existed! Very exciting!!!<br /><br /><strong>WordPress & Eleventy:&nbsp;</strong><a href=\"https://danabyerly.com/articles/wordpress-and-eleventy-part-one-wordpress/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Part 1</strong></a><strong>&nbsp;|&nbsp;</strong><a href=\"https://danabyerly.com/articles/wordpress-and-eleventy-part-two-eleventy/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Part 2</strong></a><br />Have you ever wanted to try using WordPress to create a static site? Here’s a great walkthrough on how to do that from interaction designer and front-end developer <strong>Dana Byerly</strong>. They show us how to use WordPress with the static site generator&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.11ty.dev/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Eleventy</a>. I have to say, this was one of the easiest and most straightforward tutorials I’ve seen in a long time. Very well done! Also their site design is simply gorgeous and wonderfully accessible. Hat tip to&nbsp;<a href=\"https://twitter.com/palmiak_fp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Maciek Palmowski</a>&nbsp;for the find!<br /><br /><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2022/08/15/testing-and-feedback-for-the-fluid-typography-feature/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Testing and Feedback for the Fluid Typography Feature</a><br />The Make WordPress team is looking for feedback on this new feature in Gutenberg. In case you’re not familiar, fluid typography will scale to the screen’s available room so it always looks good. It’s important that theme developers take a look and see how it might work. For instance, in the comments, Post Status member <strong>Mark Root-Wiley</strong> mentions that using&nbsp;<code>clamp</code>&nbsp;might have some accessibility issues that need to be looked into further.</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-26 wp-block-group has-theme-palette-7-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2 id=\"h-cool-tool\">Cool Tool</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Each week we’ll feature one cool tool that can help make your life easier as a WordPress builder.</p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-theme-palette-1-color has-text-color\"><strong><a href=\"https://www.programmingfonts.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><span>Programming Fonts</span></a></strong></h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This website helps you test drive monospaced fonts for programming. My personal favorite for the past few years in <strong>VS Code</strong> and the terminal has been <strong>Fira Code</strong>, but using this little website I discovered <strong>JetBrains Mono</strong>, and I’m in love!&nbsp;<img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f60d.png\" alt=\"😍\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /></p>\n</div></div>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status</a> • <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status - The Community for WordPress Professionals</a></p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Thu, 18 Aug 2022 20:02:07 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:18:\"Daniel Schutzsmith\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:16;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:66:\"Post Status: Winning Together in a Decentralizing Plugin Ecosystem\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:59:\"https://poststatus.com/?post_type=poststatus_notes&p=105833\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:75:\"https://poststatus.com/who-benefits-from-a-decentralizing-plugin-ecosystem/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:9501:\"<div class=\"wp-container-30 wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<div class=\"wp-container-29 wp-block-group has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\"><div class=\"has-background has-theme-palette-8-background-color wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">Are <strong>OrganizeWP</strong> (and <strong>Newsletter Glue</strong>) leading indicators for trends and opportunities in the plugin space?  </p></div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"yoast-reading-time__wrapper\"><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__icon\"></span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__spacer\"></span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__descriptive-text\">Estimated reading time:  </span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__reading-time\">2</span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__time-unit\"> minutes</span></p>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Cory <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/rethinking-wordpress-products-pricing-models/\">mentioned</a> <strong>Jon Christopher</strong>&#8216;s debut of <strong><a href=\"https://poststatus.com/shiny-new-thing-organizewp/\">OrganizeWP</a></strong> last week, calling attention to its unique and unusual pricing model: no subscriptions, you just buy all releases within one major release and then renew for the next release. The idea is to keep a happy, honest relationship between product development and its users. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jon\'s been around the WordPress product entrance-exit block before with <strong>SearchWP</strong>. His thinking about OrganizeWP <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/jon-christopher-has-a-series-running/\">goes back a few years</a> too. (Actually it goes back a decade, with OrganizeWP\'s predecessor, <a href=\"https://github.com/jchristopher/hierarchy/\">Hierarchy</a>.) He\'s documented a lot of the planning and iteration on his site, so there\'s a lot to learn from if you\'re interested in <a href=\"https://jonchristopher.us/blog/rethinking-wordpress-product-pricing-models/\">a different business model</a> for WordPress products. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Will it work? A lot of people with &#8220;subscription fatigue&#8221; seem to like the idea, what about the challenge of maintaining multiple major versions? That concern drives <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/organizewp-launches-with-old-school-software-pricing-model#comment-431950\">a skeptical take</a> from <strong>Carl Hancock</strong>.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-the-wordpress-admin-experience-still-a-blue-ocean\">The WordPress Admin Experience: Still a Blue Ocean</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking at Jon\'s model, I wonder if OrganizeWP might be seen as a leading indicator for a couple of important trends and opportunities in the plugin business. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>OrganizeWP is a cool and needed product in an area that hasn\'t received a lot of love from plugin developers, let alone WordPress core: the wp-admin interface. WordPress core will catch up to the rest of the WordPress user experience on the other side of Gutenberg, but that\'s a few years away. So it surprises me how few plugin shops and developers have looked for opportunities in backend customization. (Only <strong><a href=\"https://publishpress.com\">PublishPress</a></strong> comes to mind as being really committed in this key area with their plugin suite.)</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The WordPress admin experience is something everyone wants to change when they\'re building sites for a team or larger group of users with unique content types and workflows. There\'s a large gap in what is available to that potentially high-end niche in the premium plugin marketplace. That\'s whose needs Jon is aiming to meet — freelancers, site builders, agencies. It\'s a good bet there\'s opportunity in those spaces, if you can go directly to the people there.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Selling Outside WordPress.org: Don\'t Go Alone</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Going directly to your target market touches the last and biggest item of note with OrganizeWP: it\'s not in the WordPress.org plugin repo. There was probably never any thought of putting it there. No freemium model. And at the same time, <strong>Lesley Sim</strong> has gotten attention for pulling <strong>Newsletter Glue</strong> <em>out</em> of the .org repo. Althought it\'s not exactly uncommon, the reasons why that choice gets made are worth deeper consideration for what it may say about the business and .org ecosystem today. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dropping Newsletter Glue\'s free version was a decision made some time ago, but the reasons behind it are really instructive for anyone starting out on the same path. Speaking to <strong>Sarah Gooding</strong> at the Tavern, Lesley <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/newsletter-glue-closes-free-plugin-on-wordpress-org\">noted</a> the challenges of the freemium model with a basic version in the plugin repo, especially if you don\'t have prior experience developing a product and marketing strategy for this approach. There\'s no onboarding for plugins owners where sharing current best practices (or simple checklists) with first time plugin owners helps them enter the WordPress.org marketplace. </p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Opportunities for Partnerships</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Lesley, the main upside of using WordPress.org for distribution is access to the &#8220;[b]iggest distribution channel in WP.&#8221; It\'s an &#8220;easy way for reviewers to check out the plugin for free&#8221; without contacting the plugin owner too. And finally the .org repo serves as a &#8220;[s]ource of credibility” from customer reviews.                                                                                                                                                                                                                            </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without alternative centralized marketplaces, going outside .org requires plugin owners to create and maximize their own distribution channels, generate their own sources of social proof and provide an interface for customer support. Then there\'s the barrier of customer confusion and frustration with having to assemble all the parts of their site themselves. Meanwhile, SaaS and no code alternatives are more visible than ever. WordPress hosting platforms targeting eCommerce niches are making the &#8220;looking for an easy button&#8221; market increasingly competitive. There are mature, established models for building a market outside the .org plugin repo, but that may also be a disadvantage to newcomers entering the space.                                              </p>\n\n\n\n<p>To get past all these hurdles, why not work together more intentionally? Partnerships, networks, and community building could be the key to success. If other plugin shops and owners see the value in working together and trying to help their customers reach their goals simply and quickly, they can amplify their marketing and distribution networks together rather than try to do it all alone. (See &#8220;<a href=\"https://poststatus.com/on-the-web-publishing-tool-race/\">On the Web Publishing Tool Race</a>.&#8221;) I\'d love to hear from anyone doing this or trying to do it, as a smaller, independent product owner today.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Challenge: Lack of Market Data </h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When a premium plugin leaves or never enters a centralized distribution channel, it goes off the radar. We have less data about it and the overall shape of this part of the plugin ecosystem. Assuming the number of plugins sold outside centralized marketplaces has only grown over time with WordPress, we know less about the ecosystem as time goes on. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>The .org repo which can be measured. So can the new and growing WordPress.com marketplace. Large ecosystem plugins like Elementor with their own marketplaces are highly visible. But outside of centralized distribution channels, we don\'t know what\'s happening or even have a map of that market with any depth or breadth. That\'s another disadvantage to product owners in that space. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Are the centralized and decentralized products and markets all growing? At what rate relative to each other? However limited it may be, a key metric like active installs becomes an even bigger unknown when product owners set up shop outside the .org repository. That\'s data they could benefit from most directly. If that\'s something you\'re working on or thinking about deeply, I\'d love to chat. </p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-31 wp-block-group has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2>Speaking of Market Data&#8230;</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>In the WooCommerce ecosystem compared with WordPress, <strong>Ellipsis</strong> has some new data and analysis published that attempts to answer the question, &#8220;<a href=\"https://getellipsis.com/blog/whos-winning-on-the-woocommerce-marketplace/\">Who is winning in the WooCommerce marketplace</a>?&#8221; Their conclusions:<ul><li>WooCommerce has been a lot stronger than ​WordPress this year.</li><li>70% commission on sales makes the WooCommerce Marketplace a viable sales channel.</li><li>$85,498,900 in estimated revenue from the WooCommerce Marketplace.</li><li>They\'ve also got the top 5 highest grossing products in the Woo marketplace, all estimated as grossing over $2 million (USD).</li></ul></li></ul>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<p></p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status</a> • <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status - The Community for WordPress Professionals</a></p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Thu, 18 Aug 2022 15:30:08 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:10:\"Dan Knauss\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:17;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:126:\"WPTavern: Upcoming Free Workshops: Learn How to Convert Figma Files to a Block Theme and Take Block Patterns to the Next Level\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=137090\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:136:\"https://wptavern.com/upcoming-free-workshops-learn-how-to-convert-figma-files-to-a-block-theme-and-take-block-patterns-to-the-next-level\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:2931:\"<p>If you&#8217;re not following <a href=\"https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/\">Learn WordPress Online Workshops</a> on Meetup.com, you may be missing out on some high quality events. WordPress experts from across the world have been collaborating on virtual events with instruction at the same caliber of excellence that you might find at an in-person WordCamp.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Thursday, August 18, at 3:00 PM EDT, WP Engine-sponsored developer advocate <a href=\"https://nickdiego.com/\">Nick Diego</a> will be hosting an online workshop titled <a href=\"https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/287686793/\">Taking Block Patterns to the Next Level</a>. Diego will be uncovering &#8220;some lesser-known pattern implementations:&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>In addition to a review of how to register patterns in block themes, a new method introduced in WordPress 6.0, you will learn how to create semantic, contextual, and page creation patterns. We will also review multiple real-world examples of this advanced functionality that you can apply to your own projects.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Diego identified the following learning objectives for participants in this workshop:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Learn how to register a pattern in a block theme as well as with the designated registration function.</li><li>Learn what properties are available to patterns during registration.</li><li>Learn what semantic, contextual, and page creation patterns are and how to use them.</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This session is aimed at intermediate to advanced builders and will be held via Zoom in English with live Zoom transcription. More than 127 people have already signed up to attend this free workshop.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Later in the week, WP Engine-sponsored developer advocate <a href=\"https://damonacook.com/\">Damon Cook</a> and Automattic-sponsored WordPress educator <a href=\"https://adventuresinwpland.com/\">Sarah Snow</a> will be conducting a workshop for block theme builders titled <a href=\"https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/287744779/\">Figma to Block Theme</a>. This follows up a previous session called <a href=\"https://wordpress.tv/2022/08/10/block-theme-builders-design-with-figma/\">Design with Figma</a> where participants learned how to use the WordPress.org Figma community’s Theme Template file to get started with block theme design. That session is already <a href=\"https://wordpress.tv/2022/08/10/block-theme-builders-design-with-figma/\">available on WordPress.tv</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Theme authors interested in learning how to convert Figma design files into a block theme can catch this event on Friday, Aug 19 at 3:00 PM EDT. Cook and Snow will demonstrate how to set up colors, typography, and more. Anyone interested can <a href=\"https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/287744779/\">sign up</a> to attend online for free.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Thu, 18 Aug 2022 03:24:05 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:18;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:81:\"WPTavern: Iconic Releases Flux Checkout 2.0 for WooCommerce with New Modern Theme\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=137046\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:92:\"https://wptavern.com/iconic-releases-flux-checkout-2-0-for-woocommerce-with-new-modern-theme\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:3664:\"<p>Iconic has<a href=\"https://iconicwp.com/blog/flux-checkout-new-theme/\"> relaunched its Flux Checkout plugin</a> with a new, modern checkout theme. The plugin was created to minimize customers abandoning their carts due to checkout complexity. It breaks the checkout experience into steps to make the process feel faster and simpler with a distraction-free design.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Flux Checkout 2.0.0 adds a new &#8220;Modern&#8221; theme  in addition to the plugin&#8217;s previous &#8220;Classic&#8221; theme that offers a more app-like checkout experience. Modern has a more minimalist black and grey design. Check out the <a href=\"https://demos.iconicwp.com/flux-checkout-for-woocommerce/checkout/#details\">live demo</a> to interact with the checkout preloaded with a few products.</p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The default Woo checkout is not optimized at all,&#8221; Iconic founder Jame Kemp said. &#8220;It presents you with the required fields, in a pretty unfriendly and overpowering way. If there are too many fields, the user is less likely to checkout.&#8221; </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Comparing the default Woo checkout experience to Flux is a bit jarring, and it&#8217;s easy to see how customers may feel overwhelmed with the default. Fortunately, WooCommerce is extensible. The space could use more varied checkout plugins so store owners have more options to customize the experience.</p>\n\n\n\n<img />Default WooCommerce Checkout\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Flux reduces this friction by splitting the fields into steps and reducing the number of fields required to fill in,&#8221; Kemp said. &#8220;It also integrates an address auto complete to make filling in your address into a single field. We also cache the fields so if you accidentally refresh or navigate away, you don’t lose your info.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iconic<a href=\"https://iconicwp.com/blog/iconic-acquires-flux-checkout-woocommerce-checkout-plugin/\"> acquired Flux Checkout</a> in 2020, just as the pandemic was kicking off. Its chief competitor is <a href=\"https://www.checkoutwc.com/\">CheckoutWC</a>, which offers a similarly modern design, auto-populated fields, and additional templates at a higher price point. More than 3,900 WooCommerce sites are using CheckoutWC, but Kemp says Flux Checkout &#8220;wins on ease of use and simplified checkout.&#8221; In a few months, the company plans to release FluxPay, which will make it possible to &#8220;buy now&#8221; from product pages and will add other time-saving features for checking out.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kemp reports Iconic&#8217;s WooCommerce products are active on more than 21,000 sites. The company is part of StellarWP and the Iconic team includes four developers, 2-3 support agents, a content writer, and a designer.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Our most popular product is WooThumbs, but Flux, Delivery Slots, <a href=\"https://orderable.com/\">Orderable</a>, Attribute Swatches, and our All Access bundle are the most popular/profitable,&#8221; he said.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kemp first launched WooThumbs on CodeCanyon in 2011. The Iconic brand was formed in 2018 as a means to consolidate all of his  WooCommerce offerings and move off of CodeCanyon to become an independent brand.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re fortunate enough to have been in the WooCommerce space for many years and have a well-established customer base and set of products,&#8221; Kemp said. &#8220;Right now, and particularly throughout the pandemic, the Woo space has been booming. We&#8217;ve consistently seen growth as a WooCommerce product company. It is becoming a very competitive space and it&#8217;s important to stay on top of the features you&#8217;re offering. You can quickly fall behind.&#8221;</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Wed, 17 Aug 2022 21:43:00 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:19;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:176:\"Post Status: Feedback and Testing: Fluid Typography, Pre-Publish Sidebar, Editor Configuration, Expired Session Autosave, and Contribute Style Variations to Twenty Twenty Three\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:32:\"https://poststatus.com/?p=105850\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:181:\"https://poststatus.com/feedback-and-testing-fluid-typography-pre-publish-sidebar-editor-configuration-expired-session-autosave-and-contribute-style-variation-to-twenty-twenty-three/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:14660:\"<h2 id=\"h-this-week-at-wordpress-org-august-17-2022\">This Week at WordPress.org (August 17, 2022)</h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"has-background has-theme-palette-8-background-color wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">Get your feedback in now about features coming in WordPress 6.1. Feature freeze is September 20. </p></div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"kt-info-box_03177a-50\" class=\"wp-block-kadence-infobox\"><div class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap kt-blocks-info-box-media-align-left kt-info-halign-left\"><div class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-media-container\"><div class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-media kt-info-media-animate-none\"><div class=\"kadence-info-box-icon-container kt-info-icon-animate-none\"><div class=\"kadence-info-box-icon-inner-container\"><span class=\"kt-info-svg-icon kt-info-svg-icon-fe_thumbsUp\"></span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"kt-infobox-textcontent\"><h2 class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-title\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/10/proposal-stop-merging-experimental-apis-from-gutenberg-to-wordpress-core/\">Feedback</a></h2><p class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-text\">WordPress 6.1 feature freeze is September 20, 2023. There are many ways to weigh in with feedback now.  <br />1&#x20e3; <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/13509#issuecomment-1210325129\">Expired session autosave</a><br /><br />2&#x20e3; <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/43023\">Add a preview section to the pre-publish sidebar</a><br /><br />3&#x20e3; <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/08/04/design-exploration-encourage-editor-configuration-during-on-boarding/\">Design Exploration: Encourage editor configuration during on-boarding</a><br /><br />4&#x20e3; <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/08/10/twenty-twenty-three-default-theme-project-kickoff/\">Twenty Twenty-Three default theme — Project kickoff</a><br /><br />5&#x20e3; <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2022/08/15/testing-and-feedback-for-the-fluid-typography-feature/\">Testing and Feedback for the Fluid Typography Feature</a></p></div></div></div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-news\">News</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/08/a-new-wordpress-org-homepage-and-download-page/\">A New WordPress.org Homepage and Download Page</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-_598f7a-1a\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\" /></div></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-37 wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-container-35 wp-block-column\">\n<h2 id=\"h-community\">Community</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/08/15/call-for-ideas-wordcamp-us-2022-contributor-day/\">Call for Ideas: WordCamp US 2022 Contributor Day</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-core\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core\">Core</a> </h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/18/wordpress-development-setup/\">WordPress Development Setup</a></li><li>FEEDBACK REQUESTED: <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/13509#issuecomment-1210325129\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">If WordPress user session expires on post edit page, Gutenberg autosave continues resulting in 403s.</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/15/a-week-in-core-august-15-2022/\">A Week in Core – August 15, 2022</a></li><li>Proposal:<a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/10/proposal-stop-merging-experimental-apis-from-gutenberg-to-wordpress-core/\"> Stop merging experimental APIs from Gutenberg to WordPress Core</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/10/standardize-npm-script-naming-in-the-gutenberg-project/\">Standardize npm script naming in the Gutenberg project</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-meetings\">Meetings</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/16/devchat-agenda-august-17-2022/\">Devchat agenda, August 17, 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/15/editor-chat-agenda-10-august-2022-2/\">Editor Chat Agenda: 17 August 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/15/editor-chat-summary-10-august-2022/\">Editor chat summary: 10 August, 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/10/dev-chat-summary-august-10-2022/\">Dev Chat Summary, August 10, 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-design\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design\">Design</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/08/15/design-share-aug-1-12/\">Design Share: Aug 1–12</a></li><li>FEEDBACK REQUESTED: <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/43023\">Add a preview section to the pre-publish sidebar</a></li><li>FEEDBACK REQEUSTED: <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/08/04/design-exploration-encourage-editor-configuration-during-on-boarding/\">Design Exploration: Encourage editor configuration during on-boarding</a></li><li>SUBMISSIONS DUE AUG 31: <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/08/10/twenty-twenty-three-default-theme-project-kickoff/\">Twenty Twenty-Three default theme —&nbsp;Project kickoff</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-docs\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/docs\">Docs</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/docs/2022/08/17/summary-of-docs-team-biweekly-meeting-august-16-2022/\">Summary of Docs Team Biweekly Meeting August 16, 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2022/08/15/documentation-team-update-august-15-2022/\">Documentation Team Update – August 15, 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/five-for-the-future/\">Five for the Future</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/five-for-the-future/issues/214\">Deactivate inactive pledges</a></li><li><a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/five-for-the-future/issues/212\">Remove contributor hours when account banned</a>&nbsp;</li><li><a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/five-for-the-future/issues/210\">Use last 5ftF contribution as inactivity criteria</a></li><li><a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/five-for-the-future/issues/208\">Hyperlink not readable on Program Expectations page</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-hosting\">Hosting</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/hosting/2022/08/17/hosting-team-meeting-agenda-2022-08-17/\">Hosting Team meeting agenda 2022-08-17</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-marketing\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/marketing\">Marketing</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/marketing/2022/08/16/agenda-global-marketing-team-meeting-august-17-2022/\">Agenda: Global Marketing Team Meeting, August 17, 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/marketing/2022/08/16/notes-global-marketing-team-meeting-august-10-2022/\">Notes: Global Marketing Team Meeting, August 10, 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-meta\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/meta\">Meta</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2022/08/18/navigation/\">Navigation</a></li></ul>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-36 wp-block-column\">\n<h2 id=\"h-mobile\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/mobile\">Mobile</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/2022/08/09/call-for-testing-wordpress-for-android-20-5/\">Call for Testing: WordPress for Android 20.5</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/2022/08/08/call-for-testing-wordpress-for-ios-20-5/\">Call for Testing: WordPress for iOS 20.5</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-openverse\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/openverse\">Openverse</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/openverse/2022/08/16/community-meeting-recap-16-august-2022/\">Community Meeting Recap (16 August 2022)</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/openverse/2022/08/11/openverse-api-results-constrained-to-20-pages/\">Openverse API results constrained to 20 pages</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-performance\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/performance/\">Performance</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/16/performance-team-meeting-summary-16-august-2022/\">Performance team meeting summary 16 August 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/performance/2022/08/09/core-performance-team-rep-nominations/\">Performance Team Rep Nominations</a></li><li>Proposal: <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/performance/issues/455\">Database performance Health Checks</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-plugins\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/plugins\">Plugins</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2022/08/08/plugin-review-team-status-8-aug-2022/\">Plugin Review Team Status: 8 Aug 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2022/08/16/plugin-review-team-status-15-aug-2022/\">Plugin Review Team Status: 15 Aug 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-polyglots\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots\">Polyglots</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2022/08/16/agenda-weekly-polyglots-chat-august-17-2022-1300-utc/\">Agenda: Weekly Polyglots Chat – August. 17, 2022 (13:00 UTC)</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-test\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/test\">Test</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/test/2022/08/16/week-in-test-16-august-2022/\">Week in Test: 16 August 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2022/08/16/test-team-update-16-august-2022/\">Test Team Update: 16 August 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-themes\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/themes\">Themes</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>FEEDBACK REQUESTED: <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2022/08/15/testing-and-feedback-for-the-fluid-typography-feature/\">Testing and Feedback for the Fluid Typography Feature</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2022/08/16/themes-team-update-august-16-2022/\">Themes team update August 16, 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-training\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/training\">Training</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/training/2022/07/27/information-sources-for-wp-6-1/\">Information Sources for WP 6.1</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/training/2022/08/10/minimizing-zoom-disruptions-in-online-workshops/\">Minimizing Zoom Disruptions in Online Workshops</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-video-tutorials\">Video Tutorials</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/tutorial/using-the-create-block-tool/\">Using the create-block Tool</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-online-workshops\">Online Workshops:</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=what-is-the-domain-name-system\">What is the Domain Name System?</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=lets-code-converting-a-shortcode-into-a-block\">Let’s code! Converting a Shortcode into a Block</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=the-creative-side-of-blocks-vol-2\">The Creative Side of Blocks, Vol. 2</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=using-create-block-theme-2\">Using Create Block Theme</a><a href=\"https://github.com/courtneyr-dev/make-wp/#test\"></a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-wordcamp-central\">WordCamp Central</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://central.wordcamp.org/news/2022/07/wordcamp-jinja-diverse-speaker-sessions-web-design-hackathon-teachers-workshop-and-fun-at-the-nile-source/\">WordCamp Jinja: Diverse Speaker Sessions, Web Design Hackathon, Teachers Workshop and Fun at the Nile Source!</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-wptv\">WPTV</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://wordpress.tv/category/year/2022/\">Latest WordPress TV videos</a></li></ul>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-related-news\">Related News:</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://tc39.es/#proposals\">ECMAScript Proposals</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.php.net/archive/2022.php#2022-07-21-1\">PHP 8.2.0 Beta 1 available for testing</a></li><li><a href=\"https://php.watch/articles/composer-24\">What\'s New in Composer 2.4</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-theme-palette-7-background-color has-background\">Thanks for reading our WP dot .org roundup! Each week we are highlighting the news and discussions coming from the good folks making WordPress possible. If you or your company create products or services that use WordPress, you need to be engaged with them and their work. Be sure to share this resource with your product and project managers. <br /><br /><strong>Are you interested in giving back and contributing your time and skills to WordPress.org?</strong> <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f64f.png\" alt=\"🙏\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/support/article/contributing-to-wordpress/\">Start Here ›</a><br /><br /><strong>Get our weekly WordPress community news digest</strong> — Post Status\' <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/news/week-in-review/\">Week in Review</a> — covering the WP/Woo news plus significant writing and podcasts. It\'s also available in <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/newsletter\">our newsletter</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f48c.png\" alt=\"💌\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /></p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile has-background\"><a href=\"https://poststatus.com/\"><img src=\"https://cdn.poststatus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/vertical-post-status-logo-250.png\" alt=\"Post Status\" class=\"wp-image-85823 size-full\" /></a><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-normal-font-size\" id=\"h-get-ready-for-remote-work\">You — and <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/business-membership/\">your whole team</a> can <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/post-status-membership-club/\">Join Post Status</a> too!</p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-small-font-size\"><strong>Build your network. Learn with others. Find your next job — or your next hire.</strong> Read the <strong>Post Status</strong> <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/newsletter/\">newsletter</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/2709.png\" alt=\"✉\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Listen to <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/podcasts/\">podcasts</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f399.png\" alt=\"🎙\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Follow <a href=\"https://twitter.com/post_status/\">@Post_Status</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f426.png\" alt=\"🐦\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /></p>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status</a> • <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status - The Community for WordPress Professionals</a></p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Wed, 17 Aug 2022 16:26:00 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:18:\"Courtney Robertson\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:20;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:99:\"WPTavern: #39 – Marieke Van De Rakt &amp; Taco Verdonschot on Yoast, the Past, Present and Future\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:48:\"https://wptavern.com/?post_type=podcast&p=137015\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:105:\"https://wptavern.com/podcast/39-marieke-van-de-rakt-taco-verdonschot-on-yoast-the-past-present-and-future\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:32671:\"<p>On the podcast today we have <a href=\"https://yoast.com/about-us/team/marieke-van-de-rakt/\">Marieke Van De Rakt</a> &amp; <a href=\"https://yoast.com/about-us/team/taco-verdonschot/\">Taco Verdonschot</a>, and they’re both from <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/\">Yoast SEO</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think it’s quite likely that you’ve heard of Yoast SEO, but in case you have not, it’s a very popular WordPress SEO plugin, installed over 5 million times. They’ve been optimising websites for many years and make significant contributions to the WordPress project, committing to Core, sponsoring events and many other things.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I sat down with them both at WordCamp Europe and we talked about some of the recent changes that have taken place within the company.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having worked hard to build and maintain their company&#8217;s reputation, they decided that it was time to steer the business in a new direction by selling it to <a href=\"https://newfold.com/\">Newfold Digital</a>. We get into the reasons for this acquisition and the subsequent reshuffling of the management of the company. What were the details of that agreement, why did they join forces with Newfold Digital in particular, and how has the acquisition gone?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We also talk about their longstanding commitment to contributing back to the WordPress project. Why have they done this and what benefits have they seen from this approach? Why do they bring so many of their team to WordCamps?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although Yoast is well known in the WordPress space, they recently brought their product into an entirely new market, Shopify. This has led them to create a SaaS version of their SEO solution and has brought them into contact with a completely new market. How has this move gone and does it mean they’re moving away from WordPress?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically, when we record the podcast, there’s not a lot of background noise, but that’s not always the case with these WordCamp Europe interviews. We were competing against crowds and the air-conditioning. Whilst the podcasts are more than listenable, I hope that you understand that the vagaries of the real world were at play.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Useful links.</h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://kagi.com/\">Kagi search engine</a></p>\n\n\n\nTranscript<div>\n<p>[00:00:00] Nathan Wrigley: Welcome to the Jukebox podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley. Jukebox is a podcast, which is dedicated to all things wordPress, the people, the events, the plugins, the blocks, the themes, and in this case, running a successful WordPress plugin business.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;d like to subscribe to the podcast, you can do that by searching for WP Tavern in your podcast, player of choice. Or by going to WPTavern.com forward slash feed forward slash podcast. And you can copy and paste that URL into most podcast players.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have a topic that you&#8217;d like us to feature on the podcast, I&#8217;m very keen to hear from you and hopefully get you all your idea featured on the show. Head over to WPTavern.com forward slash contact forward slash jukebox. And use the contact form there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So on the podcast today, we have Marieke Van De Rakt &amp; Taco Verdonschot. And they&#8217;re both from Yoast SEO.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think it&#8217;s quite likely that you&#8217;ve heard of Yoast SEO, but in case you have not, it&#8217;s a very popular WordPress SEO plugin installed over 5 million times. They&#8217;ve been optimizing websites for many years and make significant contributions to the WordPress project, committing to Core, sponsoring events and many other things. I sat down with them both at WordCamp Europe, and we talked about some of the recent changes that have taken place within the company.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having worked hard to build and maintain their company&#8217;s reputation, they decided that it was time to steer the business in a new direction by selling it to Newfold Digital. We get into the reasons for this acquisition and the subsequent reshuffling of the management of the company. What were the details of that agreement? Why did they join forces with Newfold Digital in particular? And how has the acquisition gone?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We also talk about their long standing commitment to contributing back to the WordPress project. Why have they done this? And what benefits have they seen from this approach? Why do they bring so many of their team to WordCamps?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although Yost is well-known in the WordPress space they recently brought their product into an entirely new market, Shopify. This has led them to create a SaaS version of their SEO solution and has brought them into contact with a completely new market. How has this move gone? And does it mean they&#8217;re moving away from WordPress?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically when we record the podcast there&#8217;s not a lot of background noise, but that&#8217;s not always the case with these WordCamp Europe interviews. We were competing against crowds and the air conditioning. And whilst the podcasts are more than listable. I hope that you understand that the vagaries of the real world were at play.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re interested in finding out more, you can find all of the links in the show notes by heading over to WPTavern.com forward slash podcast, where you&#8217;ll find all of the other episodes as well. And so without further delay, I bring you. Marieke Van De Rakt &amp; Taco Verdonschot.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am joined on the podcast today by Marieke van de Rakt and Taco, go on.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:03:48] Taco Verdonschot: Verdonschot.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:03:49] Nathan Wrigley: I tried that many, many times in the past. How are you both doing?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:03:53] Taco Verdonschot: All good.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:03:53] Marieke van de Rakt: Yeah. Great, great, great being back at an in-person event.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:03:57] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah. What are your thoughts about that. Genuinely, what are your thoughts about being back in in-person events? Because I know the Pavlovian response is, it&#8217;s great to be back. I think that, but is there any bit of you, which is mmm?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:08] Marieke van de Rakt: I have a hard time recognizing people because it&#8217;s been two years. I see now that everybody has that problem, so it&#8217;s like, I know you I&#8217;ve danced with you. I don&#8217;t know who you are.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:20] Taco Verdonschot: And especially when people are masked. You just see the eyes and, and if they like gained a lot of weight or became a bit grayer like me. Or lost a lot of weight, there&#8217;s definitely.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:33] Marieke van de Rakt: It&#8217;s harder.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:34] Taco Verdonschot: It&#8217;s a change and with a mask on it&#8217;s a lot harder to recognize people. So I&#8217;m really happy with the badges that have the names on both sides. Which means that it will at least always give a clue and not be turned the wrong way like sometimes happens at WordCamps. Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:50] Marieke van de Rakt: So I think it&#8217;s good being back, but it&#8217;s also, it&#8217;s different. It&#8217;s just, it&#8217;s been a while seeing people in such a way. We&#8217;ve talked online, but that&#8217;s really different.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:05:01] Nathan Wrigley: For me what&#8217;s strange, and I know this is gonna sound ridiculous, is that you are not this big and I&#8217;m making a gesture about six inches high, but also you both have entire bodies. It&#8217;s not just from the sort of waist up. We are on contributor today, so basically very little has happened so far. But what are your expectations of this event? What does Yoast bring when it comes to an event like this? What are you hoping to do? Do you have like a battle plan? Do you just bring the whole team and just see how it goes? I know you&#8217;ve got sponsorships and lots of things like that. So tell us what your agenda is.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:05:32] Taco Verdonschot: We&#8217;re sponsoring, as you said, and we brought a nice booth. There will be activities, and of course there will be stroopwafels, loads of them. So make sure that if you&#8217;re here you don&#8217;t miss out.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:05:43] Nathan Wrigley: I&#8217;m gonna pause you there because I don&#8217;t know what that is.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:05:46] Marieke van de Rakt: You don&#8217;t know what stroopwafels are?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:05:49] Nathan Wrigley: No</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:05:50] Marieke van de Rakt:You can have like a lot of them because we don&#8217;t bring them back anymore. Right?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:05:52] Taco Verdonschot: Yeah. So stroopwafels are cookies, are waffles with sort of a caramel in between. And they are delicious. That&#8217;s that just says it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:06:04] Nathan Wrigley: In the brief time that I&#8217;ve been around the auditorium, you win in terms of t-shirt density.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:06:11] Marieke van de Rakt: I saw the same thing. I think a lot of companies don&#8217;t give their employees, t-shirts to wear or different ones. We also, because I have a new one actually Taco but it&#8217;s exactly the same color, so it matches.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:06:23] Nathan Wrigley: And there&#8217;s nobody with the purple, so it genuinely stands out. But it also means, I think, that you bring a big team. Which also tells me that you&#8217;ve got a big team. 140, something like that? And I was looking earlier today at the stats for contributions in the version 6.0 of WordPress. Automattic, always the big circle and then there&#8217;s companies, which are vying for second, third. And it always seems like Yoast is number two by a long way. Is that a big part of the Yoast system? Do you encourage your team to contribute and all of that?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:06:58] Taco Verdonschot: Yeah, so we have a Core team. That&#8217;s four people working full time on WordPress Core. And that&#8217;s a big part. We also host internal contributor days. Well, actually we&#8217;ve opened them up to the community. So everyone can join remotely, or at the office nowadays. One of the reasons why you&#8217;re seeing so many of the purple shirts today is because our entire team is signed up for contributor day, and everyone is contributing to WordPress today. So probably you&#8217;ll see more brands and, and more colors tomorrow, but bringing people to contributor day is definitely a part of who we are.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:07:35] Marieke van de Rakt: It&#8217;s what got us started. So we are really invested in making WordPress better, because that&#8217;s just what we&#8217;ve been doing from even before Yoast was a company.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:07:44] Nathan Wrigley: It&#8217;s been an exceptional commitment though. It&#8217;s not an ordinary commitment.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:07:48] Marieke van de Rakt: I think so, too. So I, I&#8217;m really glad you&#8217;re saying that. We have an exceptional commitment to making that better. And I think more companies should follow that lead because that way we can really make it better together. So we can bitch with each other about what should be better, or we can just sit down and make sure the work gets done.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:08:08] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah. It&#8217;s been a busy couple of years for Yoast. Obviously there&#8217;s been the pandemic. Presumably you had to figure out what the office looked like or didn&#8217;t look like and what zoom calls you were gonna foist on people and so on and so forth. You mentioned that you&#8217;re back to the office a bit. But apart from all of that, there&#8217;s been quite a lot of personnel change, especially recently. Joost as in Joost, the man not the product, has changed roles. You&#8217;ve changed roles. Taco has got a new role. I saw a photo the other day with several people who&#8217;ve got new roles. Tell us a little bit about that. What brought that about, and then maybe we&#8217;ll get into the acquisition piece.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:08:42] Marieke van de Rakt: Yeah. Well, because that was the trigger. I think about a year before we had the acquisition, we started the process. I already knew that I wouldn&#8217;t want to be the CEO of the company anymore. I think that role is really, it&#8217;s a really heavy one, and it&#8217;s also a very public one, and it&#8217;s just been tough. And COVID was tough. So, when we decided to sell, I already knew that I wouldn&#8217;t want to be the CEO of the company anymore, but I still wanted to work there. But go back to a role I had before I was the CEO.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I think the acquisition got us all into that change process. So the first thing was that I announced that I wasn&#8217;t going to be the CEO. Now, Joost is an advisor. Omar left. Our CTO, well, I just texted him that I really miss him. But I also understand we&#8217;ve been doing this for quite some time.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Joost himself got a bit bored, not with WordPress though, but with SEO, and wants to do other things as well. And is currently experienced a lot of FOMO he said. But he&#8217;ll be here tomorrow. So he&#8217;ll be on Friday. He said to me, oh, you&#8217;re all contributing and I&#8217;m just writing a blog post.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, yeah, those things changed, and I&#8217;m really excited because we, um, we now have room for new people to grow because you could see Yoast as this big old oak, and that&#8217;s good and that&#8217;s solid. But it also takes away the sun for other trees to grow. So now it&#8217;s the time for at least within Yoast, to have new talent and new leadership.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:10:17] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah. Okay, so just sticking to the top tier management, just run us through the changes. Who&#8217;s now in? Who&#8217;s got those key top tier jobs?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:10:25] Taco Verdonschot: So I think that list should always start with Thijs, our CEO. He took over that role from Marieke, I think last year, October.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:10:34] Marieke van de Rakt: Somewhere like that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:10:35] Taco Verdonschot: Around that time, and then as of April this year we had the bigger change, that we introduced a seven people leadership team. So that&#8217;s obviously Marieke as head of strategy. That&#8217;s Chaya as chief operations officer.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:10:51] Marieke van de Rakt: She was already also in the old board. She came in COVID time. So this is her first WordCamp. She was with us for quite some time.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:10:58] Taco Verdonschot: Yeah, and then there&#8217;s four new names, and that&#8217;s Irene on the R and D side. Inge on the marketing side. Herre for all the technical stuff. And me as a head of relations.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:11:12] Marieke van de Rakt: And those four have been working with us for more than five years. All of them. Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:11:16] Taco Verdonschot: Yeah. All of those.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:11:17] Nathan Wrigley: So if we rewind the clock about five years, it feels like nobody was being acquired in WordPress. It was all very quiet. And then about four years ago it began. And then two years ago it was really, there was a daily news cycle of somebody&#8217;s been bought in the WordPress space. And then you came in and I must admit I follow the WordPress news pretty closely. I didn&#8217;t see that one coming. Tell us how that came about. How far do we need to go back before the dates that it was announced, when all the negotiations started, and why you mentioned that Yoast himself was getting a bit bored. But for other reasons, I&#8217;m sure as well, why did that process begin? And how long was that process?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:11:54] Marieke van de Rakt: So we talked to parties before just because you get a lot of questions. So it&#8217;s not that we never thought about a possible acquisition or funding before. But we&#8217;re totally bootstraped, and I think Christmas 2020, so the first COVID Christmas, that was when Joost and I decided we should sell or get major funding. And the major reason was that COVID got us scared. We were doing great but it was so much work. We sell in dollars, so we make money in dollars, but all of our costs are in euros. And that makes you very vulnerable for the exchange rate of the dollar.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that&#8217;s something you can&#8217;t control. And with a hundred, I don&#8217;t know 125 people on your payroll, the responsibility was weighing heavily on both of us, and that&#8217;s just something that we didn&#8217;t want to do anymore. So then we hired, we hired a banker actually. Someone who helps you to sell your company. And we&#8217;ve talked to a lot of, well, the usual suspects. Then decided eventually to sell to Newfold.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:13:03] Nathan Wrigley: So what was it about the offer that they presented, which said, okay, that&#8217;s it, the green light over there. Was there something in particular? Were there any red lines that you presented to them? Right, this cannot happen, if we&#8217;re gonna sell to anybody. Yeah, just that kind of idea. What were the things that gave the green light to them and not to others?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:13:19] Marieke van de Rakt: So when we were selling, we thought about three things. We thought about ourselves. What&#8217;s good for us. And then we thought about what&#8217;s good for Yoast the company, and what&#8217;s good for WordPress. So we wouldn&#8217;t sell to a company that would just do things that would be bad for WordPress. And we won&#8217;t sell to a company that would say you have fire half of your staff or something like that. So would be good for our employees. It would be a good fit for WordPress. And I think the offer of Newfold, Newfold wanted to buy us because of our commitments in WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So they were impressed with our WordPress Core team. They wanted to do more in WordPress and, so them inquiring us was part of their mission to show we love WordPress, which is the best reason to buy us, I think. And I thought their leadership was really diverse. And I&#8217;ve talked to a lot of boards and they&#8217;re mostly male and white and a bit gray, and there&#8217;s nothing wrong with people that are male and white and gray. But it&#8217;s nice to see some diversity in that. Well Newfold Digital is led by a woman. I&#8217;m really impressed by her. So that was at least, for me personally, a big reason to choose for them as well.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:14:33] Nathan Wrigley: It&#8217;s a name which doesn&#8217;t roll off the tongue. What I mean by that is, you know, everybody&#8217;s heard of Yoast, everybody&#8217;s heard of Automattic, but maybe not so much Newfold Digital. Can you just tell the listeners which bits of Newfold Digital may we have heard of before? Because I know they&#8217;re a company which are behind other companies.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:14:48] Marieke van de Rakt: They only exist for like a year and a half now and they&#8217;ve been combined. So the Endurance group, which Blue Host is the biggest brand. And then you have the web dot com side, but that&#8217;s not a WordPress side. And those two companies were combined into Newfold Digital, and they only existed like a half year and then they acquired Yoast. So it&#8217;s a really new brand.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:15:09] Nathan Wrigley: In terms of job stability and all of those kind of things, you mentioned that that was an important part. How&#8217;s that going,? Have roles changed? Has the company still got the same focus that it had a year ago? Well, let&#8217;s not say a year, six months ago, or have you noticed any changes and I&#8217;m firing this one at Taco.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:15:27] Taco Verdonschot: So yes, there have been changes due to what we just described in, in changing in leadership, but in terms of direction of the company, it&#8217;s not that Newfold comes in and says, Hey, you need to go left or you need to go right. For exactly what Marieke just told, is they bought us for what we do and who we are. That&#8217;s still true today. So they kept their word from that whole process and are still supporting us in being Yoast and offering SEO for everyone.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have there been changes in the company in the last six months? Yes, we, we are slowly changing. The workforce landscape is changing, and we&#8217;re changing with it. But nothing forced by the acquisition. This would&#8217;ve happened anyway if we weren&#8217;t sold.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:16:14] Marieke van de Rakt: Ah, and nobody left after the acquisition for a few months.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:16:17] Taco Verdonschot: No.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:16:18] Marieke van de Rakt: So that wasn&#8217;t related to that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:16:20] Taco Verdonschot: Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:16:20] Marieke van de Rakt: I think the biggest change was just that the office is opened up again. And so everything&#8217;s different.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:16:26] Nathan Wrigley: In terms of how the company can behave, the inflow of money I presume, you mentioned payroll and how concerning that was. Does that kind of thing evaporate a little bit more? Do you need to worry it a little bit less about payroll, because that&#8217;s now worried about somewhere further up the food chain?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:16:42] Marieke van de Rakt: For me that&#8217;s changed dramatically. So I used to look at the sales every day. I think Joost would look at it every hour, and see if it&#8217;s all going well and that changed, and that gave us a lot of… I was talking to Joshua Strebel, who of course also sold and to like, taking a coat off, that&#8217;s what it is. It&#8217;s taking a coat off, and I still feel a huge responsibility of getting that company with new leadership into a stable, good new path, but it&#8217;s different.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:17:11] Taco Verdonschot: Yeah. The funny thing is for me, it&#8217;s quite the opposite.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:17:14] Marieke van de Rakt: Yes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:17:14] Taco Verdonschot: Because before, Marieke and the rest of the board would take away all those financial concerns from even the highest management level.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:17:25] Marieke van de Rakt: That wasn&#8217;t the best idea though.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:17:26] Taco Verdonschot: Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:17:26] Marieke van de Rakt: We did that. We never told anybody about our financial stress. We were doing great, but we were experiencing, oh, we have to grow, and…</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:17:34] Taco Verdonschot: That was really something that was kept away, and now with, my new role, I&#8217;m suddenly seeing all the numbers and seeing what the numbers mean and how they influence decisions that we&#8217;re making in the company and vice versa, how decisions are influencing our, our revenue stream or our cost. And that&#8217;s a whole new world. So, for me, I&#8217;m looking more at numbers and for you, it&#8217;s obviously with less worry than before. Yeah, we, we found common ground now.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:18:05] Nathan Wrigley: Two years ago, or whenever it was 2019, if we&#8217;d have had this same interview, we would&#8217;ve been talking about Yoast SEO and nothing more. But now we can talk about Shopify. That&#8217;s a big change. A giant of a platform. Just give us the theory behind why Shopify? Why not, I don&#8217;t know something else like Drupal, or some other thing like Squarespace? Is that product receiving the same care and attention, shall we say as the WordPress side? Do you have any plans to go into other CMSs, maybe SaaS products, like I said, Wix and Squarespace and so on.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You don&#8217;t have to release any of that valuable information if you don&#8217;t want to of course. But tell us about the Shopify thing first. Whoever wants to take that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:18:43] Marieke van de Rakt: We have a TYPO3 extension, of course.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:18:45] Taco Verdonschot: Yes and Neos as well.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:18:47] Marieke van de Rakt: So we, we had some before, but we, as a pact internally would say that we wouldn&#8217;t do any non open source CMSs, but still we are doing Shopify. So we made the decision, partly because we wanted to be less dependent on WordPress, because although we love WordPress, it&#8217;s very scary if you bet all your money on one thing. So it could be a wise business decision to go into Shopify.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>They asked us to come. So Shopify wanted to improve their SEO so they worked together with us. They asked us can you build Yoast SEO for Shopify? So that was a big reason, and their core values are pretty aligned with us. So that was the thing. Okay, we&#8217;re going to let go of the open source part because they&#8217;re really for the small businesses.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So it&#8217;s either Amazon because that&#8217;s how people sell, but at least on Shopify, you have your own website, your own store, and that&#8217;s really important. So that&#8217;s why I think why we decided Shopify.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:19:44] Taco Verdonschot: And I think it&#8217;s the close source system or SaaS that comes closest to the open source mindset, because it really supports the small businesses, and you can get started super easily on Shopify and anyone and everyone can start a shop. And that is different for a lot of other systems.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:20:06] Marieke van de Rakt: And it&#8217;s growing like crazy. So it&#8217;s also a really good business opportunity.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:20:10] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah I have no insight into how that&#8217;s going. So it is growing.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:20:15] Marieke van de Rakt: Yes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:20:16] Nathan Wrigley: Are you growing with it? Is it taking you along for the ride? Basically, has it been a good move?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:20:18] Marieke van de Rakt: Well, We&#8217;ve built the thing ourselves, which is a lot of work because Shopify isn&#8217;t WordPress. we&#8217;ve launched it. We had a successful launch, but we&#8217;re not as well known in the Shopify world yet. So we&#8217;re growing gradually and that sounds like bad news, but I love that because that&#8217;s what we want to do.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s so much fun. We&#8217;re celebrating every five star review we get. So we have a dedicated Shopify team and they&#8217;re so excited to get people to like our product, but Shopify just works a little differently and you can&#8217;t paste your WordPress product over it. So we&#8217;re tweaking it and it gets better every day.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:20:55] Taco Verdonschot: Every single day. So the good thing about our Shopify app is that it fully is a SaaS which means that were not bound to releases that people then have to install. And if we decide to push something, it&#8217;s live right now. That&#8217;s a very big difference compared to WordPress, where you&#8217;re relying on people to install your updates and to actually keep their site up to date, et cetera. So it&#8217;s a really different way of developing.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:21:25] Marieke van de Rakt: Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:21:26] Nathan Wrigley: Marika. You&#8217;ve got a, I was gonna say a talk, but it&#8217;s not. You&#8217;ve got a panel. Just tell us what this panel&#8217;s about.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:21:31] Marieke van de Rakt: This panel is about acquisitions and WordPress. I&#8217;m just going to sit there and if they ask me a question then they&#8217;ll answer. I think a lot of people want to know, the ins and outs of what happens and what does this mean for WordPress?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:21:43] Nathan Wrigley: SEO in general. What is going on in the future? I&#8217;ve been seeing quite a lot coming out of the Google verse. Awful lot of people talking about things like AI content and whether or not that&#8217;s gonna be squashed. What do we need to be mindful of in the next 12 months in terms of SEO?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:21:58] Marieke van de Rakt: I think the main thing Google does is wanting to present the best result to the user. So if you&#8217;re stable in SEO and just create good content, AI or not AI because it just has to be good. And there are really good AI tools out there, but it should be something your reader will want to read.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And not just something you, nobody wants to read. That&#8217;s not serving anyone. That&#8217;s the thing you need to do. But at the same time on the technical side, we are really looking at what Google is doing. So then you need to just install Yoast SEO, because we&#8217;ll make sure to get the latest technical stuff in there. So the way Google crawls and stuff, we&#8217;re really mindful of that. But I think a normal user wouldn&#8217;t be able to adapt that in a website settings.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:22:42] Nathan Wrigley: I have this concern that we&#8217;re gonna be creating content with AI, which is then in turn, the sole purpose of that is to be consumed by Google&#8217;s AI. And it&#8217;s like this cyclical effect where…</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:22:55] Marieke van de Rakt: But then you&#8217;re doing it wrong way because you should always create content for a user. Yeah. And I am a writer. So I am not particularly fan of AI created content, but I have to be honest, sometimes it&#8217;s pretty good. But it should be original content.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, you should at least insert enough information in your AI that it&#8217;s an original thought, because an artificial intelligence can never come up with something new. It&#8217;s always something that&#8217;s already out there. So make sure you write something that people want to read. That&#8217;s the only advice that I can give you. Maybe Google won&#8217;t be the only search engine out there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are all kinds of rumors that Apple is doing stuff and rolling out his own search engine. I don&#8217;t know if it&#8217;s true, but that&#8217;s something that could happen as well. Google doesn&#8217;t have to be the only, Yoast SEO isn&#8217;t the only SEO plugin. Google doesn&#8217;t have to necessarily be the only search engine.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:23:50] Nathan Wrigley: Is that what you focus most of your energy though, because presumably if there is an Apple SEO search page, your work then sort of doubles because you&#8217;ve got to try and figure out their algorithm as well as the Google algorithm.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:24:02] Marieke van de Rakt: They&#8217;re probably doing the same thing. It&#8217;s the same with Bing and…</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:24:05] Taco Verdonschot: Yeah, in the end they have the same goal. They want to answer a user&#8217;s question. So in order to do that, you need that good content. If you want to rank first, you need to be the best result. That&#8217;s basically it. Regardless of which search engine you use to find that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:24:23] Marieke van de Rakt: Wouldn&#8217;t it be fun though? I would get excited again with SEO, if there would be a different kind. Maybe a privacy more minded kind, because that would be awesome.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:24:32] Nathan Wrigley: Have you heard of a search engine called Kagi? K A G I.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:24:36] Marieke van de Rakt: I haven&#8217;t.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:24:38] Nathan Wrigley: Do you remember ManageWP? It is created by him. It&#8217;s in beta only at the moment. And it&#8217;s gonna be a paid for search engine and you&#8217;ll pay them a hundred dollars a year, something along those lines, for no tracking. So the gamble is that you pay. It&#8217;s actually really interesting. K A G I.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah. So what are you gonna do over the next couple of days, the pair of you? What are you hoping to get out of this specific event? Who are you gonna go and see? What things are you excited about?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:25:03] Taco Verdonschot: So we made a great start yesterday evening. There was a party by Pagely, and it was on a, on a boat, with so many people and a lot of familiar faces that we hadn&#8217;t seen in three years. And that&#8217;s going to continue because over the course of this event, we&#8217;ll see our old friends and meet a lot of new friends.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:25:23] Marieke van de Rakt: Interesting conversations with possible partners. It&#8217;s exciting to meet our Bluehost new colleagues and our Yith colleagues who are all part of the Newfold family, so that&#8217;s something I&#8217;m looking forward to as well.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I am looking forward to talking to actual customers because I use WordCamps to talk to customers and ask them why they like our product and what they dislike. And, well, I haven&#8217;t done that for ages, so only with people in our local community.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:25:51] Nathan Wrigley: I&#8217;ve got a feeling I know what the answer to this question is. In 2023 WordCamp Europe, wherever that may be, will you be back?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:25:57] Taco Verdonschot: Yes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:25:58] Marieke van de Rakt: Yes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:25:59] Nathan Wrigley: Taco, Marieke, thanks for talking to me today.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:26:01] Taco Verdonschot: Thank you so much for us.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:26:03] Marieke van de Rakt: Thank you.</p>\n</div>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Wed, 17 Aug 2022 14:00:00 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:14:\"Nathan Wrigley\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:21;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:99:\"WPTavern: Gutenberg Designers Explore Adding Configuration Options to Block Editor Onboarding Modal\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=137017\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:110:\"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-designers-explore-adding-configuration-options-to-block-editor-onboarding-modal\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:3615:\"<p>Gutenberg designers are considering replacing the current welcome guide modal with a new onboarding screen that prompts users to configure some of the editor&#8217;s many individual preference settings. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>The existing welcome setup was designed during the earlier days of the block editor when many WordPress users were experiencing it for the first time. It briefly introduces users to the concept of blocks and invites them to customize them. The editor has matured since this welcome guide was created and it could use an update.</p>\n\n\n\n<img />The existing welcome guide\n\n\n\n<p>The editor is now loaded with more settings for personalizing the content creation experience, such as document toolbar placement and accessibility features, that users may not ever discover on their own.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;To create an editing experience that feels intuitive, folks will often need to tailor these settings based on their individual preferences and needs,&#8221; Automattic-sponsored designer James Koster said in <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/08/04/design-exploration-encourage-editor-configuration-during-on-boarding/\">a post on the Make Design blog</a>. &#8220;There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Instead of relying on people to find these settings on their own (admittedly they’re a little scattered, but that’s another issue), it might be good to surface them during onboarding. Consequently, users can set up a comfy editing experience straight-away.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Koster is proposing users configure these settings when getting started with the editor for the first time. He shared a video demonstrating how that might look. </p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>The modal is much bigger than the existing welcome guide. It is also more interactive. When users mouse over the options in the left side, it shows a preview in the right side of the modal. The following user preferences are included in Koster&#8217;s prototype:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>document toolbar display</li><li> the block toolbar</li><li><a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/42399\">text formatting tools</a></li><li>accessibility options for toolbar button display, editor styles, and block keyboard navigation</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The first screen of the modal allows users to skip the setup and go straight to writing. This will be useful for those who do not care to configure any user preferences or those who are in a hurry.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Koster posted the proposal a couple weeks ago, asking whether it is a good idea in the first place, but hasn&#8217;t received much critical feedback.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Visually, the larger modal is an improvement on the existing welcome guide, but will it be overwhelming to users who are brand new to the block editor? Will it even make sense to them? A certain level of familiarity with the block editor is required to have any context for the editor customization options. An onboarding wizard with a lot of new terms could take a psychological toll on new users. It&#8217;s a lot to take in before getting started in the editor. Are these preferences so important that they need to be the first thing users see when they open the editor? Something like this will need some real user testing before it makes its way to millions of users.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Koster and the Gutenberg design contributors are still looking for feedback on the project. If you have thoughts on these designs or suggestions, leave a comment on the <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/08/04/design-exploration-encourage-editor-configuration-during-on-boarding/\">proposal</a>.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Wed, 17 Aug 2022 02:52:48 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:22;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:41:\"Post Status: WordPress at a Massive Scale\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:32:\"https://poststatus.com/?p=105467\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:83:\"https://poststatus.com/thinking-about-wordpress-at-massive-scale%ef%bf%bc%ef%bf%bc/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:3804:\"<p>Cory Miller talks with Lead Solutions Engineer at WordPress VIP, Sean O\'Shaughnessy. Learn about WordPress hosting at a massive scale with some blind case study examples.</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\n</div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\">Recorded on August 12, 2022.</p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-topics-discussed\"><strong>Topics Discussed </strong></h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>How Sean got into his present role</li><li>The trouble with caching, internal and external requests, and dynamic database-driven publishing platforms.</li><li>Headless and Hybrid approaches to WordPress</li><li>Customer support partnerships</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-about-sean-o-shaughnessy\">About Sean O\'Shaughnessy</h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sean O’Shaughnessy</strong> is Lead Solutions Engineer at <a href=\"https://wordpressvip.com\">WordPress VIP</a>. Sean has a background in infrastructure and dev ops. He\'s been working with WordPress for 13 years and for Automattic since 2014. Sean helped design, build, and manage site reliability engineering for WordPress.com, Pressable, and WordPress VIP. </p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\">You can listen to <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/podcast/the-excerpt/\">past episodes</a> of <strong>Post Status Live</strong>, <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/category/post-status-podcasts/\">browse all our podcasts</a>, and don’t forget to subscribe on <a href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/1m3xwXbe0MG5BzFVPtB0A7\">Spotify</a>, Amazon Music, <a href=\"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS8ySkU5c2M4UA\">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/post-status-draft-wordpress/id976403008\">iTunes</a>, <a href=\"https://castro.fm/podcast/c53552c6-1ee0-4fc4-9de4-08ed6bf1ee4d\">Castro</a>, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/c/PostStatus\">YouTube</a>, <a href=\"http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/krogsgard/post-status-draft-wordpress-podcast\">Stitcher</a>, <a href=\"https://player.fm/series/wordpress-post-status-podcasts\">Player.fm</a>, <a href=\"https://pca.st/05rR\">Pocket Casts</a>, <a href=\"https://wordpress-post-status-draft-podcast.simplecast.com/\">Simplecast</a>, or by <a href=\"https://feeds.simplecast.com/2JE9sc8P\">RSS</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f3a7.png\" alt=\"🎧\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /></p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-45 wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-container-44 wp-block-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-container-43 wp-block-columns sponsor has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\" id=\"Gravity-Forms\">\n<div class=\"wp-container-41 wp-block-column\">\n<h3><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f64f.png\" alt=\"🙏\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Episode Partner: <a href=\"https://poststat.us/gravity\">Gravity Forms</a></h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https://poststat.us/gravity\">Gravity Forms</a></strong> is a powerful form builder for WordPress and the #1 choice for businesses and web professionals across the globe. Its vast array of features, intuitive drag-and-drop form editor, and extensive ecosystem of add-ons, ensure customers can design beautiful, intelligent, and accessible forms for any project requirement.</p>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-42 wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center\"><div class=\"wp-block-image cloudways-logo\">\n<a href=\"https://poststat.us/gravity\"><img width=\"392\" height=\"299\" src=\"https://cdn.poststatus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/gravity-forms-logo-stacked.png\" alt=\"Gravity Forms\" class=\"wp-image-88956\" title=\"Cloudways Logo\" /></a><a href=\"https://poststat.us/gravity\">Gravity Forms</a></div></div>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status</a> • <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status - The Community for WordPress Professionals</a></p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Tue, 16 Aug 2022 20:46:14 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Olivia Bisset\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:23;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:78:\"Do The Woo Community: Taking On a WooCommerce Integration with David Henriquez\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:28:\"https://dothewoo.io/?p=72638\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:56:\"https://dothewoo.io/taking-on-a-woocommerce-integration/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:422:\"<p>David Henriquez from Klaviyo shares his story with WooCommerce and WordPress and insights on building an integration for WooCommerce.</p>\n<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://dothewoo.io/taking-on-a-woocommerce-integration/\">Taking On a WooCommerce Integration with David Henriquez</a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://dothewoo.io\">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce Builder Community</a>	.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Tue, 16 Aug 2022 09:22:00 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:5:\"BobWP\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:24;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:67:\"WPTavern: WordPress Launches New Homepage and Download Page Designs\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=136984\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:78:\"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-launches-new-homepage-and-download-page-designs\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:5079:\"<p><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/\">WordPress.org</a> is now sporting a new look with a refreshed, jazzy design that complements the <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-news-gets-a-new-design\">recently updated News pages</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The new homepage brings more attention to the benefits and experience of using WordPress, while also highlighting the community and resources to get started,&#8221; &nbsp;Automattic-sponsored WordPress marketing team contributor Nicholas Garofalo <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/08/a-new-wordpress-org-homepage-and-download-page/\">said</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The new download page greets visitors with a new layout that makes getting started with WordPress even easier by presenting both the download and hosting options right at the top.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>The Download page now clearly offers two paths at the top &#8211; buttons for downloading and installing WordPress, and hosting recommendations for setting  it up through a hosting provider. It also includes help getting started with resources linked further down the page WordPress courses, developer resources, support, and user forums.</p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>Although the designs have received overwhelmingly positive feedback, their journey to development was not without a few bumps in the road. When the Meta team published an <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2022/08/01/developing-the-redesigned-home-and-download-pages/\">update</a> about taking the designs into development, less than three weeks from the design kickoff, Matt Mullenweg&#8217;s criticism of the pace of the project drew the ire of some community members who were offended by the interaction. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;This is not a good use of time, nor does it further the actual goals of a new homepage or download page, and we have better places to spend our development time,&#8221; Mullenweg said in response to the plans to create a block theme for the new designs.</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It is important to note that the person he is responding to here is working in capacity as a volunteer, sponsored (employed) by Automattic. So who is being chastised, a volunteer or an employee? And who is doing the chastising, a benevolent dictator or a CEO who signs the checks.</p>&mdash; sé reed <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f499.png\" alt=\"💙\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f49b.png\" alt=\"💛\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> (@sereedmedia) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/sereedmedia/status/1557830144940597248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 11, 2022</a></blockquote>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<p>Responding to the criticism on Twitter, Mullenweg <a href=\"https://twitter.com/photomatt/status/1557893351982219265\">said</a>,  &#8220;Regardless of whether someone is a volunteer or sponsored, open source developers need to be able to debate and discuss our work in public, as we have since the dawn of wp-hackers, so that we arrive at the best outcome for users.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Automattic-sponsored contributor Alex Shiels defended the amount of time spent on the project and elaborated on some of the behind-the-scenes work. Mullenweg contended that turning Figma designs into a theme should have taken far less time to launch.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;On the &#8216;hours not weeks&#8217; to implement — it’s such a basic layout, it’s hard to imagine it taking a single person more than a day on Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, or one of the WP page builders,&#8221; Mullenweg said.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;So, if we’re just doing a prettier version of the same thing, make those changes in place with the existing code approach quickly and move on to something higher value. If you are trying to further WP itself, you need a fundamentally different approach.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some interpreted these comments as a referendum on the block editor&#8217;s usability. The development plan Shiels outlined included the creation of custom blocks in order to launch an MVP of the new theme. This called into question whether the block editor is delivering on its &#8220;dream it, build it&#8221; promises.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The&nbsp;core&nbsp;team has to&nbsp;edit the core blocks&nbsp;for such&nbsp;a simple layout&nbsp;– after 2+ years, what should ordinary users/developers expect?&#8221; WordPress developer Aleksandar Perisic commented.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Dog-fooding is needed just as much as code-focused contributions right now,&#8221; WP Engine software engineer Mike McAlister <a href=\"https://twitter.com/mikemcalister/status/1557850870338945025\">said</a>. &#8220;One informs the other. I’ve been knee deep in FSE for months and honestly it doesn’t feel like anyone has tried to make a REAL site with this.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to giving WordPress.org a fresh coat of paint, the project has sparked a larger conversation about how challenging it still is to build out simple designs with the block editor, even for the people who make WordPress. </p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Tue, 16 Aug 2022 01:29:49 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:25;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:61:\"WPTavern: Newsletter Glue Closes Free Plugin on WordPress.org\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=136969\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:72:\"https://wptavern.com/newsletter-glue-closes-free-plugin-on-wordpress-org\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:4649:\"<p>The creators of <a href=\"https://newsletterglue.com/\">Newsletter Glue</a> have <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/plugins/newsletter-glue/\">removed their free plugin from WordPress.org </a>in favor of focusing on the commercial version. The plugin streamlines the publishing workflow for newsletter authors who also publish to their WordPress sites. It includes blocks and patterns for email templates and subscriber forms. Five months ago the plugin&#8217;s authors warned users that they would be closing the free version and would no longer be updating it as of May 1, but the process of removing it was delayed until today.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Co-founder Lesley Sim <a href=\"https://twitter.com/lesley_pizza/status/1559092795004317696\">announced</a> the plugin&#8217;s closure on Twitter and shared a few valuable lessons for WordPress product businesses looking to use WordPress.org as a their primary distribution channel. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We made a bunch of noob mistakes in the way we set up free vs paid,&#8221; Sim said. &#8220;Which made the customer upgrade flow kind of weird. I think it could&#8217;ve worked. We just didn&#8217;t set it up right, and it just doesn&#8217;t make sense to fix it.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the time of closure, the free Newsletter Glue plugin had approximately 200 active installations, which seems low for a growing commercial plugin. This is because the free version got uninstalled when a user upgraded to pro, so it was never a good representation of how many people were using the product. Sim said Newsletter Glue wasn&#8217;t growing the free user base and &#8220;it was just sitting there like a dead tree stump.&#8221; The company had not updated it in over a year.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We stupidly set it such that when a user upgrades, they install the pro version and the free version automatically uninstalls,&#8221; Sim said. &#8220;So we lost free active users as a &#8216;reward&#8217; for new conversions.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This architectural choice meant that WordPress.org wasn&#8217;t bringing the product a significant flow of traffic and prospective upgrades.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;A year ago, we simply didn&#8217;t have enough features to make good decisions on what to put in the free versus pro,&#8221; Sim said. &#8220;So we went from having all our integrations on the free plugin to gating some integrations instead. I think this was a poor decision and led to our install count instantly stagnating. This could have been reversed, so I don&#8217;t think this was a key reason. But it was an instigating reason to begin considering removing the plugin from the repo since it was no longer bringing us traffic and installs.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite not finding WordPress.org a good source of traffic for the product, Sim said the decision to close was not easy.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Here are some things we lost out on:&#8221; Sim said. &#8220;1) Biggest distribution channel in WP. 2) Easy way for reviewers to check out the plugin for free without having to contact me. 3) Source of credibility (reviews).&#8221; </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Current users can still use the free plugin but it will not be getting updates anymore. In lieu of a free plugin, Newsletter Glue is offering a test drive option where users can try it on a demo site before purchasing. The company has taken a unique path to becoming a commercial plugin that is fully independently distributed.  </p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I hate the free to paid user experience on the WP directory with a passion,&#8221; Sim said. &#8220;We had a full standalone pro plugin so the upgrade flow was really clunky. We&#8217;d get users using the free version emailing us saying, &#8216;I&#8217;ve just upgraded, but I don&#8217;t see any pro features on my site. What&#8217;s wrong?&#8217; I also had some wonderful customers who would upgrade then continue using the free version for over a year, not even realizing they were on the free version.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>By focusing focusing exclusively on promoting the commercial product, the Newsletter Glue team is now free of the burden of supporting customers transitioning from the free version. The trade-off is missing out on exposure on WordPress.org. It&#8217;s an approach that works for the company at this stage but may not be suitable to other new products without strong marketing in place. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Unless you already have experience marketing a plugin from scratch AND you have a good go to market plan, I think the default choice should be to be on the [WordPress] repo,&#8221; Sim said. &#8220;Just make sure you set up the commercial part of your plugin correctly so that it makes sense.&#8221;</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Mon, 15 Aug 2022 20:19:04 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:26;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:66:\"WordPress.org blog: A New WordPress.org Homepage and Download Page\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:35:\"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=13321\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:82:\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/08/a-new-wordpress-org-homepage-and-download-page/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:7724:\"<p>The WordPress experience has significantly evolved in the past few years. In order to highlight the power of WordPress on WordPress.org, the last few weeks have seen a homepage and download page <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/07/08/project-kickoff-wordpress-org-homepage-and-download-page-redesign/\">redesign kickoff</a> and <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/07/27/project-update-wordpress-org-homepage-and-download-page-mockups/\">shared mockups</a>. Today, these new designs are going live! Like <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/02/a-new-wordpress-news/\">the News pages before them</a>, these refreshed pages are inspired by the jazzy look &amp; feel WordPress is known for.</p>\n\n\n\n<img width=\"1024\" height=\"599\" src=\"https://i2.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2022/08/Featured-Image.png?resize=1024%2C599&ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13327\" />\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/\">new homepage</a> brings more attention to the benefits and experience of using WordPress, while also highlighting the community and resources to get started. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/download/\">new download page</a> greets visitors with a new layout that makes getting started with WordPress even easier by presenting both the download and hosting options right at the top.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This redesign was made possible through great collaboration between Design, Marketing, and Meta teams. Thank you to everyone involved throughout this update:</p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-wporg-props-long\"><a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/abuzon/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>abuzon</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/adamwood/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>adamwood</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/adeebmalik/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>adeebmalik</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/alexandreb3/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>alexandreb3</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/alipawp/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>alipawp</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/angelasjin/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>angelasjin</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/aniash_29/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>aniash_29</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/annezazu/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>annezazu</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/beafialho/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>beafialho</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/bjmcsherry/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>bjmcsherry</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/chanthaboune/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>chanthaboune</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/colinchadwick/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>colinchadwick</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/crevilaro/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>crevilaro</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/critterverse/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>critterverse</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/dansoschin/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>dansoschin</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/dd32/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>dd32</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/dufresnesteven/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>dufresnesteven</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/eboxnet/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>eboxnet</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/eidolonnight/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>eidolonnight</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/elmastudio/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>elmastudio</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/fernandot/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>fernandot</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/geoffgraham/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>geoffgraham</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/iandunn/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>iandunn</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/javiarce/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>javiarce</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/joedolson/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>joedolson</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/jpantani/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>jpantani</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/kellychoffman/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>kellychoffman</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/laurlittle/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>laurlittle</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/marybaum/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>marybaum</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/matt/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>matt</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/maurodf/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>maurodf</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/melchoyce/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>melchoyce</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/mikachan/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>mikachan</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/nikhilgandal/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>nikhilgandal</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/pablohoneyhoney/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>pablohoneyhoney</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/peakzebra/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>peakzebra</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/poliuk/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>poliuk</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/priethor/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>priethor</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/psmits1567/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>psmits1567</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/renyot/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>renyot</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/rmartinezduque/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>rmartinezduque</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/ryelle/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>ryelle</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/santanainniss/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>santanainniss</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/sereedmedia/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>sereedmedia</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/sippis/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>sippis</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/tellyworth/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>tellyworth</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/tobifjellner/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>tobifjellner</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/webdados/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>webdados</a> <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/willmot/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>willmot</a></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your comments, including some <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2016/12/12/new-homepage-redesign/\">feedback from the 2016 redesign</a>, were taken into consideration with this work. Expect more updates to come as efforts to jazz up WordPress.org continue.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Mon, 15 Aug 2022 15:34:51 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:17:\"Nicholas Garofalo\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:27;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:151:\"Post Status: Post Status Excerpt (No. 64) — LearnDash’s Adoption of Gutenberg, Full Site Editing, and How to Protect Your Course Content from Theft\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"https://poststatus.com/?p=97896\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:124:\"https://poststatus.com/learndashs-adoption-of-gutenberg-full-site-editing-and-how-to-protect-your-course-content-from-theft/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:4335:\"<p class=\"has-drop-cap\"><strong>Jack Kitterhing</strong> joins David to talk about adopting (and adapting) Gutenberg — and Full Site Editing — at <strong>LearnDash</strong> for their LMS product. The conversation touches on the problem of people in the WordPress community having their course content stolen and resold. What can you do to protect and brand your learning product to deter theft?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why This Matters:</strong> You\'ll gain insight into <strong>Learndash</strong> as a WordPress company and learn why it\'s crucial for product creators to onboard and help their customers do great work with their tools. Support the tool you build, the person using it, and the work they do with it if you want to keep them as long-term customers. </p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\">Every week <strong><a href=\"https://poststatus.com/podcast/the-excerpt/\">Post Status Excerpt</a></strong> will bring you important news and insights from guests working in the WordPress space. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f399.png\" alt=\"🎙\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /><br /><br />You can listen to <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/podcast/the-excerpt/\">past episodes</a> of <strong>The Excerpt</strong>, <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/category/post-status-podcasts/\">browse all our podcasts</a>, and don’t forget to subscribe on <a href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/1m3xwXbe0MG5BzFVPtB0A7\">Spotify</a>, Amazon Music, <a href=\"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS8ySkU5c2M4UA\">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/post-status-draft-wordpress/id976403008\">iTunes</a>, <a href=\"https://castro.fm/podcast/c53552c6-1ee0-4fc4-9de4-08ed6bf1ee4d\">Castro</a>, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/c/PostStatus\">YouTube</a>, <a href=\"http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/krogsgard/post-status-draft-wordpress-podcast\">Stitcher</a>, <a href=\"https://player.fm/series/wordpress-post-status-podcasts\">Player.fm</a>, <a href=\"https://pca.st/05rR\">Pocket Casts</a>, <a href=\"https://wordpress-post-status-draft-podcast.simplecast.com/\">Simplecast</a>, or by <a href=\"https://feeds.simplecast.com/2JE9sc8P\">RSS</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f3a7.png\" alt=\"🎧\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /></p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-mentioned-in-the-show\"><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f517.png\" alt=\"🔗\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Mentioned in the show:</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://twitter.com/tirrell\">Jack Kitterhing</a> (Twitter)</li><li><a href=\"https://twitter.com/dimensionmedia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"></a><a href=\"https://twitter.com/dimensionmedia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">David Bisset</a> (Twitter)</li><li><a href=\"https://twitter.com/dimensionmedia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"></a><a href=\"https://twitter.com/post_status\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Post Status</a> (Twitter)</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-53 wp-block-columns sponsor has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\" id=\"Gravity-Forms\">\n<div class=\"wp-container-51 wp-block-column\">\n<h3><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f64f.png\" alt=\"🙏\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Episode Partner: <a href=\"https://poststat.us/gravity\">Gravity Forms</a></h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https://poststat.us/gravity\">Gravity Forms</a></strong> is a powerful form builder for WordPress and the #1 choice for businesses and web professionals across the globe. Its vast array of features, intuitive drag-and-drop form editor, and extensive ecosystem of add-ons, ensure customers can design beautiful, intelligent, and accessible forms for any project requirement.</p>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-52 wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center\"><div class=\"wp-block-image cloudways-logo\">\n<a href=\"https://poststat.us/gravity\"><img width=\"392\" height=\"299\" src=\"https://cdn.poststatus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/gravity-forms-logo-stacked.png\" alt=\"Gravity Forms\" class=\"wp-image-88956\" title=\"Cloudways Logo\" /></a><a href=\"https://poststat.us/gravity\">Gravity Forms</a></div></div>\n</div>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status</a> • <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status - The Community for WordPress Professionals</a></p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Mon, 15 Aug 2022 05:04:37 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:12:\"David Bisset\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:28;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:74:\"WPTavern: OrganizeWP Launches with “Old School Software Pricing Model”\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=136916\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:79:\"https://wptavern.com/organizewp-launches-with-old-school-software-pricing-model\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:4418:\"<p>WordPress developer Jon Christopher has relaunched <a href=\"https://organizewp.com/\">OrganizeWP</a>, a commercial plugin that organizes content in the admin with a single, unified view and UI for streamlining common actions. It&#8217;s a utility plugin that Christopher has had on his mind since before he released its predecessor, the <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/hierarchy-plugin-enhances-wordpress-as-a-cms\">Hierarchy</a> plugin, eight years ago.</p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The WordPress Admin felt really disjointed once Custom Post Types were a new thing (this is how long ago we&#8217;re talking) because there were top level content &#8216;buckets&#8217; mixed and matched with Plugins and Settings and everything else,&#8221; Christopher said. &#8220;Then products started using the Admin Menu as a form of advertising to an extent, putting top level Menu items in place when they absolutely aren&#8217;t necessary, and the problem just got worse and worse.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Christopher aimed to tackle this same problem with OrganizeWP but redesigned the UI and rebuilt it with JavaScript to accommodate new features like groups and drag and drop. The new product is now out of beta and is catching some attention due to its unusual <a href=\"https://organizewp.com/checkout/\">pricing</a> model.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>For $29.00, users get access to updates and support for Version 2. OrganizeWP is selling licenses for the current major version with no subscription.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a post titled <a href=\"https://jonchristopher.us/blog/rethinking-wordpress-product-pricing-models/\">Rethinking WordPress Product Pricing Models</a>, Christopher highlights the drawbacks of using the subscription model, which is used widely in the WordPress ecosystem for software products that users host on their own websites.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Support, I would argue, is&nbsp;<em>by far</em>&nbsp;the reason so many WordPress products have adopted a subscription-based pricing model,&#8221; Christopher said. &#8220;The support burden for products in the WordPress space is&nbsp;<strong>hugely significant</strong>. It goes hand-in-hand with the self-sufficiency that comes with WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We run into problems when the platform relies on self-sufficiency but the customer is not self-sufficient.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;Since OrganizeWP is an admin-facing tool with no frontend output, Christopher decided it was &#8220;a prime candidate for a more old school software pricing model in that licenses will be sold for each major version, with no automatic expiration.&#8221; He plans to support version 2 of OrganizeWP indefinitely in terms of compatibility with WordPress and bug fixes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;With heavily committing to major versions being the big planning milestones, updates will involve (primarily) bug fixes when applicable as opposed to adding new features,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Each major version will be feature frozen, so the updates will look a bit different when compared to most WordPress products today.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Christopher identified subscription fatigue as the inspiration for this pricing model experiment. One might be hard pressed to build any type of business website on WordPress without purchasing any subscriptions for plugins. Users are so inundated with subscriptions that MasterWP was inspired to create <a href=\"https://wpwallet.com/\">WP Wallet</a>, a service that helps users keep track of license renewals and helps agencies bill for client subscriptions.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fellow veteran product creator Brian Gardner called OrganizeWP&#8217;s pricing model &#8220;a bold (and refreshing) move,&#8221; but it&#8217;s the market that will decide if it is successful. Will customers be grateful for purchasing the plugin as a one-time payment or will they expect a constant stream of new features for the price?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The market may say that WordPress product customers have come to know, expect, and be comfortable with the subscription model,&#8221; Christopher said. &#8220;Selling major versions means that updates will be nothing more than maintenance releases and bug fixes, no new features.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;New major versions will need to be&nbsp;<em>pitched</em>&nbsp;to existing customers and that feeling of getting features &#8216;for free&#8217; is gone with this pricing model. Customers may&nbsp;<em>hate</em>&nbsp;that, I’m not sure yet.&#8221;</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Fri, 12 Aug 2022 21:30:13 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:29;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:84:\"WPTavern: WooCommerce to Stop Registering Customizer Options in Upcoming 6.9 Release\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=136922\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:95:\"https://wptavern.com/woocommerce-to-stop-registering-customizer-options-in-upcoming-6-9-release\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:2480:\"<p>WooCommerce is making a strong push towards getting the Customizer menu out of the admin for those who are using a block theme. In an effort to clean up the admin and eliminate confusion, the plugin will <a href=\"https://developer.woocommerce.com/2022/08/11/stop-registering-customizer-options-for-block-themes/\">stop registering Customizer options when a block theme is active</a> beginning with version 6.9. This will go into effect with WooCommerce 6.9, which is expected to be released in September 2022. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>The problem is that site owners can get confused by having both the &#8220;Edit site&#8221; and &#8220;Customize&#8221; menu links in the admin. </p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>This change is an important one for WooCommerce developers to acknowledge if they are still registering settings within the WooCommerce panel in the Customizer. Developers can opt to use the <code>customize_register</code> action to include Customizer menu items, but continuing to offer Customizer options is not an ideal user experience.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Subpanels or sections registered within the WooCommerce panel on the Customizer will no longer be accessible since the Customizer links will be removed,&#8221; WooCommerce engineer Alba Rincón said in the announcement. &#8220;If you’re the developer of a theme or extension that relies on the presence of these you will need to make changes to ensure a smooth transition.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WooCommerce core developers recommend plugin authors update their products to relocate any Customizer settings to a block, pattern, or the Global Styles menu.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Community developers are also invited to weigh in on a change that may impact developers&#8217; debugging workflows. It is a <a href=\"https://developer.woocommerce.com/2022/08/05/rfc-removing-js-css-source-files-from-releases/?utm_content=buffer410f4&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=buffer\">proposal</a> designed to address the problem of the growing size of the WooCommerce zip archive, which is rapidly approaching a size where it is difficult for some users to update with out timing out. The core team is considering removing JavaScript and CSS source files from releases, but this major change requires community feedback. The <a href=\"https://github.com/woocommerce/woocommerce/discussions/34212\">discussion will be open on GitHub</a> until August 26th, 2022.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://woocommerce.files.wordpress.com/2022/08/panel.png\"></a></p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Fri, 12 Aug 2022 19:40:51 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:30;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:55:\"Post Status: Post Status Picks for the Week of August 8\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:32:\"https://poststatus.com/?p=104909\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:66:\"https://poststatus.com/post-status-picks-for-the-week-of-august-8/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:2999:\"<div class=\"has-background has-theme-palette-7-background-color wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">Should you build or capture an audience? JR Farr notes the pros and cons for each. On the Matt Report, Marc Benzakein shares a retrospective on ServerPress. Allie Nimmons and Teron Bullock discuss how to deal with negative criticism online in Press The Issue. Do we need a WordPress debate club? Bob Dunn has tips for first-time WordCampers, and Working Code looks at reducing the complexity of shipping code. </p></div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-post-status-podcast-picks\">Post Status Podcast Picks <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f399.png\" alt=\"🎙\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Lemonhead</strong>: Should you <a href=\"https://make-lemonade.simplecast.com/episodes/building-or-capturing-an-audience-9r3wAoH7\">build or capture an audience</a>? <strong>JR Farr</strong> notes the pros and cons for each.</li><li><strong>Matt Report</strong>: <strong>Marc Benzakein</strong> <a href=\"https://mattreport.com/serverpress-closing-reflecting-on-12-years-of-business/\">shares a retrospective</a> on running ServerPress for a decade in the WordPress space.</li><li><strong>Press The Issue</strong>: <strong>Allie Nimmons</strong> and <strong>Teron Bullock</strong> discuss <a href=\"https://masterwp.com/presstheissue/how-to-handle-wordpress-criticism-online/\">how to deal with negative criticism online</a>. Do we need a WordPress debate club?</li><li><strong>WooBits</strong>: <strong>Bob Dunn</strong> <a href=\"https://dothewoo.io/that-first-wordcamp-for-woocommerce-and-wordpress-builders/\">briefly covers two tips</a> on how WordCamp first-timers can get the most value from their first big WordPress event.</li><li><strong>Working Code</strong>: <a href=\"https://workingcode.dev/episodes/085-shipping-complexity/\">A discussion</a> about reducing the complexity of the code shipping process.</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-47 wp-block-group has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<p><strong>Get our weekly WordPress community news digest</strong> — Post Status\' <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/news-and-insights/week-in-review/\">Week in Review</a> — also available in <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/newsletter\">our newsletter</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f48c.png\" alt=\"💌\" class=\"wp-smiley\" />  </p>\n\n\n\n<p>And don\'t miss <strong>the latest updates from the people making WordPress</strong>. We\'ve got you covered with <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/make-wordpress/\">This Week at WordPress.org</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/2699.png\" alt=\"⚙\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /></p>\n</div></div>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status</a> • <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status - The Community for WordPress Professionals</a></p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Fri, 12 Aug 2022 17:23:26 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:10:\"Dan Knauss\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:31;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:105:\"Post Status: Post Status Excerpt (No. 63) — Pay Transparency, Mutual Respect, and the Community We Need\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:32:\"https://poststatus.com/?p=104594\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:81:\"https://poststatus.com/pay-transparency-mutual-respect-and-the-community-we-need/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:47248:\"<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>People don\'t realize how long ago &#8220;long ago&#8221; wasn\'t. We\'re not talking about two, three, four hundred years ago. My family always stressed working somewhere your employer respects you, because it wasn\'t that long ago they didn\'t have a choice. </p><cite>Nyasha Green</cite></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-theme-palette-7-background-color has-background\">We\'re rebooting <strong>Post Status Excerpt</strong> as a weekly chat between <strong>Nyasha Green</strong> and <strong>Dan Knauss</strong> (and guests—please join us!) about a few of the active topics and discussions in the WordPress community that we feel are most important. Big thanks to <strong>David Bisset</strong> in his former role as host and curator here, and also to our intern and post-production engineer, <strong>Olivia Bisset</strong>.</p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">This week we\'re talking about pay transparency. Ny relates some personal experiences where an employer did not disclose pay or how employees were selected for raises. This leads us into a discussion of pay transparency in the hiring process — how it matters to everyone but especially job seekers who are black, indigenous, or other people of color. (Ny <a href=\"https://masterwp.com/put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is-why-we-need-pay-transparency-in-tech/\">has written about this before</a>, and <strong>Piccia Neri</strong> has been investigating the topic lately.) We also talk about how a lack of transparency can seem to emphasize an employer\'s distrust and an employee\'s disadvantaged position — and the effect that can have on workplace culture.</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Hey <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/techtwitter?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#techtwitter</a> & <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/WordPress?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#WordPress</a> Twitter & <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/womenintech?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#womenintech</a>, there\'s still time to vote in this poll! <br /><br />No salary range in job adverts: yay or nay? <a href=\"https://t.co/p1nRvnGGCB\">https://t.co/p1nRvnGGCB</a></p>&mdash; Piccia Neri (@Piccia) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Piccia/status/1557682199067037696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 11, 2022</a></blockquote>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, we talk about our own family histories which are touched — in living memory in Ny\'s case — by slavery and colonialism where work and dignity were extracted from some people by others with the power take their labor without compensation. Ny\'s great grandfather was born a slave in South Carolina in 1858 and lived until 1963. Dan\'s ancestors include German settlers in North Carolina who abandoned their earlier beliefs against slavery and began to practice it in the late 1700s. In the Americas and beyond, the past is much closer than we often assume, especially for BIPOC people. History only &#8220;bends toward justice&#8221; if people choose to bend it that way. It can also go the other way.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, we close with how <strong>Allie Nimmons</strong> experienced a surprising level of hostility to a survey she presented to the WordPress community about the ways we contribute to the project and how we feel about it. There\'s the community we have now — and the community we need to become. How do we get there? What are the barriers? How can you help?</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-41 wp-block-columns sponsor has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\" id=\"StellarWP\">\n<div class=\"wp-container-39 wp-block-column\">\n<h3 class=\"StellarWP\" id=\"Sponsor\"><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f64f.png\" alt=\"🙏\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Sponsor: <a href=\"https://poststat.us/stellarwp\">StellarWP</a><a href=\"https://poststat.us/wpengine\"></a></h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>StellarWP</strong> provides WordPress solutions for all humankind. We’re a collective of leaders interested in growing WordPress companies. We build great plugins, but we don’t stop there; we continually challenge ourselves to keep innovating and improving. <a href=\"https://stellarwp.com/about/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Reach out to us if you’re interested in learning more!</strong></a></p>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-40 wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top\"><div class=\"wp-block-image stellarwp-logo\">\n<img width=\"400\" height=\"400\" src=\"https://cdn.poststatus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/stellarwp-logo-avatar-1.jpg\" alt=\"StellarWP\" class=\"wp-image-101425\" title=\"StellarWP Logo\" />StellarWP</div></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-mentioned-in-the-show\"><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f517.png\" alt=\"🔗\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Mentioned in the Show</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul id=\"block-a3e9962f-97ca-4009-be8e-db47b5d1fddf\"><li><a href=\"https://twitter.com/Piccia?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor\">Piccia Neri</a> started a discussion in <strong><a href=\"https://poststatus.slack.com/archives/C02TNBDAXLL/p1657562763823889\">Post Status Slack</a></strong> and on <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Piccia/status/1557682199067037696\">Twitter</a> with a poll about job listings without salary ranges. </li><li>Nyasha wrote an article for <strong>MasterWP</strong>, &#8220;<a href=\"https://masterwp.com/put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is-why-we-need-pay-transparency-in-tech/\">Put your money where your mouth is: Why we need pay transparency in tech</a>.&#8221;</li><li>Nyasha\'s great grandfather, <strong>Jeff Doby</strong> was one of the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_last_survivors_of_American_slavery\">Last Survivors of American Slavery</a>.</li><li>Historical trauma is carried across the generations in our genetics, according to researchers like <a href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21280926.Bessel_van_der_Kolk\"><strong>Bessel van der Kolk</strong></a>, the author of books like <em><a href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18693771-the-body-keeps-the-score\">The Body Keeps the Score</a></em>.</li><li><a href=\"https://twitter.com/allie_nimmons\">Allie Nimmons</a> shared this <a href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdxRqFvGScVsLXguO-UoQUGy9rZM7bRXqnA3bUzxVRvTGs4Rw/viewform\">contributor survey</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/allie_nimmons/status/1557390347696734211\">on Twitter</a> and <a href=\"https://twitter.com/allie_nimmons/status/1557226372602494976\">commented later</a> on some of the hostile responses she got to the survey itself. </li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h3><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f44b.png\" alt=\"👋\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Your Hosts</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul id=\"block-a3e9962f-97ca-4009-be8e-db47b5d1fddf\"><li><a href=\"https://twitter.com/Ny_The_Creator\">Nyasha Green</a>, Editorial Director at <a href=\"https://twitter.com/_MasterWP\">MasterWP</a> (Twitter)</li><li><a href=\"https://twitter.com/dan_knauss\">Dan Knauss</a>, Editor for <a href=\"https://twitter.com/post_status\">Post Status</a> (Twitter)</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\">Every week <strong><a href=\"https://poststatus.com/podcast/the-excerpt/\">Post Status Excerpt</a></strong> will bring you a conversation about important news and issues in the WordPress community and business ecosystem. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f399.png\" alt=\"🎙\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /><br /><br />You can listen to <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/podcast/the-excerpt/\">past episodes</a> of <strong>The Excerpt</strong>, <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/category/post-status-podcasts/\">browse all our podcasts</a>, and don’t forget to subscribe on <a href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/1m3xwXbe0MG5BzFVPtB0A7\">Spotify</a>, Amazon Music, <a href=\"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS8ySkU5c2M4UA\">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/post-status-draft-wordpress/id976403008\">iTunes</a>, <a href=\"https://castro.fm/podcast/c53552c6-1ee0-4fc4-9de4-08ed6bf1ee4d\">Castro</a>, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/c/PostStatus\">YouTube</a>, <a href=\"http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/krogsgard/post-status-draft-wordpress-podcast\">Stitcher</a>, <a href=\"https://player.fm/series/wordpress-post-status-podcasts\">Player.fm</a>, <a href=\"https://pca.st/05rR\">Pocket Casts</a>, <a href=\"https://wordpress-post-status-draft-podcast.simplecast.com/\">Simplecast</a>, or by <a href=\"https://feeds.simplecast.com/2JE9sc8P\">RSS</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f3a7.png\" alt=\"🎧\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /></p>\n\n\n\n<h1 id=\"h-transcript\">Transcript</h1>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> [00:00:00] Hey Ny</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> Hey Dan, how are you?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> All right. Pretty good. Good to see you again. so what\'s on your mind in world of WordPress this week.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> Pay transparency. Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Okay. Me too. Yeah. So peach and Mary, um, who\'s, uh, I think pretty well known and post status member, um, proposed this some time ago and I\'ve been, you know, kind of encouraging and helping along towards an article.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, we know that we do job listings and there\'s always, there are things around. Time zones and where people specify they want people to be from or language that sometimes need a little nudging about [00:01:00] appropriateness, um, for being inclusive, but probably the single most vexing thing to people is, um, a reasonable pay for positions in a field that tends to be.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Somewhat underpaid where we want to bring that up. Um, but you know, as in most job listings, LinkedIn, anywhere, a lot of employers just won\'t pay post any salary at all. And there may be kind of vagueness about, is this a senior position entry level? And yeah, what\'s the compensation. Some companies are really awesome about it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, but some are vague to just don\'t don\'t mention it. Mm-hmm so, um, So she was surveying. Yeah. What did you think of her, her poll and the discussion that happened on Twitter?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> I thought it was really good. Um, I actually wrote, um, for master WP a little while ago about pay [00:02:00] transparency and how more companies need to just post their salaries.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, um, of course it gets pushed back, not my article, but that idea gets pushed back from companies, especially in places like South Carolina where, you know, They really do want to discriminate and pay and not care about it. Um, but I thought it was excellent and I think more companies should do it. Also.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wanna point out that Colorado already has a state law that does this. And, um, one interesting thing about that is so many companies have been major companies like Southwest airlines have been trying to, can I name. Oh, yeah. Okay. they, um, you know, they\'re one of the people to fight against it and the companies are like trying to like take the jobs out of Colorado.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, I think it was Southwest. Let me not slander Southwest. And it\'s not them. I\'m gonna double check</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> because they\'re so embarrassed about their salary. They don\'t wanna have to post it. I mean, you\'ll leave the state cuz of that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> Like I feel like, but that, and also they want to pay people differently. [00:03:00] Like yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> So they don\'t wanna be seen doing it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> Yeah. Like they know it\'s wrong. So like they know it\'s wrong. They know it\'s not the right thing to do, but they\'re still going to do it. And it\'s just come on, man. It\'s 2022. But like we were talking about, we\'re not that removed from first of all. Well, a lot of discrimination still happens today.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\'s undeniable, but we\'re not that removed from legalized discrimination. Mm-hmm . Yeah. And I think a lot of companies, you know, we don\'t have a federal law to make you post, um, your salaries, but we need to one, um, two, a lot of companies don\'t know how much. Better. It makes them look, if they go ahead and do that, just jump ahead of the curve and have those salaries up there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So people know like we\'re getting paid, what we\'re worth one. We\'re not wasting our time with the interview. We don\'t want the pay and we\'re not being discriminated against by color, race, [00:04:00] gender, sexuality, things like that. Yeah, absolutely.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> So I think, um, it\'s gonna be interesting to see how, how PT develops that, how we pull that article together.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe I\'ll, I\'ll have to get, get you in on that too, for some feedback, or maybe some, some quotes too. Uh, have you had experiences directly with where you applied for, for something not quite knowing what the range was cause they didn\'t tell you or do you have personal rule about like, I\'m not gonna look at that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> Oh, yeah. Um, so living in South Carolina, almost most of my life, um, it\'s a state that doesn\'t have a lot of, um, protection for employees, a very anti-union state. Um, I remember, um, working in college for a, I\'m not gonna name, drop them. Um, I don\'t want them to get the attention, um, working for a company where I made food and delivered it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, um, they told us when we were first hired, they were like, you [00:05:00] know, We\'re open about this and I\'m like, oh, it\'s gonna be something positive. And I\'m like, what are you hoping about? Well, uh, raises are given at the discretion of managers. So, you know, mm we\'re just gonna let you know. I\'m like, why were you so excited to tell me that, that, that sucks.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So if you don\'t like me, I don\'t get a raise. Yep. But they were like, well, at least we told you, we didn\'t just like do it like that. Doesn\'t make it better, but they thought it made it better. And, um, I worked at that job for a little while and. Uh, personal story. So I, I don\'t, I haven\'t told the story a lot.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think publicly, um, our manager was very sweet, very sweet guy and, um, very personable. I had no issues with him and I remember one day he asked if I wanted to come to his house and like, just hang out and like, I didn\'t think anything of it, but I was busy. I wasn\'t gonna do it. like, I was like 20 at a time.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I didn\'t really care. I was like, um, oh no, I\'m I\'m busy. And he was like, oh, okay. Like, I thought it was like a simple conversation. He was like, okay. You know, no worries. And I guess a couple people had, they went and hung out with him one on one. [00:06:00] And I noticed in the next couple of weeks, it was just like a complete personality change.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>He just like made little side comments about working with me. Um, like I said, oh, you\'re on the line with Naisha today. Ugh. Okay. I guess. Nice, you know, I\'m joking. And I\'m like, what? And I didn\'t think of it at the time. I was just like, whatever, I\'m in college, like I\'m taking like four, like 20 credits and I\'m doing the shop.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Part-time, I\'m not gonna think about it. But, um, I remember like in the next few weeks, like people who were getting hired on after me, cuz I help open the store. Um, they had raises. They got their 25 cents, which was a big deal at the time, I guess. And, um, a couple of them that I trained, they became like managers and supervisors.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I was sitting there with my $7 and doing all this work for nothing. And when I quit that job, you know, some of the guys were telling me, cuz it was mostly a, a guy job that they hired and then they rarely hire people of color. Um, they were like, you know, you really should have, uh, been nicer to. So and so, and I was like, [00:07:00] they were like, yeah, we used to hang out and do all the stuff that cover in.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You never wanted to do it. Yeah. What. . I was like, that guy asked me one time when I first started to come to this house. I said, no, and that\'s why y\'all wouldn\'t pay me or promote me. Yeah. So I was like, you know, I was done with that company. I, I don\'t even eat their food to this day. Um, and they\'re not doing well as a company either, which is great.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Uh, I shouldn\'t say that, but it\'s great to me now. but, um, I just, that was like the first time as an adult. Cause I was 20 or 21, um, that something was so blatantly. That blatantly happened. And it was like, I didn\'t even think until later on I\'m like, what if he, like, would\'ve tried to like touch me or something like, like, I, I didn\'t even think of that at the time.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was just a simple, like, I\'m busy, I\'m in college, I\'m doing all this stuff. Like, dude, we can hang out another time. And it was like, after that, there was this just whole narrative of she\'s mean she doesn\'t wanna do this, deny her money. So I think at a company where there would\'ve been paid transparency, Where you didn\'t rely on [00:08:00] being favored by the boss?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, things like that, that I would\'ve been paid what I was due, which probably still, it was 25 cents more. It wasn\'t, I still think I was worth more than that, but I would\'ve been promoted. I wouldn\'t trained my, you know, replacements in, you know, superiors. Um, so that\'s, I always think about that story when I think about pay transparency because.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like I was very young and naive and I was, I was naive for a long time and it\'s like, how do we protect other people from that? Not just women, cuz it happens to men, but mostly women. How, how do we protect people of color from that? Like how do we stop that from happening? And I think pay transparency is the first step.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Yeah. I\'m, I\'m really, um, impressed and pleased that Colorado took that step. And that\'s, that\'s interesting how. Impacts distributed companies with people working remotely employers there, like, like yours, like Rob mm-hmm consulting, um, based [00:09:00] in, in, in Colorado, but teams all over the place. Um, so you\'re kind of benefiting from Colorado is progressive in South Carolina, despite South Carolina.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh, nice. This is, this is something we can do in distributed companies to change cultures, to make. Where we see, you know, kinda gross inequities. Um, but yeah. What do you, what do you think, um, what do you think it does to for, I, I think, I think a lot of employers have the great intentions and I\'d stick up for \'em.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, you know, there\'s reason. There\'s plenty of feedback and reasons for why, why we, we want to have this conversation later, or it\'s, it\'s a variable thing, or we don\'t wanna scare people off who we\'d like to get in the role by, um, you know, that\'s kind of a feed, but who\'s time are you, you wasting here [00:10:00] potentially, but yeah, they want to cast the net maybe widely, but there\'s two sides to that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, if they really value building. A positive, collegial, collaborative environment that makes their people better as they grow there and is inclusive. Um, what does it do potentially? To start off with this kind of shell game or, you know, what\'s the three card Monty kinda game of how much would you would require her to be paid for this?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>How much do you think you\'re worth? Which is, um, some personalities and some people in certain experiences and some people on a depressing day. I mean, that\'s a hard, you\'re just not gonna represent yourself. Well, and you don\'t have like an advocate at your arm to do this and. What do you, you know, you can tell what I, I think about it, but what, [00:11:00] what are your, what are your thoughts for the long term impact on that company culture?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you start off with oh, degree of non-transparency and, and suspicion, or trying to leverage the power, you have to employer side advantage, um, over the employee, um, .</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> A lot of people probably won\'t agree with me because this is the status quo, but the world is changing. If companies continue to do that, these mind games, they won\'t have a company you\'re losing good talent because you want to play these mind games.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You want to, I\'m the guy in, not this, I\'m the person in power. I don\'t want to, um, say it\'s only guys that do it, cuz it\'s not only guys, but I\'m the person in power. Let\'s see what let\'s see if I can, uh, how many tricks I can get out of them. before I can get, you know, them in. And then to me, it sets the stage for how it\'s going to be working at [00:12:00] this company.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I\'m gonna apply into this job with all these mind games and tricks, and I\'m jumping through hoops and I have to make sure it\'s not a joke when he says this or that. And they say this or that. Oh my God, I\'m so sorry. Um, but um, I have to go through all these hoops and then. I\'m stressed out. I\'m like sweating.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I need the money. I need the job. I get the job. I\'m like, whew. All right. It\'s Monday. What game do I have to play today? So you\'re going to have depressed workers. You\'re gonna have stressed out workers. You\'re gonna have burnt out workers and eventually. Hopefully when they learn their value, they\'re going to quit.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I think employers can do this, but they\'re gonna have, they\'re gonna have a high turnover rate. They\'re not going to attract the best talent because they\'re, so they\'re just losing so many with that. And the company\'s culture is going to suck as well as the world. Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> And I, I kind of appreciate more and more how, um, how, you know, there\'s an interpersonal [00:13:00] ethical level where.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\'re maybe hurting someone in their, you know, immediate lives with, um, with a, a work environment that doesn\'t build them up. And mm-hmm, , um, puts them in a situation where they have to, um, you know, not really know if they\'re at parody with their peers and, and colleagues or what they\'re worth, or, um, and if you damage.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I mean, there\'s, there\'s a certain amount of human capital that employers just assume, you know, we just produce it, you know, our mm-hmm and it, you know, there\'s a whole, all the people that are holding us up, family, friends, and, and, and time off and rest and, and all of that. If, if you\'re just depleting people and you don\'t put that back, ultimately you\'re hurting the.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Culture like for us, um, WordPress tech industry, you know, it\'s, it\'s, [00:14:00] it\'s damaging how the larger culture works and, and, you know, your, your employees move on to someone else than they mm-hmm , you know, they\'re are we, we should want to pass people out better than they were when they came in. Yeah. Or at least as, as good.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, um, so it\'s not, uh, you\'re not damaging people. You\'re not damaging our ecosystem. Um, I, I feel like a human, I don\'t like the term. I kind of reject the term human resource, but mm-hmm , if you\'re gonna look at things kind of ecologically, you shouldn\'t draw down on that human resource. That\'s a commons too.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our labor commons in, in WordPress. So yeah, hopefully this conversation that, that will, will continue and. Yeah, your, your article, I think was the first I\'ve seen someone kind of bring that out and yeah. I want to have to put you impeach it together. [00:15:00] Oh, okay. Have you met her?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> I have not. No. Okay.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Yeah. It\'s, it\'s an important, important issue.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, so I think two, we were, we were talking earlier about, um, mm-hmm, the, the history that\'s kind of at our backs too. Mm-hmm and. what people have been through and what in living memory, in their, in their family touches them, you know, it\'s different and we\'re not always sensitive to that, that kind of thing.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And in the United States, you know, Canada\'s got another version of this here. There\'s if you\'re people don\'t exist in a vacuum and they don\'t come to you, um, in a vacuum and. When you, when you faced employers like that, where there\'s a clear, you know, we\'re gonna arbitrarily use, give managers power over you, does that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>What does that, [00:16:00] how does that register to you in the context of your family history? That someone like me probably doesn\'t have,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> well, it\'s always a red flag, especially with power plays and. You know, I\'m gonna tie it back to American slavery. Everyone\'s favorite topic . And so, uh, we talked a little bit about, um, living memory and how it\'s not that far back for that many people.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I have a very large family, a very old family and the things they experienced that they it\'s still, first of all, it\'s not that long ago and it\'s still. Just basically shapes what I do and how I feel about things today and specifically, um, you know, people like to talk about slavery. Um, well, so long ago, none of you guys knew any slaves and things like that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\'s not true, especially from my family. Um, so I sent you an article about my great, great grandfather Jefferson do. And, uh, he was born in the 1950s. So he was born into [00:17:00] slavery in South Carolina and he lived a hundred. In 1850s, he lived 105 years. That\'s how old he was when he died. Wow. Um, so he lived until the 19, um, sixties.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mm-hmm um, as a matter of fact, the equal pay act, um, was, um, It passed in 1963, that was there. He died. So, um, my great-grandfather was alive for, uh, slavery. He lived through the civil war. He lived through the creation of the automobile. He lived through, you know, the early civil rights movements, um, Rosa parks.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>He was alive to see Martin Luther king Jr. Walk, you know, and my mom was alive. My mom was, um, about eight. When he, he died, she still remembers running errands for him. My mom knew him. He was a slave. He was born into slavery. Um, his granddaughters, they were in their thirties. When he, when they died twenties or thirties, they\'re still alive.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Three of them, um, in their late eighties. And, um, he was the patriarch of our family and the things he taught [00:18:00] them, the things he taught his sons, the things he taught his grandsons, his great grandsons that shaped our family that shaped our worldview. He would tell them, you know, these are things we did in slavery, but now that you all don\'t have to do that, this is what you should.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>He told people that are still alive that today . Yeah. Um, so people don\'t realize how long ago, long ago. Wasn\'t yeah, we had laws in the book with just when he, he was not a, a free person when he was born. And by the time he died, there was a equal rights amendment for pay between men and women that was in the sixties that wasn\'t that long ago.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So . Legalized discrimination and pay is still happening. You know, they, that amendment doesn\'t go far enough. It doesn\'t protect against race, sexuality, religion, things like that. Um, just the things that happened to him. What happened to his daughters? What happened to his granddaughters? Those things follow me today.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>His grand, his great granddaughter. [00:19:00] My mother integrated her high school. She was always paid less than everybody else. She went to H B, C U cuz. She could not go to other colleges. This was the seventies. Yeah. I\'m not talking about 2, 3, 400 years ago. Um, you know, so you know, my family always stressed education, getting the best education.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>They always stressed working somewhere where your employer respects you because it wasn\'t too long ago where they didn\'t have a. Yep. So I think it would take these companies. They would be well reminded to remember the people that they deal with, especially people of color in the United States. We\'ve been dealing with this stuff more recently than you think.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So do you want to be a company that\'s known as one that lived in the past that kept these bad things going? Or do you want to be known as a progressive company that was ahead of the curve? Yeah, they had the laws in Colorado, but your company in South Carolina, why don\'t you, why don\'t you jump ahead of the curve too?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why don\'t you do this? Why don\'t you do that? Yeah. Why don\'t you be the best you can be? Why don\'t you take this lemon me memory cuz it\'s all of our history, even though it happened to a certain subject we\'re Americans, it [00:20:00] happened to all of us. Yeah. All of us were a part of this. When this happened, our, our ancestors.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Touched</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> all of the Americas touched everything and it Europeans doing it it\'s it was a global global system. And yeah, in a hundred years, you know, two, three generations in a family that\'s living memory and it\'s it\'s a hundred years. And that seems like a long time, but that\'s body memory. That\'s, you know, you\'re, was it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is kind of more tended to in, in trauma, uh, psychology and understanding of that. And, you know, the, what is it? The genetically you are part of, um, an egg formed in your mother\'s mother mm-hmm and. This goes, it\'s a long, it\'s a long way back his, and you don\'t have to scratch the surface of any community to, to find the history [00:21:00] of, um, traumas there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, mm-hmm , you know, I think I told you about, like, when I researched family history, one, one branch of my, um, uh, German Moravian ancestors who started out pacifists and abolitionists. And, and so on one branch went down and founded Winston Salem, North Carolina. And, um, they decided it would be okay if they had slaves, but treated them as spiritual equals, just not labor equals mm-hmm oldest black church in, in America is still running there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And they\'re still in a kind of reconciliation process cuz there\'s um, it was, um, yeah, not a. Not a good thing, not a good outcome. And it\'s um, so yeah, my part of my family is on the other side of that. And you, I think if you, you dig down, it\'s not that far in Canada, we\'re dealing with. What everyone knew, but is now very publicly aware that [00:22:00] as late as the sixties, indigenous kids were being stripped from their families, put in the religious schools and, um, for cultural assimilation by force, and a lot of them were abused and died in there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>These mass graves that are coming up. And, um, what do we have to say about that is people are. Very touched in their families by, by that, that experience. Um, so yeah, I don\'t, I don\'t see how you can talk about, we want an inclusive culture without, and being historically ignorant of these mm-hmm of these things.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> Yeah. And people need to listen to people of color when they talk about this too. Like, I can trace my family back to here and we experience this stuff until now. Like, this is what you should do to make it more inclusive to help us. Oh, yeah, that\'s fine and dandy, but no, mm-hmm, no more butts. No, if ands or butts.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah.[00:23:00]</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> So moving, moving from one, one survey to another. So, you know, peach is doing the survey unemployment, um, Practices and, you know, it\'s a, it is a bit of a hot button, potential thing there mm-hmm um, and as far as I know, um, she\'s had all kinds of responses that have been cordial and professional and, and fine.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>She\'s a, a white European woman. Um, and I\'m, I\'m glad I hope I\'m right about that. That that\'s, that\'s been. A question and a public kind of probing that we can handle maturely. But then yesterday we see Allie Nimmons, um, talking about a, what I would think is a much more benign survey, um, and getting a [00:24:00] lot, lot of shit mm-hmm and that\'s just not a not appropriate.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And she\'s an African American woman. Um, Makes you think what, tell, tell me what your thoughts are, what, what, um, and what Allie was, was trying to do there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> Um, so Allie was, you know, just trying to do a survey. Um, she\'s really, everybody knows. Allie is really big on WordPress contribution and, um, she\'s just trying to get a feel of how easy or hard it is for people to contribute.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So we can go about addressing ways to make it easier for. Simply it, you know, I think that\'s great. Um, you know, I see stuff every day about, we need more contributions to WordPress. Why anybody would be against people trying to help that I have no idea, but, um, the, a lot of comments she got were so passive aggressive, and that\'s not the first time I\'m seeing that in the WordPress community.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, People are very, [00:25:00] very passive aggressive. When you ask questions. Um, no matter how benign they are, people, they have to flip it, especially if it\'s not like the questions they want to ask, which to me, I\'m just going to say they need to work on, but you know, that\'s all I wanna say about that, but I just think.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of people didn\'t consciously see, it\'s like, she\'s asking these questions. This is African American woman. The, all of the bad responses I saw were not from African Americans. And I don\'t think anywhere from women and they were just kind of jumping down her throat like, oh, you didn\'t ask this question the way I want you to ask it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh, I can\'t do this because this is not the way I would do this.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>what, first of all, what do you like? I, I wanna ask these people, like, do you talk to people like that at your job? Do you say, no, I can\'t help you with this project cuz you didn\'t do it the way I, [00:26:00] I wanted you to do it. Right. I, I, how many people like yourself do you talk to like that? But you know, I\'m not saying they were consciously malicious.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I will give them the benefit of the doubt, but that was something I just really didn\'t like to.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Yeah. And did you say, since you were working on, on this with her, this was, this was for, um, master WP, um, surveying. Um, yes, yes. Yeah. Did you say that there was, um, like you have some guys. Giving the kind of response of like, is this open to white people?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is this a closed survey? Like for, there\'s no reason to think that, right. Yeah. Other than that, she\'s</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> running it black. Yeah. Why would you ask, why would you ask someone that</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> they just assume, because she\'s running it, that</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> it\'s a diverse survey. Yeah. There\'s no, it\'s only people of color. What, in your mind, how does your mind work to do that?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>That, that, that was the response that annoyed me the [00:27:00] worst.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> I have a hard time believing. They actually think that they are just have a chip on their shoulder because of their perception of what all kind of stands for in their mind. As I think reasonably outspoken person who is really good at taking on a lot of issues, we need to talk.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> The best, honestly,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> really okay.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> And, um, yeah, I just, I think it also comes from it\'s the community. That\'s another issue with us in diversity. We need a more diverse community.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Well, she\'s doing it. Oh, basically for a long time anyway. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you\'re, there\'s other, there\'s a lot more, but</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> yeah, people had like interactions with people who don\'t look like them.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>They would know when a person is asking a genuine question. That\'s why I\'m yelling from the clouds. We need a more diverse WordPress, because it\'s not enough to tell people this is how you\'re diverse or what we\'re just talking about. Like, you know, the history of us, and this is how we [00:28:00] interact, and this is how you can make it easier for us.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\'s not enough to tell people that they need to experience this. They need empathy. They need to, they need to talk to people. Yeah. So pushing from more diversity and WordPress will definitely help with that. It definitely will. I I\'m sure we will see the difference. and I,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> I think kindness and basic respect, um, the negative outcome here is, you know, at least in the moment and the emotion of it now, like ally says, she\'s not gonna do one of these surveys again, and that\'s not what we want.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And just having, doing something as simple as that, asking people on about a contribution to the project, um, That she gets kind of targeted in that way is just not a not okay. And to, to demo demoralize people, anyone out of doing productive, constructive work, like that is, is not something that is [00:29:00] healthy in any way.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\'s still, you know, it\'s completely what we don\'t want. Mm-hmm um,</p>\n\n\n\n<p>yeah, I hope I hope that comes out. In a better, better result than just we never ask these, these kind of things again. But, um, I, I re I, I recognize I was, you know, telling you about this before. I, I recognize where that comes from, and it, it\'s not just men, but there is, there is that white male fragility.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, you know, I have, you know, I have that inside me too. There\'s like the, everyone\'s got a scared, frustrated child or, you know, there\'s that part of you, it\'s not your best self. And maybe in some people it gets the better of them a lot more. It it\'s in charge. Um, you got your own wounds, you got your own sense of grievances and why [00:30:00] wasn\'t, uh, why am I not, blah, blah, blah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>All you can see is someone else is getting preference ahead of me or something like that. I mm-hmm, totally admit to having a part that feels that has felt that. So I don\'t, I don\'t know. The big question for me is, and that came up in Michelle\'s misogyny article an issue. I don\'t know quite what to say to men who, um, I recognize where that comes from.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mm-hmm. and it\'s really hard to know how to say this is something you gotta grow on in a con in a constructive way. Cause I think it\'s a genuine failure. It\'s mm-hmm , it\'s a, there\'s not a better, uh, better word for it. It\'s a, it is a genuine and common thing to have from being. Growing up in a, in a culture that doesn\'t have this kind of history at its back that we [00:31:00] were talking about that takes for granted things that are privilege, but we don\'t see it that way until we learn to see it that way.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mm-hmm until you, you move into it a different environment or something changes for you for, for me, it was, you know, after I was 12 or so, that was probably the last time I lived in a highly. Homogenous kind of environment and was mm-hmm generally in a minority myself. So, um, if you don\'t get stuff like that, I don\'t know.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\'s, it\'s not an easy thing to grow on. And then you got grown men who, you know, they\'re, they haven\'t grown on that. Do you have any, any thoughts on that? Like how is that a, how do we crack that in? And it it\'s, it\'s a tough one, cuz you can. It deserves to be aggressively treated, but that, but still with, in some kindness and [00:32:00] understanding because you don\'t get anywhere with people, um, when you\'re both feeling grievance and anger,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> I think, and I don\'t know if this is like, I would have to think on it more, but my first thought.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think this process, cause it\'s been a while it\'s called, I think they called it sugaring. I don\'t, if that\'s not it, please forgive me. But, um, it\'s a process of just going through an unlearning internal biases that you may have, because like I said, I don\'t think most of these people did it maliciously.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, and just for an example where I learned this term, um, I got to meet some of the feminists of South Carolina, some of the, uh, older ones who helped write like the sexual assault laws and things like that. The most badass women I\'ve ever met in my life. Oh my gosh. And um, my old neighbor actually was one of them too.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, Hey, Dr. Sally Boyd. Um, but, uh, they were just incredible women and they talked about, you know, just fighting for different things for [00:33:00] women in the seventies and sixties and eighties in South Carolina. Um, they help integrate the Sears downtown because they didn\'t, uh, have black, uh, they didn\'t want black clerks out.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Funny story from that, what they did was one of the women had like five children and. They went to Sears and she was like, they told \'em just to let her children go. And they ran everywhere because they would go to talk to a manager and the manager would just never wanna talk to them. But when they let those children, wow.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The clerks were so busy. The manager had to come out and talk to them. So , you know, but before they got to actually actions like that, which was incredible by the way, cuz these were rich, upper class white. And, you know, they believe in the quality for all, they were fighting for African American women to have this right.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But before they got to that step, they had to unlearn biases that they had. Again, they were upper class, white, rich women from the south. They were in a whole nother, you know, ballpark, a whole nother ballgame. And, uh, one of them talked about how one of the women they met was a doctor, but before they met her, they just heard they were talking to [00:34:00] Dr.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, and so let\'s say Dr. Brown, Dr. Brown was coming to meet with them and they thought it was going to be her husband. and the woman walked in and it\'s like, you know, these are, these are feminists. They, they have, you know, actions they\'ve done, but they still had this notion that when I hear doctor as a man yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, things like that. So they told us like, you know, even though you all may think you\'re feminist, you may think you\'re, uh, freedom fighters. You may think you\'re, uh, fighting for people underneath you or your own race or your own gender. We all have these biases that we have to unlearn. And we all have to go through this process.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I don\'t think white men in particular. Told a lot to, you know, we need to go through this process and this is how so I think sugaring and I hope that\'s the word again, um, is what they do. If that\'s not the world, I\'ll correct myself. Next time we talk, I\'m gonna look it up. But, um, we just have to get together.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, they have to get together and, um, just unlearn stuff and it starts with education. It starts with talking with other people, um, check your privilege, I guess, is what the kids say these days. [00:35:00] yeah. So yeah, I think that would be the most helpful.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Yeah, sugaring to me sounds, sounds, um, I\'m thinking of sweet tea and yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trying to sweeten a otherwise bitter thing, but, um, mm-hmm yeah. I hear, hear what you\'re saying. I, yeah, and it, it probably never, it never really ends. My, my experience with it is, is you just kind of find, um,</p>\n\n\n\n<p>we\'re probably all better off acknowledging that we\'ve got, you know, you got, you got a shadow, you got a dark spot and you know, everyone\'s heart has got, uh, you know, that, that side that go, when things go, you know, you, you don\'t want the person you don\'t want to be, or hopefully you don\'t, you don\'t want, you know, the, the worst self is, is there in everyone.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And. um, doesn\'t wanna [00:36:00] listen to other, other people is more concerned with its own, own sense of, um, entitlement or injuries or, or, or even even needs. And, um, yeah, that\'s a tough, tough thing to, um, to get people to, to take seriously and, and handle well, unless it\'s in, in a kind of community relational context where you can.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Friendship and peer collegiality and respect as such a part of the culture and a priority that it\'s hard. You, you, it gives you a baseline. I, I, I think that\'s where all, all forms of contribution should feed that, that, um, that we\'re, we kind of hold each other up because. Open sources based on trust, like any, any good [00:37:00] community, any good relationships.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And when you got that, you can kind of hold each other up a bit and tolerate some of some degree of conflict that\'s necessary and, and disagreement and hurt feelings and, and all that. But I not, not really that good at it all the time, probably better than some other communities, but I don\'t know if that matters.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> No worries. I, I agree with you. It\'s just communication and holding your community. A responsible charity begins at home. My grandmother always said that. So we look out for our community. Our community will look out for other communities. It\'s kind of like paying it forward.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Yeah, yeah, yeah. I, um, I think it\'s important.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\'m glad I, I kind of know, we know something of each other, like where we live our stories or mm-hmm, , you know, background and I feel like in. Context. That\'s important to kind of slowly tell those stories and know that stuff for each other grounds, grounds things makes it harder to do that [00:38:00] internet psychosis, where it\'s not real people that you\'re shooting at, you know, just venting on or something.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, and it makes kindness more the common ground. Well, that\'s a lot covered a lot. Oh yeah. We . We always do. Yeah. Well, that\'s. Maybe maybe next time we\'ll do do some more, um, techy, newsy stuff, but, um, yeah. Got a really good, a good question from someone who is outside the community and kind of, you know, wants to, to get in senior developer, wasn\'t done a lot of WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>What would you advise that I do to get in? We\'ve had a bunch of answers come and, um, yeah, it\'d be interested in your take on some stuff like that. I\'ll probably write about it soon.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> Yeah, let\'s get into that next. all right.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Cool. Sweet. Thank you. You\'re</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> so welcome. Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> I\'m glad you look like a hundred percent back.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rested, healthy post COVID.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> I looked that bad last week. Dang Dan. No, I [00:39:00] haven\'t said that</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> smiling. Yeah. All take care. All you too. Best everyone on your, on your team.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nyasha Green:</strong> Yeah, I\'ll let \'em know. . Bye.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Bye.</p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status</a> • <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status - The Community for WordPress Professionals</a></p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Fri, 12 Aug 2022 16:30:10 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:10:\"Dan Knauss\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:32;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:80:\"Do The Woo Community: That First WordCamp for WooCommerce and WordPress Builders\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:28:\"https://dothewoo.io/?p=72627\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:79:\"https://dothewoo.io/that-first-wordcamp-for-woocommerce-and-wordpress-builders/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:454:\"<p>Today I share a Twitter thread, a post and a few of my own thoughts on that first WordCamp experience as well as tips for the all attendees.</p>\n<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://dothewoo.io/that-first-wordcamp-for-woocommerce-and-wordpress-builders/\">That First WordCamp for WooCommerce and WordPress Builders</a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://dothewoo.io\">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce Builder Community</a>	.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Fri, 12 Aug 2022 09:04:00 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:5:\"BobWP\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:33;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:66:\"WPTavern: New Twenty Twenty-Three Default Theme Now in Development\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=136881\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:77:\"https://wptavern.com/new-twenty-twenty-three-default-theme-now-in-development\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:4228:\"<p>Last month, WordPress design contributors proposed creating <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/07/19/proposal-a-new-kind-of-default-theme/\">a new kind of default theme</a> that would bundle a curated set of style variations, instead of creating a new theme from scratch. This idea resonated with participants in the discussion and plans are now underway to use a stripped-back version of Twenty Twenty-Two as the base for the new theme.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Automattic design director Channing Ritter <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/08/10/twenty-twenty-three-default-theme-project-kickoff/\">published</a> a preview of what the base theme might look like with sample variations applied, along with the <a href=\"https://www.figma.com/community/file/1139275543113752375\">Figma design mockups</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Twenty Twenty-Three&#8217;s predecessor has a highly opinionated design. The upcoming default theme is more like a blank canvas with the spotlight on the style variations. Headings are not as prominent, typography has been replaced with system fonts, and there are no images included. The theme will use the <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-13-8-introduces-fluid-typography-support-and-revamped-quote-block\">fluid typography</a> feature released in Gutenberg 13.8, and has spacing presets in place.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;One important note is that we are limited in the number of fonts we can include with the theme and should aim to use 3–4 different typefaces across all variations (in addition to systems fonts),&#8221; Ritter said. The initial list includes the following fonts, but can evolve based on contributors&#8217; feedback:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>System sans serif font</li><li>IBM Plex Mono</li><li>DM Sans</li><li>Source Serif Pro</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the most exciting aspect of this project is that WordPress&#8217; design contributors have invited the community to take a stab at submitting their own style variations for consideration. The variations that are selected will ship as part of the upcoming default theme. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whereas many default themes in the past have come from a single designer or from an existing theme, Twenty Twenty-Three (TT3) will offer a kaleidoscope of style variations from different community contributors.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The theme in progress is <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/twentytwentythree\">available on GitHub</a> and anyone can try their hand at creating a style variation. There are three different ways to do it. The most straightforward for some will be to create an alternate theme.json file and edit the code directly. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those who prefer to design their own variation visually in the editor can make changes to the Global Styles panel and then save them as a new style variation using the&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https://wordpress.org/plugins/create-block-theme/\" target=\"_blank\">Create Block Theme plugin</a>. This opens up contribution to anyone with design skills, even if they do not feel comfortable editing the theme.json file. Alternatively, contributors can design static mockups in Figma or another program.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>More detailed instructions for submitting a style variation are available in the <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/08/10/twenty-twenty-three-default-theme-project-kickoff/\">post</a> and those interested to contribute can join the new  <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/design/tag/core-themes-projects/\">#core-themes-projects</a> Slack channel to ask questions and connect with others who working on the same project. The <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/twentytwentythree/issues/34\">first variation submission</a> to the TT3 repository is from new contributor Colin Chadwick, who created an eggplant color scheme complemented by the DM Sans font. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>The WordPress community is full of talented designers and this call for style variations is an incredible opportunity to contribute without having to touch any code. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Style variation submissions for this project will close on August 31. The final curated set will be announced on September 7. The new TT3 default theme will ship with WordPress 6.1, which is expected on October 25, 2022.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Fri, 12 Aug 2022 02:09:19 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:34;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:22:\"Matt: Telegram Channel\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:22:\"https://ma.tt/?p=59104\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:39:\"https://ma.tt/2022/08/telegram-channel/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:509:\"<p>You can now subscribe to updates from this blog in <a href=\"https://t.me/+oMWZJFfyMok2ZmUz\">this Telegram channel</a>! Right now it will get updates from Ma.tt and <a href=\"https://matt.blog/\">Matt.blog</a>, and hopefully my Tumblr in future once the bot supports that as a content source. If you&#8217;d like to set this up for your WordPress site, <a href=\"https://jetpack.com/blog/publish-blog-posts-to-your-telegram-channel-automatically-with-jetpackwp-bot/\">check out this tutorial on Jetpack</a>.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Thu, 11 Aug 2022 19:50:02 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:4:\"Matt\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:35;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:64:\"Do The Woo Community: Plugins vs. SaaS with Danni, Josh and Vito\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:28:\"https://dothewoo.io/?p=72616\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:66:\"https://dothewoo.io/plugin-or-saas-wordpress-woocommerce-products/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:400:\"<p>Listen as some WordPress and WooCommerce builders weigh in on choosing between a SaaS product or standalone plugin.</p>\n<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://dothewoo.io/plugin-or-saas-wordpress-woocommerce-products/\">Plugins vs. SaaS with Danni, Josh and Vito</a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://dothewoo.io\">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce Builder Community</a>	.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Thu, 11 Aug 2022 10:09:00 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:5:\"BobWP\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:36;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:112:\"WPTavern: New Proposal Calls for Contributors to Stop Merging Experimental APIs from Gutenberg to WordPress Core\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=136853\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:123:\"https://wptavern.com/new-proposal-calls-for-contributors-to-stop-merging-experimental-apis-from-gutenberg-to-wordpress-core\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:8398:\"<p>The practice of merging experimental APIs from Gutenberg into WordPress core may soon be coming to an end. 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In practice, people building for the block editor are using them anyway because they are in core and they want to extend the features these APIs enable.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Plugin and theme authors are forced to rely on the <code>__experimental</code>  features that could get removed or changed in a backwards incompatible way at any time,&#8221; Zielinski said, echoing the frustration and concerns many developers have had with the project the past few years. &#8220;It is a serious maintenance burden. Every new Gutenberg/WordPress release means potentially breaking changes.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress core committer Peter Wilson commented on the ticket, saying he is in favor of limiting experimental APIs to bleeding edge product. Driving home the need for this change, he <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/40316#issuecomment-1123037463\">cited</a> a host of negative impacts that these core experimental APIs have had on the ecosystem:</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<ul><li>core committers unwilling to use certain library features to make core tasks easier because they don&#8217;t trust the reliability</li><li>developers no longer upgrading WP client sites. As a core committer who has strived to maintain backward compatibility for years this disappoints me. As a security team member it&#8217;s greatly concerning</li><li>developers deciding to include copies of packages in themes and plugins rather than rely on the <code>wp.*</code> globals. Again this concerns me from a security perspective but it also increases the JavaScript payload significantly more than maintaining backward compatibility</li><li>reports of backward compatibility breaks in minor versions: &#8220;you don&#8217;t expect a 5.9.1 release to break the responsiveness of a bunch of images in our sites outside the block editor&#8221;</li><li>developers considering never using core blocks because they&#8217;re too unstable: &#8220;I stopped using/extending core blocks because they were changing too much and I’ve been using ACF Blocks so that I at least I know I can make blocks that won’t break. Granted the UI isn’t as good as core blocks but I’ll take stability over blocks breaking any time.&#8221;</li></ul>\n</blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The Gutenberg plugin was meant to function as a feature plugin where breaks in backwards compatibility are expected while contributors polish features before merging them into core. Getting back to the roots of this approach, and making the editor less experimental, is at center of this proposal.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Instability between versions is already beginning to alienate some of the block-editors biggest external advocates,&#8221; Wilson said.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maintaining this level of instability could discourage people from building on WordPress, pushing them away to other more straightforward projects that are managed in a different way. It is possible that the need to rely on experimental APIs has discouraged developers from building more products, slowing block editor adoption.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;As a plugin author that is currently using <em>many</em> <code>__experimental</code> APIs, I would love to see these stabilized,&#8221; WP Engine-sponsored contributors Nick Diego said. &#8220;Most provide crucial functionality but building a product that relies on an <code>__experimental</code> API is always a bit disconcerting. So long as the process is exceedingly transparent, is well publicized, and we provide plugin/theme authors with a guide on how to migrate to stable versions, then I like this initiative.&#8221; </p>\n\n\n\n<p>After months of discussion on the ticket, Zielinski distilled contributors&#8217; concerns into the plan of action proposed on the Make WordPress Core blog.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The proposal indicates that most of the existing experimental APIs already merged into core would get a stable alias.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;It would preserve backwards compatibility and shouldn’t noticeably affect the bundle size,&#8221; Zielinski said. &#8220;Some will need a different treatment; let’s discuss that case-by-case.&#8221; He also recommended contributors consider whether an existing experimental API already in core needs to be removed. 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Zielinski also noted that contributors may also have difficulty refactoring these APIs once they have shipped and go into use on millions of WordPress sites.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So far the proposal has had overwhelmingly positive support, as many believe these APIs should never have arrived to core in the first place while still in the experimental stage.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I’m very much in favor of this approach,&#8221; WordPress developer Mark Root-Wiley said. &#8220;I build custom themes and have a few simple plugins. For both, I have found myself somewhat frequently forced to deal with experimental APIs and the difficulties of keeping up to date with them when features are put in core that can only be turned off, adjusted, or extended through an experimental API.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;A return to this sort of stability in core would go a long way to regaining some developer goodwill,&#8221; WordPress contributor Dovid Levine commented on the proposal.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The deadline for commenting on the <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/10/proposal-stop-merging-experimental-apis-from-gutenberg-to-wordpress-core/\">proposal</a> is September 7, which would close out the discussion just shy of three weeks before <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/06/23/wordpress-6-1-planning-roundup/\">WordPress 6.1 Beta 1</a> is expected. This gives contributors some time to more deeply audit the experimental APIs ahead of the next major release, should they reach a consensus on restricting them to the Gutenberg plugin.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Thu, 11 Aug 2022 03:23:08 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:37;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:160:\"Post Status: Back Compat &amp; Experimental APIs, Safely Handling SVG via “Insert URL”, WordPress 6.1 Bug Scrub Schedule, Database Performance Health Checks\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:32:\"https://poststatus.com/?p=104146\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:156:\"https://poststatus.com/back-compat-experimental-apis-safely-handling-svg-via-insert-url-wordpress-6-1-bug-scrub-schedule-database-performance-health-checks/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:15629:\"<h2 id=\"h-this-week-at-wordpress-org-august-9-2022\">This Week at WordPress.org (August 9, 2022)</h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"has-background has-theme-palette-8-background-color wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">Is it safe to insert an SVG via URL? How healthy is your database? Performance Team Rep Nominations. </p></div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"kt-info-box_03177a-50\" class=\"wp-block-kadence-infobox\"><div class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap kt-blocks-info-box-media-align-left kt-info-halign-left\"><div class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-media-container\"><div class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-media kt-info-media-animate-none\"><div class=\"kadence-info-box-icon-container kt-info-icon-animate-none\"><div class=\"kadence-info-box-icon-inner-container\"><span class=\"kt-info-svg-icon kt-info-svg-icon-fe_alertTriangle\"></span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"kt-infobox-textcontent\"><h2 class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-title\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/10/proposal-stop-merging-experimental-apis-from-gutenberg-to-wordpress-core/\">Backwards Compatibility and Experimental Gutenberg APIs</a></h2><p class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-text\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/10/proposal-stop-merging-experimental-apis-from-gutenberg-to-wordpress-core/\">Give your feedback on this proposal</a> to <strong>stop</strong> merging experimental APIs from Gutenberg to Core. Today, experimental APIs are merged to Core and sometimes removed later. See the <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/39977\">WP 6.0 Experimental APIs</a>.<br />><br /></a>.<br />.<br />><br /></a>.<br /><br />As <a href=\"https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/contributors/code/backward-compatibility/\">the WordPress handbook states</a>: <em>Historically, WordPress has been known for preserving backward compatibility across versions. </em></p></div></div></div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-news\">News</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/08/the-month-in-wordpress-july-2022/\">The Month in WordPress – July 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/10/proposal-stop-merging-experimental-apis-from-gutenberg-to-wordpress-core/\"><strong>Proposal: Stop merging experimental APIs from Gutenberg to WordPress Core</strong></a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-_598f7a-1a\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\" /></div></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-45 wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-container-43 wp-block-column\">\n<h2 id=\"h-accessibility\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/accessibility\">Accessibility</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/accessibility/2022/07/15/call-team-rep-nomination-july-2022/\">Call for Team Rep Nomination – July 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/accessibility/2022/08/05/accessibility-team-meeting-agenda-august-5-2022/\">Accessibility Team Meeting Agenda: August 5, 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-community\">Community</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/08/02/announcing-the-2021-2022-annual-meetup-survey/\">Announcing the 2021-2022 Annual Meetup Survey!</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/07/22/deputy-feedback-wanted-streamlining-wordcamp-phases/\">Deputy Feedback Wanted: Streamlining WordCamp Phases</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-core\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core\">Core</a> </h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/09/hallway-hangout-editor-tech-lead-role-101/\">Hallway Hangout: Editor Tech Lead role 101</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-8-3-august/\">What’s new in Gutenberg 13.8? (3 August)</a></li><li><a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/43039\">Safely handling SVG via &#8220;Insert URL&#8221;&nbsp;</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/01/moving-core-block-styling-to-json/\">Moving Core block styling to JSON</a></li><li>FEEDBACK REQUESTED: <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/42485\">WP_HTML_Walker: Inject dynamic data to block HTML markup in PHP</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/09/a-week-in-core-august-8-2022/\">A Week in Core – August 8, 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/09/bug-scrub-schedule-for-6-1/\">Bug Scrub Schedule for 6.1</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-meetings\">Meetings</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/08/devchat-summary-august-3-2022/\">Dev Chat summary, August 3, 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/08/editor-chat-agenda-10-august-2022/\">Editor Chat Agenda: 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href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2022/08/01/developing-the-redesigned-home-and-download-pages/\">Developing the redesigned Home and Download Pages</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2022/07/21/pattern-previews-for-themes-in-the-directory-beta/\">Pattern Previews for Themes&nbsp;in the Directory – Beta</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-mobile\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/mobile\">Mobile</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/2022/08/09/call-for-testing-wordpress-for-android-20-5/\">Call for Testing: WordPress for Android 20.5</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/2022/08/08/call-for-testing-wordpress-for-ios-20-5/\">Call for Testing: WordPress for iOS 20.5</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2022/08/09/mobile-team-update-aug-9th/\">Mobile Team Update – Aug 9th</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-openverse\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/openverse\">Openverse</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/openverse/2022/08/04/community-meeting-recap-02-august-2022/\">Community Meeting Recap (02 August 2022)</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/openverse/2022/08/03/openverse-prioritization-meeting-2022-08-10/\">Openverse Prioritization Meeting 2022-08-10</a></li></ul>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-44 wp-block-column\">\n<h2 id=\"h-performance\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/performance/\">Performance</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/performance/2022/08/09/core-performance-team-rep-nominations/\">Performance Team Rep Nominations</a></li><li>Module Proposal: <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/performance/issues/455\">Database performance Health Checks</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/02/performance-team-meeting-summary-2-august-2022/\"></a><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/09/performance-team-meeting-summary-9-august-2022/\">Performance team meeting 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Sources for WP 6.1</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/training/2022/08/10/minimizing-zoom-disruptions-in-online-workshops/\">Minimizing Zoom Disruptions in Online Workshops</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/training/2022/08/09/june-july-2022-sprint-retrospective/\">June & July 2022 Sprint Retrospective</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/training/2022/08/08/meeting-agenda-9-2022/\">Meeting Agenda August 9, 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/training/2022/08/08/august-2022-sprint/\">August 2022 Sprint</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-video-tutorials\">Video Tutorials</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/tutorial/creating-a-landing-page-with-a-block-theme/\">Creating a landing page with a block theme</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-online-workshops\">Online Workshops:</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=intro-to-multisites\">Intro to Multisites</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=troubleshooting-in-wordpress\">Troubleshooting in WordPress</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=using-create-block-theme\">Using Create Block Theme</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=taking-block-patterns-to-the-next-level\">Taking Block Patterns to the Next Level</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=exploring-the-power-of-block-variations\">Exploring the Power of Block Variations</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=block-theme-builders-design-with-figma\">Block Theme Builders: Design With Figma</a><a href=\"https://github.com/courtneyr-dev/make-wp/#test\"></a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-wordcamp-central\">WordCamp Central</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://central.wordcamp.org/news/2022/07/wordcamp-jinja-diverse-speaker-sessions-web-design-hackathon-teachers-workshop-and-fun-at-the-nile-source/\">WordCamp Jinja: Diverse Speaker Sessions, Web Design Hackathon, Teachers Workshop and Fun at the Nile Source!</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-wptv\">WPTV</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://wordpress.tv/category/year/2022/\">Latest WordPress TV videos</a></li></ul>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-related-news\">Related News:</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://tc39.es/#proposals\">ECMAScript Proposals</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.php.net/archive/2022.php#2022-07-21-1\">PHP 8.2.0 Beta 1 available for testing</a></li><li><a href=\"https://php.watch/articles/composer-24\">What\'s New in Composer 2.4</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-theme-palette-7-background-color has-background\">Thanks for reading our WP dot .org roundup! Each week we are highlighting the news and discussions coming from the good folks making WordPress possible. If you or your company create products or services that use WordPress, you need to be engaged with them and their work. Be sure to share this resource with your product and project managers. <br /><br /><strong>Are you interested in giving back and contributing your time and skills to WordPress.org?</strong> <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f64f.png\" alt=\"🙏\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/support/article/contributing-to-wordpress/\">Start Here ›</a><br /><br /><strong>Get our weekly WordPress community news digest</strong> — Post Status\' <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/news/week-in-review/\">Week in Review</a> — covering the WP/Woo news plus significant writing and podcasts. It\'s also available in <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/newsletter\">our newsletter</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f48c.png\" alt=\"💌\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /></p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile has-background\"><a href=\"https://poststatus.com/\"><img src=\"https://cdn.poststatus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/vertical-post-status-logo-250.png\" alt=\"Post Status\" class=\"wp-image-85823 size-full\" /></a><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-normal-font-size\" id=\"h-get-ready-for-remote-work\">You — and <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/business-membership/\">your whole team</a> can <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/post-status-membership-club/\">Join Post Status</a> too!</p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-small-font-size\"><strong>Build your network. Learn with others. Find your next job — or your next hire.</strong> Read the <strong>Post Status</strong> <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/newsletter/\">newsletter</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/2709.png\" alt=\"✉\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Listen to <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/podcasts/\">podcasts</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f399.png\" alt=\"🎙\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Follow <a href=\"https://twitter.com/post_status/\">@Post_Status</a>. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f426.png\" alt=\"🐦\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /></p>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status</a> • <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://poststatus.com\">Post Status - The Community for WordPress Professionals</a></p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Wed, 10 Aug 2022 15:18:50 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:18:\"Courtney Robertson\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:38;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:91:\"WPTavern: #38 – Paul Bearne on How Working With WordPress Allows for Different Lifestyles\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:48:\"https://wptavern.com/?post_type=podcast&p=136755\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:105:\"https://wptavern.com/podcast/38-paul-bearne-on-how-working-with-wordpress-allows-for-different-lifestyles\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:33440:\"<p>On the podcast today we have <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/support/users/pbearne/\">Paul Bearne</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paul is a WordPress enthusiast who loves to come up with ways to make WordPress do things it doesn’t normally do. Having engaged with WordPress almost from the start, he specialises in the creation of highly performant, scalable, accessible and SEO friendly code.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>He has contributed consistently to WordPress Core since version 3.9 as well as setting up a local meetup and speaking at WordCamps. He is currently being sponsored by <a href=\"https://xwp.co/\">XWP</a> to work on Core as part of their Core initiatives.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the podcast today Paul talks about the many ways in which it’s possible to work within the WordPress ecosystem. He’s tried many of them out over the years.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of the jobs in and around the WordPress space require only a few things, access to power and internet and a computer. The geographical constraints for work are often non-existent. If you have the skills, can get online and put in the hours, then you might be good to go. The pandemic brought this distributed working model to the masses, as more and more organisations realised the benefits that working in this way affords.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paul talks through some of the different ways that you can work and draws out the benefits and drawbacks that they have. How can you find the work and what can you do to make sure that it’s as stable as it can be?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you’re already a remote worker, much of this conversation will resonate with you, but if you’re not, but are curious about your options, this podcast will be of interest.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically, when we record the podcast, there’s not a lot of background noise, but that’s not always the case with these WordCamp Europe interviews. We were competing against crowds and the air-conditioning. In this episode both Paul and I wore face masks which you can also detect. Whilst the podcasts are more than listenable, I hope that you understand that the vagaries of the real world were at play.</p>\n\n\n\nTranscript<div>\n<p>[00:00:00] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Welcome to the Jukebox podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley. Jukebox is a podcast which is dedicated to all things, WordPress, the people, the events, the plugins, the blocks, the themes, and in this case how WordPress can enable you to work and live in different ways.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;d like to subscribe to the podcast, you can do that by searching for WP Tavern in your podcast player of choice, or by going to WPTavern dot com forward slash feed forward slash podcast. And you can copy that URL in to most podcast players. If you have a topic that you&#8217;d like us to feature on the podcast, I&#8217;m keen to hear from you, and hopefully get you all your idea featured on the show. Head over to WPTavern dot com forward slash contact forward slash jukebox. And use the form there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So on the podcast today we have Paul Bearne. Paul is a WordPress enthusiast who loves to come up with ways to make WordPress do things it doesn&#8217;t normally do. Having engaged with WordPress almost from the start, he specializes in the creation of highly performant, scalable, accessible, and SEO friendly code.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>He has contributed consistently to WordPress Core since version 3.9, as well as setting up a local meetup and speaking at WordCamps. He&#8217;s currently being sponsored by XWP to work on Core as part of their Core initiatives.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the podcast today, Paul talks about the many ways in which it&#8217;s possible to work within the WordPress ecosystem. He&#8217;s tried many of them out over the years.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of the jobs in and around the WordPress space require only a few things, access to power and internet, and a computer. The geographical constraints for work are often non-existent. If you have the skills, can get online and put in the hours, then you might be good to go. The pandemic brought this distributed working model to the masses as more and more organizations realized the benefits that working in this way affords.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paul talks through some of the different ways that you can work and draws out the benefits and drawbacks that they have. How can you find the work and what can you do to make sure that it&#8217;s a stable as it can be?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re already a remote worker, much of this conversation will resonate with you. But if you&#8217;re not, but are curious about your options, this podcast will be of interest.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically when we record the podcast, there&#8217;s not a lot of background noise, but that&#8217;s not always the case with these WordCamp Europe interviews. We were competing against crowds and the air conditioning. In this episode both Paul and I wore face masks, which you can also detect. Whilst the podcasts are more than listenable. I hope that you understand that the vagaries of the real world were at play.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re interested in finding out more, you can find all the links in the show notes by heading over to WPTavern dot com forward slash podcast, where you&#8217;ll find all the other episodes as well. And so without further delay, I bring you Paul Bearne.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am joined on the podcast today by Paul Bearne. How are you doing?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:03:52] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> Thank you. All right. It&#8217;s been a hectic WordCamp, and feet haven&#8217;t touched the ground, but yeah, it&#8217;s good to be here.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:00] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> What have you mainly been doing over the last couple, well, I say a couple of days, maybe you weren&#8217;t here for contrib day.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:04] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> I was here for contrib day, because I&#8217;m a core contributor. I&#8217;ve been working on the performance plugin. I&#8217;m lucky to be sponsored by XWP to work on core projects. And we&#8217;ve been focusing on the performance enhancements. So in the last release, we got five queries out of a standard homepage load. You imagine what that&#8217;s done to a million sites. And the performance add-on, I&#8217;ve been working on the dominant color feature, which is coming in the next block.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s gonna be interesting to see the reaction of that in the community as that comes out. Cause that&#8217;s a visual change. And the WebP stuff. So I&#8217;ve been working, busy doing that, as well as running my own premium plugin, business. And it&#8217;s really nice to be able to work part-time for one of the big agencies.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:48] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, we&#8217;ll come onto that in a minute. You&#8217;ve got a talk here though, which kind of anchors us to what we&#8217;re gonna talk about. How did it go?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:55] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> I think it was well received. A lot of people said it was really good value for them. Yeah, I think it went down really well.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:05:03] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Just broadly outline what the topic was that you covered.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:05:05] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> It&#8217;s a lifestyle talk. basically trying to expand and give people confidence that they can create a lifestyle, whatever lifestyle they want with WordPress. You know, whether they want to be a digital nomad whether they want to live in the countryside or live in the center of a city. There is employment available in all of those places. And you need to look at yourself, see what your strengths and weaknesses are.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Are you a city or a country person? Are you self-directed or do you need to be managed? What&#8217;s your timekeeping like? Can you do sales? Can you do administration of doing invoices and tax returns and things like that? Cause if you can&#8217;t, you can&#8217;t be freelance, or not, not easily.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m lucky that my wife is good at the sort of administration stuff. So I&#8217;ve been able to do more freelance work than really I should be able to. But now my life&#8217;s changed a little bit and having been able to work full time or be paid by XWP to work on core, which is like a dream job for me. It reduces the amount of administration my wife has to do, and I haven&#8217;t gotta go chasing freelance work. It&#8217;s coming to me. The work is being found for me, and it&#8217;s interesting work. You can create whatever life you want. There&#8217;s a niche in WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:06:29] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Presumably, if that&#8217;s the case that you&#8217;ve been through a whole cycle of different types of work, maybe you work for an agency and a&#8230;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:06:37] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> I went through the various types of agencies. We looked at multinationals, we looked at small agencies, big agencies, government digital services, media companies, high end design agencies in the center of cities, and then the distributed agencies, and touched a little bit on what it&#8217;s like to have a plugin, a premium plugin. What it&#8217;s like to be as a freelance person, because I&#8217;ve done all of those in my career. So I was able to give some, hopefully some insight to what it&#8217;s like to do those. And what&#8217;s the pitfalls and the bonuses of working in those different environments.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second half the talk I tried to give some career advice and some, you know, you can do this. This is gotta get noticed. How do you stand out in the crowd? How do you price yourself as a freelance person, and a few things like that. Try to set some reasonable expectations of what the market, what you need to charge to actually be viable.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:07:33] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> If you look back on your life was it a series of trying things out and then ultimately dissatisfaction with the way that you were working and then try something new? Eventually find that that was not satisfactory and try something else and ultimately where you are now. And it sounds like at this point in time, you&#8217;re really happy with where you&#8217;re at.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:07:51] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> Yes, of course you have to take what comes. I talked in my talk about, details are okay. The trick is to fail fast and learn. So if you get into a situation where it isn&#8217;t right, don&#8217;t hang around. There is lots and lots of good freelance or good WordPress work out there, or just development work. You don&#8217;t have to put up with bad environments, horrible bosses, stupid hours. Not unless you are getting a reward.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if you&#8217;re, if you are in a high end design agency, it&#8217;s a young game, and the burnout is quite high but they&#8217;re gonna pay you a little bit more. You&#8217;re gonna be working on really leading edge work. So you&#8217;ll put up with the hours. And you&#8217;ll be happy to go out and socialize with the team after work, because that&#8217;s part of the culture. But if that&#8217;s not what you want then there is other choices.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe that&#8217;s a young person&#8217;s game and then you mature into a slower agency, a local agency, or a distributed agency, or you go freelance. You get a few clients and you run freelance. Or maybe you do partly your own freelance or partly on the freelance platforms like Codeable, and you work that way.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:09:13] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I know that you said that failing fast is a desirable way to go about it. And I can see what you&#8217;re saying there in, in the sense that you&#8217;ve got a quickly figure out that this isn&#8217;t working, because then you need to quickly find something which is working. Presumably there&#8217;s gonna be a raft of people, anybody listening to this, there might be a load of people saying, yeah, that&#8217;s okay Paul, but I&#8217;ve already got the mortgage, and I am living hand to mouth, month to month. And I guess that plays in a little bit. You&#8217;ve gotta be a bit conservative in some regard.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:09:40] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> Yes of course. Okay, so there&#8217;s a number of scenarios that are out there. So say you are working for a small agency serving the local community, which I think is the hard end of the business. Because you have to be a Jack of all trades. you have to do whatever work the agency finds, yeah. There&#8217;s no real picking, you know, they ain&#8217;t fussy about what jobs they take on, and they&#8217;re gonna be small and bitty, and not spectacular. But you want to break out from that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So you&#8217;ve got things like, you could go freelance or semi freelance with the platforms. Codeable platforms, finding new work. But if you go freelance, you&#8217;ve gotta have enough money to pay for a laptop and have a space to work. You can&#8217;t do long term freelance from a coffee shop.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So there is a little bit of a, you know, can you actually even afford to do freelance, to start up? Because a modern Mac isn&#8217;t cheap, or even a modern good laptop isn&#8217;t cheap, PC laptop. So that&#8217;s the dilemma and I understand that dilemma, But there are choices. The amount of stuff that&#8217;s remote, you know, look at a remote agency.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are competent as a WordPress developer, you can be hired by a remote agency in no time. They are looking for people who are prepared to work, and they&#8217;re more interested in the attitude than your skill set. If you are, can get work done, they&#8217;ll hire you. And if you need to train up for a particular type of section of skill, to learn a bit more performance, you need to learn a bit more Gutenberg or whatever the flavor is. Yhey&#8217;ll train you. The good ones will. So you don&#8217;t need to stay where you are. There are options.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:11:22] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah. It&#8217;s interesting that you say that, you mentioned competence. I was kind of assuming that the competence would come before the attitude, but you&#8217;re saying it&#8217;s the other way around. Looking for people with a certain approach to work, who they can then up skill.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:11:33] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> I&#8217;ve hired people. I&#8217;ve hired students for year placements. I&#8217;ve hired people to work as colleagues. And when I do interview questions, I will start going down a technical tree somewhere. Cause I&#8217;m a geek. And I&#8217;ll keep going down a rabbit hole until they don&#8217;t know the answer. And then I explain the answer to them and I want to see a light bulb go off in their head. Oh, yes that makes sense. I understand what that was. And that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m looking for.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cause I can train that person. I can teach them. They will learn. Cause as a web developer, I will never, ever finish learning. Every time I open up a piece of code I will learn something. One of the things I do in Core is I write unit tests and so I&#8217;m looking at functions that I&#8217;ve never seen before. I learn what the Core of WordPress does, function by function. And there&#8217;s stuff in there that I, say, whoa, that&#8217;s interesting. Oh, that&#8217;s clever how they did that. So you never stop learning. And if you stop learning, especially if you stop learning in some environment, time to go.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:12:42] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> There must be drawbacks and there must be benefits to this whole approach. Let&#8217;s go with the good first. And that may be the time of day that you can work, the amount of money that you can earn, the location that you can put yourself in and so on. Over the course of the years that you&#8217;ve been changing things up, what have been some of the things that you&#8217;ve looked back and thought, uh, that aspect of that job was really good. And that aspect of that job was really good. Basically. What are the benefits of becoming a freelancer, I guess?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:13:05] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> You get to be your own boss and get to pick the clients and the work. You should pick the clients and the work. Don&#8217;t take everything that comes at you, because you need to pick work that you are an expertise in. Because if you are doing stuff where you are an expert, you can charge more.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The downside is you gotta find it. It tends to be feast and famine in freelance. You&#8217;ve got too much work and then there&#8217;s no work. So you&#8217;re stressed because you can&#8217;t get the work done. And then you&#8217;re stressed because you&#8217;re looking for work, because you have nothing. So that is one of the major dilemmas of freelance. But you should earn more.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In my talk, I talked about, if you expect your hourly salary to be say $60 an hour, talking universal currency of dollars, the freelance rate minimum is 120, 150 will be nice. That&#8217;s really what we&#8217;re aiming for. Because if you don&#8217;t charge enough, two things will happen. You will not be valued by your client, because, they&#8217;re cheap, they can&#8217;t be any good. And you&#8217;ll get crap work. I have a line in my slides, superstar prices get superstar contracts.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You get better work if you charge more. It&#8217;s not a case of more work, better work. Better work pays better. You can have a better lifestyle because you&#8217;re not working 14 hours a day. You&#8217;re working five hours a day to get that contract done. And you&#8217;ve got three hours to do your administration and look for your next contract.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:14:44] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So the flexibility&#8217;s there. You mentioned the downside of the fact that you&#8217;ve gotta create that work or somehow have it created for you. Any other downsides that you&#8217;ve figured out over the years?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:14:55] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> Freelancing can be lonely because you are one per, one person shop, effectively. You need to work at that not being a problem. So if you are in a, a reasonable metropolitan area, look for meetups, peer groups. Come to conferences. Remember, you gotta pay for them and you gotta manage the time off for that. Your clients aren&#8217;t paying you while you&#8217;re away. Your company doesn&#8217;t earn. So you gotta budget for that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:15:20] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah. There may be other additional things, you know, like pension and healthcare and&#8230;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:15:24] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> You won&#8217;t have any healthcare cover. You may be able to insure yourself, but you&#8217;re taking the risk on yourself. Pensions, if you&#8217;re charging properly, you can push money into your pension, because you&#8217;ve got spare cash coming in. You&#8217;re cash rich because you&#8217;re charging properly.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:15:39] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Do you need to be more self-disciplined? In other words, if you&#8217;re turning up to an agency at nine in the morning and you&#8217;re leaving at five and the work is handed out on plate and you&#8217;ve got briefings in the morning and then the briefings and blah, blah, blah. With this, you&#8217;ve gotta be a Jack of all trades a bit, but you&#8217;ve gotta be mindful that, you know, you, aren&#8217;t just sitting down having a coffee in front of the television, letting the work drift and drift and drift.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:16:02] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> Yeah, I have a friend in Canada he&#8217;s freelance business shall we say suffered? He let clients down badly. I picked a couple of clients up. He saw that I was linked to him on LinkedIn. They were chasing him and he was just got quiet on them. Awkward situation. I was able to pick some clients up because he wasn&#8217;t delivering. So you do need to have self discipline to be a freelancer.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re not, then look at the other choices. If you want to be remote, look at what are the remote agencies, and they&#8217;ll do it. If you want to be in an office, are you compared to travel into the city center? Then look for one of the big design houses in city center. If you are up for the pace. If not, maybe there&#8217;s a local agency who&#8217;s servicing the local community, that feels right for you. Because they tend to be nice and friendly and family like, yeah, they&#8217;re cozy. But the work won&#8217;t be stellarly interesting.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:17:00] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I guess you&#8217;ve gotta be a bit, not just disciplined, you&#8217;ve gotta be self-motivated as well. You&#8217;ve got to be the kind of person that can incentivize themselves, because if you&#8217;re working for the man, as it were&#8230;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:17:10] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> Who will drive the direction and push you forward. Being self-aware of where your strengths are, is the most important thing you can acquire. If you can get that self-awareness and be honest to yourself about where you are, what sort of personality you are. You may need to work for somebody, in order to actually get anything done, and that&#8217;s not wrong. In fact, being honest about that is a really powerful thing, and it makes your life less stressful.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>When I worked for corporate in multinationals, it was a doddle. Nine to five, ate in the canteen, endless coffee supply, projects took forever. Downside is our server was IIS, yeah. But when I had to go to the US I had to fly business class, you know. There are pros and cons to all environments,</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:18:11] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> The WordPress ecosystem, obviously you are into the code, but you only have to look at the speeches that are on this weekend, and the presentations that are on to realize that code is a tiny fraction of the WordPress ecosystem. We&#8217;ve got SEO experts, and we&#8217;ve got copywriters and so on and so forth.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Did you ever stray into a different territory or have you always been code all the time and therefore sort of increasing your portfolio and your CV, if you like, one job after the other.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:18:35] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> I actually for a while ran social media for corporation. I got there because I realized that we needed to own the brand names and I stepped ahead above the parapet and said, oy, Mr. CTO, we need to own these. Shall I go and get them? Had a fun story around corporate name changing, but, I went out and registered all the, the corporate brands. And for four years, before marketed caught up with me, I was the owner and access gatekeeper to all of their social media accounts.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have wandered around a little bit but I am primarily a coder. That&#8217;s where my strength is. I understand by strength. That&#8217;s why I didn&#8217;t stay in social media. I&#8217;m not a writer, I&#8217;m not a content person. And so that&#8217;s part of me understanding my strengths and weaknesses.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:19:29] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I kind of wonder if people who may be listening to this who figure, actually, I just wanna throw all the cards up in the air and see where they land. In other words, I just wanna try something new and everything that you&#8217;ve described so far fits that picture really nicely, you know?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:19:43] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:19:43] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> All of this would work in, well, pretty much any industry I&#8217;m imagining.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:19:46] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> Yep, and detours are okay. Throw your ears up. You hear a sniff of something. Go knock on the door. Have a look in. Go and talk to people there. Go on interviews. I love interviews. I&#8217;d almost do it as a hobby, go on interviews. Go and see what they&#8217;re doing. And if it feels right, go and join them. If you don&#8217;t ask the question, it&#8217;s impossible for someone to say yes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>They might have to say no, but people actually like saying yes. So go look. Take a Friday afternoon off and go for an interview somewhere. If you just chalk it up as interview practice, you are not that serious. You get to look behind the curtain a little bit. You get some reference points about what an alternative life would look like. Think about moving to the countryside. Think about moving to the city moving to another country.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can go and visit them. I emigrated from the UK to Canada in my fifties. I visited Canada a couple of times, found I liked it and then went through the immigration process. Uh, it took a couple of years to do that, but you get there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:21:04] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> You mentioned earlier about, well you said the words feast and famine or something To that regard, and I&#8217;m just wondering, okay, so I&#8217;m not talking about the money where the money may go up and the money may I go down? I&#8217;m talking more about the pipeline of work. Have you ever struggled with that? Have you ever had periods where, there really is nothing on the horizon. What have I done?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:21:24] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> Oh totally and my solution in fact is to use Codeable. When I was freelancing, I was a member of Codeable from almost day one, very early joined there, and I&#8217;ve never done it as my full time gig. Now there are people who all the work comes through Codeable, but I&#8217;ve used it as my back fill. Whenever I&#8217;m a little bit short of work, I will go on a Codeable. I will bid for one of the contracts. Find a contract, get a contract and then do that project, because they&#8217;ve got so much work there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You could go and pick a contract up really easily. And you could find one that fits your skill set and your knowledge base. Yeah, so I&#8217;m an expert in sort of job boards and things like that. So I would always go and look for something in that space, because I can provide skills and knowledge in that space, and it becomes easy for me to complete the task.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:22:14] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So you are kind of running those two things, not quite in parallel, but they happen concurrently. But you&#8217;ve got your work, which is the desired outcome, the stuff that you&#8217;ve put in place for yourself.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:22:25] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> I will get more income from that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:22:26] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> And then the Codeable is when the gaps appear.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:22:29] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> Yeah. When the gaps backfill. If I&#8217;m short off work, I&#8217;ve got nothing to do for the end of the week I&#8217;ve got four hours. I can find a job on Codeable. Or I&#8217;ve got two days of spare capacity. Because everybody wants it done now on Codeable, brilliant. Rock up, log in. Go and see what the current list of open jobs are. Find a job that&#8217;s in your space that you can present value to. Don&#8217;t just go and do anything. And then go and fix that problem for that client.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I&#8217;ve had repeating clients who&#8217;ve kept, effectively become part of my freelance stable, still through Codeable, I&#8217;ve done ongoing contracts with them. So it works really well. And the Codeable guys are really, really nice. You know they have a lovely active Slack channel. They do regular meets and training. They almost feel like a distributed agency. That hybrid space. And that everybody there is competent WordPress designer, editor content, it&#8217;s not just code at Codeable. Remember that, so there&#8217;s other skills that could, people will hire you for there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:23:39] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Would you therefore suggest that&#8217;s possibly a good place for somebody to just begin? If they&#8217;re tentative and they&#8217;re you know, they could slot a bit of that into their weekend with their regular job.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:23:48] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> They&#8217;ve got a regular nine to five job and they want to start learning, doing some freelance, it&#8217;s a really good place for them to get their feet wet, a little bit. In a very safe environment. Cause the money&#8217;s being collected by Codeable. It&#8217;s in the escrow. So you know you&#8217;re gonna get paid. If there&#8217;s a problem with the client the staff will wade in, and they&#8217;ll help you out. And if you get really, really stuck you can reach out to staff and they&#8217;ll find one of the other experts to come and help you. And if you get a problem, you could ping the Slack channel, say, how do I do this? And one of the other experts will wade in and help you. Very friendly.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:24:29] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Is it difficult to differentiate yourself, to make yourself stand out? It&#8217;s just you pitching for work. Presumably on Codeable you&#8217;ve got a set number of fields that you&#8217;ve gotta fill out to demonstrate how good you are at a certain thing. And, and everybody else has got those same set of fields and&#8230;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:24:43] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> Yeah, yeah it is slightly difficult. They are quite good about saying no more than five experts should reply to a client&#8217;s inquiry. So you don&#8217;t get millions of people trying to bid for piece of work. And they don&#8217;t do the lowest price wins. They average out the price bids. Someone puts a, a thousand dollars in for a project and someone else puts in 800, the client&#8217;s gonna get told 900. They take a commission off the top, or they add a commission on top of that price and they charge the client to that. And then you get your money out in USD.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:25:20] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> One of the things that always attracted me, but I never managed to kind of make the leap, was this idea of being a digital nomad. So everything that you&#8217;ve just talked about, all of these rungs on the ladder of how to get work and how to manage your relationship with clients and build up your portfolio and all of that, all of that&#8217;s happened. And then you just don&#8217;t live in the same place for any great length of time. You flit about. You&#8217;ve sort of done that, you&#8217;ve moved a country. Do you know any people who do that?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:25:45] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> I have a good handful of friends who do that. Within XWP, I think have probably 20 or 30 people who are digital nomads within the company. I don&#8217;t think Codeable people tend to do that as much, because the infrastructure stuff that you need to do in addition to charging and billing and things like that, becomes difficult as you flip around the countryside and do stuff. Freelance people tend to hire local freelancers a little bit, so it tends to lock you into a country. And if you suddenly move, there&#8217;s some dynamics there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>My recommendation, if you wanna do proper nomad work, go and talk to one of the distributed agencies, you know, Human Made, 10up, XWP, you know, that level of company. Especially if you are skilled as a WordPress developer. All of those are actively looking for people. I will personally recommend XWP. I do work there, but I&#8217;ve also worked at a few of the others.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>They&#8217;ve got it right. They&#8217;ve learned over the years how to do remote web development and manage the culture and the team so well. And it&#8217;s art, and I think they&#8217;ve nailed it because they&#8217;re based in Australia, you know, the corporate HQ is over there. So all of the European staff they&#8217;ve got here, they&#8217;ve got 60 people at this WordCamp or something. They&#8217;re all of remote. There&#8217;s only about two or three have flown all the way over for Australia. And so, because they&#8217;ve done it, it just, they just nailed it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:27:22] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Final question, did you ever, do you ever, sort of pinch yourself and reflect on how incredibly lucky you are? I say you, you, as in, all the people who have careers in the same manner that you do.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:27:38] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> Hey, I&#8217;m a guy who started as a tea boy on a building site, my first job. I now have a house on a lake with a motor boat tied up at the bottom. I would never have dreamt of that when I was a young lad. You really now in this day and age can work from anywhere. And as you know, Starlink and things like that are coming online, you really can go out into the sticks and work from anywhere.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anywhere you can get decent internet is now fair game as a location to do web development work and design work and other services. I&#8217;m a developer, so I tend to think developer first, but there&#8217;s PMs, there&#8217;s sales, there&#8217;s HR, there&#8217;s marketing, there&#8217;s video production, there&#8217;s design, there&#8217;s content writing. All of those can be done remote.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unless you are physically manufacturing something, and even some of that can be done remote in small batches now. Anything in this sort of digital space can be remote and often better done that way. Unless you really doing high cycle stuff, I think remote is the way to go.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:28:55] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Paul Bearne, thank you for chatting to me today.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:28:58] <strong>Paul Bearne:</strong> My pleasure.</p>\n</div>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Wed, 10 Aug 2022 14:00:00 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:14:\"Nathan Wrigley\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:39;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:38:\"WPTavern: ServerPress Is Shutting Down\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=136826\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:49:\"https://wptavern.com/serverpress-is-shutting-down\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:4381:\"<p><a href=\"https://serverpress.com/\">ServerPress</a>, makers of DesktopServer, a WordPress local development tool, announced it is shutting down after 12 years in business. The company <a href=\"https://us7.campaign-archive.com/?e=67f8ccf1b1&u=219119f2736c2f38b536dc982&id=f379709090\">emailed</a> its customers and posted a farewell message on its website after disabling new purchases and is in the process of canceling renewals for existing subscriptions.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>ServerPress was founded by Steve Carnam in 2010. His leadership helped the company remain independent of large hosting companies that have scooped up WordPress development tools of all kinds. Carnam described how the market has changed, forcing ServerPress&#8217; partners to make the difficult decision to close:</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>Earlier this year, one of the team members questioned whether or not DesktopServer v5.0 would have a viable market share. We had been so focused on building it out that throughout the development, we lost sight of constantly checking the temperature in the room.  Once we started discussing this we came to the conclusion that DS5’s potential market share has changed significantly over the last 10 years. The WordPress development tool landscape has grown and diversified greatly. This has diluted DesktopServer’s overall market share. The time, effort, and costs to bring in new users to DesktopServer’s workflow would be too much overhead for ServerPress to be sustainable. While many larger, well-funded companies would be able to absorb such costs involved, a company of our position cannot.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>ServerPress did not communicate any plans for the future of its software products beyond the fact that they will no longer be supported. Longtime users and fans were disappointed to learn that the company is shutting down and some asked if they might consider making DesktopServer available to the public.</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I am so gutted about <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DesktopServer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@DesktopServer</a> shutting down. This was a tool that truly transformed my WordPress life, I\'ve been using it for YEARS! Would be awesome if someone (not a hosting company) took it over. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f62d.png\" alt=\"😭\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> <a href=\"https://t.co/0NluEhLHqs\">https://t.co/0NluEhLHqs</a></p>&mdash; Lucy Beer (@webtw) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/webtw/status/1555567490117169152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 5, 2022</a></blockquote>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">For WordPress Dev, I have previously tried Vagrant, Local by Flywheel, Xammp, Docker and always fell back to my trust <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/desktopserver?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#desktopserver</a>. Where are people going to go now? Any chance they\'ll consider open sourcing it <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DesktopServer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@DesktopServer</a></p>&mdash; Mase Ventura (@Mase_Ventura) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Mase_Ventura/status/1554871736822382595?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 3, 2022</a></blockquote>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<p>I asked Carnam if ServerPress is in talks with another company to sell or if they are considering making DesktopServer&#8217;s code available. He could not offer any further details but said he may have more news in the near future.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;With regards to selling, or open sourcing the code (which would be great); I&#8217;m unfortunately not at liberty to say at this time,&#8221; Carnam said.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The small ServerPress team, which includes Stephen J Carnam, Marc Benzakein, and Gregg Franklin, have not yet announced what their next ventures will be, but they plan to support current customers for the duration of their subscriptions.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;If you are a Premium Subscriber, we will continue to support you until your subscription is up,&#8221; Carnam said. &#8220;For some, that will mean support on issues with DesktopServer v3.9.x. For others, it may mean assistance with migrating to another local development tool. We will continue to help those of you with Premium Memberships with site deployments until your subscription expires.&#8221;</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Wed, 10 Aug 2022 01:26:07 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:40;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:83:\"WPTavern: WordCamp US 2022 Publishes Speaker Schedule, Livestream Will Be Available\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=136774\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:93:\"https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-us-2022-publishes-speaker-schedule-livestream-will-be-available\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:2409:\"<img />\n\n\n\n<p>WordCamp US (WCUS) kicks off one month from today in San Diego, CA, and organizers have published the full <a href=\"https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/schedule/\">schedule</a> for all sessions. The three-day event will feature three tracks with a combination of lightning talks (15 min), standard talks (45 min), and workshops (1 hr+).</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This year&#8217;s lineup is heavy on educating professionals on building with blocks. Attendees and livestream viewers can expect to learn how to <a href=\"https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/session/customizing-core-blocks-for-clients/\">customize core blocks for clients</a> and <a href=\"https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/session/lets-build-a-custom-block-in-15-minutes/\">create a custom block in 15 minutes</a>. Speakers will also offer a glimpse into the future of <a href=\"https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/session/the-future-of-themes-designing-for-the-block-editor-and-beyond/\">designing themes for the block editor</a>, the foundational concepts of the <a href=\"https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/session/a-new-era-of-wordpress-themes-is-here-block-themes/\">new era of block themes</a>, and demonstrate <a href=\"https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/session/build-your-first-block-theme/\">how to build a block theme</a>. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Block themes and plugins aren&#8217;t the only things on the menu for WCUS attendees. The event will include a diverse range of topics, including WordPress and the creator economy, accessibility, multichannel e-commerce, performance, community, and creating editorial experiences.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sessions begin on September 9, and continue through the next day, capped off with a chat with Matt Mullenweg, who will also answer live questions from the audience. Contributor Day is scheduled for Sunday, September 11.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, for many hoping to attend, all 650 of the available tickets <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-us-2022-tickets-now-on-sale-limited-to-650-attendees\">sold out within the first day</a>. Everyone else across the world of WordPress will need to tune into the livestream, which organizers expect will be fairly popular this year due to the limited in-person tickets. The sessions in Sun track and Palm track will be live streamed, but the Surf track workshops will not. The <a href=\"https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/livestream/\">livestream page</a> is already published and no special tickets will be required.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Tue, 09 Aug 2022 21:30:02 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:41;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:22:\"Matt: Gaiman on Tumblr\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:22:\"https://ma.tt/?p=58841\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:39:\"https://ma.tt/2022/08/gaiman-on-tumblr/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:3340:\"<p>From a nice new Polygon article, <a href=\"https://www.polygon.com/23289362/neil-gaiman-books-list-best\">Our favorite Neil Gaiman books, comics, and more</a>:</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p id=\"y3OElA\">Before I elaborate —<em>&nbsp;yes,</em>&nbsp;people still use Tumblr and it’s far more popular than most people think. Neil Gaiman has been an active Tumblr user since 2011, and he still actively uses the microblogging platform to this day. This is notable, because celebrities have notoriously been bullied off of Tumblr. Yet somehow, Neil Gaiman has outlived them all, watching from the shadows of his own dashboard.</p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"boJiHf\">He keeps his ask box open and answers questions from fans. He&nbsp;<a href=\"https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/689452050371723264/getting-my-wisdom-teeth-out-today-any-wise-words\">gives life</a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/688900605247438848/dear-neil-i-used-to-love-reading-id-stay-up\">and</a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/688102709959835648/hi-neil-i-hope-youre-well-i-really-enjoy-your\">writing advice</a>. He talks about the various adaptations of his works,&nbsp;<a href=\"https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/688701872087990272/hi-neil-im-sorry-to-bother-you-i-was-just\">giving information he is able to give</a>&nbsp;and answering with a signature&nbsp;<a href=\"https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/688351019503058944/hi-neil-please-tell-me-if-number-one-song-in\">“wait and see” when he cannot</a>. He plays&nbsp;<a href=\"https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/690151373249085440/glanced-at-your-wikipedia-page-and-was-absolutely\">along with dumb jokes</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/655191408578265088/who-even-are-you-like-what-did-you-write\">reblogs additions</a>. He helps fans track down&nbsp;<a href=\"https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/689935702067200000/i-read-this-quote-attributed-to-you-but-i-cant\">obscure lines he’s written</a>. And as is the reality of the internet, he deals with his share of&nbsp;<a href=\"https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/690075850470768640/a-short-story-in-two-asks-i-wonder-where-the\">haters and trolls</a>, but he’s always remarkably graceful toward them.</p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"7FY6Dx\">He also reblogs posts,&nbsp;<a href=\"https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/689248951545806848/neil-gaiman-ewan-mcgregor-food-in-movies\">adding on new information</a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/688076462799175680/an-elaborate-decade-long-imposter-at-this-point\">providing funny commentary</a>, or&nbsp;<a href=\"https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/689454123592171520/50-words-to-use-instead-of-said\">giving helpful tips</a>&nbsp;(this usually causes some surprise from people who organically stumble upon a comment from Neil Gaiman in the wild, and it’s always really amusing to see).</p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ebhxNC\">He’s just a good presence on the internet, which is exceedingly rare to see these days.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m seeing more and more people use Tumblr in this way, and it&#8217;s nice to be part of making the web a more interesting place. If you haven&#8217;t tried Tumblr recently, download the app and start <a href=\"https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/\">with Neil&#8217;s blog</a> as a subscription. <em>Hat tip: Matthew Ryan.</em></p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Tue, 09 Aug 2022 14:05:20 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:4:\"Matt\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:42;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:100:\"Do The Woo Community: Software Licensing Solutions for WooCommerce Builders with Anh, Phil and James\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:28:\"https://dothewoo.io/?p=72597\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"x