Author Archives: James Huff

James Huff 7:17 pm on October 27, 2022
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October 27th Support Team Meeting Summary

Policy Change Fallout?

There has been no negative fallout from our relaxed policies on pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party vulnerability discussion and premium product support established during the September 29th meeting.

PHPPHP PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. http://php.net/manual/en/intro-whatis.php. 8.x

WordPress 6.x is tested with PHP 8 and offers preliminary support, but we cannot guarantee compatibility for third-party plugins and themes since that is the responsibility of the plugin/theme developer.

We, along with Drupal and Symfony, are asking the PHP group to extend support of PHP 7.4.x, but we have no firm answers yet.

No More Flagging for Premium Support

We are no longer flagging users for requesting premium support on the forums, as that hurts their ability to post across all WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ forums.

Support requests for premium products will continue to be encouraged towards the proper support venue (without closing the thread), and as always, flags (or bans as necessary) will continue to be applied for other Guideline violations.

Become Flag-Neutral if not Flag-Negative

The Pending queue has become excessive lately and is a drain on Moderator time (your experience may vary depending on timezone).

As you rescue items from the Pending queue, please check the reason for the flag and un-flag as necessary. If you’re not un-flagging at least one person daily, please reconsider how strict you are on that end of enforcement.

Weekend Assignment

Please test the latest WordPress 6.1 RCRelease Candidate A beta version of software with the potential to be a final product, which is ready to release unless significant bugs emerge. and the Twenty Twenty-Three theme, and report any bugs you find!

Read the meeting transcript in the Slack archives. (A Slack account is required)

#weekly-chat

James Huff 12:01 am on September 30, 2022
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September 29th Support Team Meeting Summary

Feature Requests

There are a variety of feature requests that will expand the forum, but the team is united in addressing the bugs that need to be fixed first.

Discussion of PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party Vulnerabilities in the Forums

Previously, all plugin vulnerability discussions were quickly removed from the forum, the account was flagged to prevent further disclosure, and the Plugins Team was notified.

Going forward, if the developer and Plugins Team have been properly notified, and the vulnerability has been publicly known for a time, discussion of that vulnerability is allowed, including any “me too” replies under the thread.

Please keep in mind that abuse of the forums for disclosing zero-day vulnerabilities remains a bannable offense.

Premium Product Support

Previously, premium product support was not allowed on the forums, and customers requesting help for premium products were directed to the product’s premium support venue, and the thread was closed.

Going forward, we’ll continue to enforce the same rule, but the threads will not be closed, in case someone with product knowledge wants to help there.

Pre-Defined Replies

A reminder that we have pre-defined replies for volunteers and for moderators. Please do make use of them, but so we don’t look like bots, please also personalize them a bit with each reply to make them your own.

WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ oEmbed on Forums

We are happy to report that, thanks to Dion, it is now safe to insert wordpress.org links (like support docs) on the forums without them generating large embeds. 🙂

Read the meeting transcript in the Slack archives. (A Slack account is required)

#weekly-chat

James Huff 10:38 pm on September 22, 2020
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X-post: Facebook and Instagram embeds to be deprecated October 24th

X-comment from +make.wordpress.org/core: Comment on Facebook and Instagram embeds to be deprecated October 24th

James Huff 6:50 pm on July 18, 2019
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July 18th Support Team Meeting Summary

Due to unexpected complications elsewhere, this wound up being more of an informal office hours session than a strict meeting, but we still discussed a few things.

Helper Scripts

The Topic Original Poster and Also Viewing scripts have been moved to the official WordPress.org Support Team repo, which means that all of our helper scripts are now hosted there. The relevant Handbook page has now been updated accordingly.

Breakfix Lessons

We are aware that the Breakfix Lessons are broken, and that folks have found them helpful in the past. The plan is to reach out to their original developer next week, or see if we can get another pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party developer to donate their time.

Please keep in mind that this is all done on a volunteer basis, so while we intend to restore the lessons, we can’t promise that it will be done quickly.

Read the meeting transcript in the Slack archives. (A Slack account is required)

#weekly-chat
James Huff 10:02 pm on August 10, 2018
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August 9th Support Team Meeting Summary

A big thanks to @jcastaneda for leading this one!

WordPress 4.9.8

The new Gutenberg callout is generating more Gutenberg reviews and Gutenberg support topics, and that’s a big win for everyone.

Please continue to test GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ and report any bugs you find after checking the known issues.

Losing Track of No-Reply Topics

Many of us keep an eye on the No-Reply Topics, but it’s important to note that any sort of reply can knock a topic out of that list, including when an OP replies to add more info, or a moderator replies about moving the topic (or some other moderator action).

We don’t really have a great way to avoid that at this time, so it’s recommended to also stop by the Unresolved Topics view from time to time.

Checking in with international liaisons

We had representatives from the Russian, Italian, Swedish, Dutch, and German communities in attendance this week.

Attendance

@jcastaneda @macmanx @joyously @tokyobiyori @t-p @numeeja @fierevere @rdd @bemdesign @felipeelia @bcworkz @firoz2456 @binarywc @sterndata @cristianozanca @abdullahramzan @bph @tobifjellner @zodiac1978 @bethannon1 attended.

Read the meeting transcript in the Slack archives. (A Slack account is required)

I always get to where I’m going by walking away from where I’ve been.

Winnie the Pooh, (Christopher Robin, 2018 film)

#weekly-chat

James Huff 8:13 pm on May 17, 2018
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May 17th Support Team Meeting Summary

We had a bit of an informal meeting today with no posted agenda, but we managed to cover some very important topics anyway. A huge thanks to everyone who stepped up to keep the conversations moving and on topic! 🙂

General announcements

A continued call for input on potential questions or concerns users may have, or currently have, with GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/. If you see something, say something, by helping us fill out the public Google Docs document.

WordPress 4.9.6

WordPress 4.9.6 has been released, but do be aware that there are some important notes for theme and plugin developers.

Privacy related topics

Now that 4.9.6 is out, we’ll adjust our GDRP snippet to this:

WordPress has introduced tools to assist with GDPR compliance in 4.9.6 https://wordpress.org/news/2018/05/wordpress-4-9-6-privacy-and-maintenance-release/ but it is up to you as the site owner to take the steps required to be compliant with the GDPR and any local variations that may be introduced.

Checking in with international liaisons

We had representatives from the Russian, Hindi, Spanish, Greek, Brazilian, Swedish, and Serbian communities in attendance this week.

Non-Support Topics

Please share your thoughts on how we should explain non-support topics.

Attendance

@macmanx @bcworkz @bemdesign @bethannon1 @clorith @felipeelia @zoonini @tobifjellner @sterndata @stephencottontail @geoffreyshilling @fierevere @nikolam @abletec @valeriosza @fernandot @hardeepasrani @xkon @firoz2456 @cristianozanca @joyously @t-p attended.

Read the meeting transcript in the Slack archives. (A Slack account is required)

#weekly-chat

James Huff 5:47 pm on April 5, 2018
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April 5th Support Team Meeting Summary

Announcements

  • Common Gutenberg Questions – Keep populating the document if you come upon anything that should be covered by it. The callout may not have been in 4.9.5, but it’s imminent and it never hurts to be prepared
  • The Community Code of Conduct project team is having a survey they’d love to be shared as widely as possible within the community.

WordPress 4.9.5

WordPress 4.9.5 was released two days ago. So far we haven’t had any trouble.

Onboarding

Did you do a volunteer onboarding session with us in the past, and would you be willing to share feedback on it? Or, would you be interested in joining an upcoming volunteer onboarding session?

If so, please reach out to @zoonini in SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/.!

In our onboarding sessions, you’ll learn how to use the forums, how to best help people, and you’ll make a few friends along the way. 🙂

Our last onboarding session was in February.

Checking in with international liaisons

The Swedish, German, Brazilian, and Greek communities had representatives stop by our meeting this week.

If you do support for WordPress in non-English speaking communities, please do stop by and say hello during our meetings so we can share experiences.

Attendance

@macmanx @otto42 @geoffreyshilling @bcworkz @contentiskey @cthreelabs @zoonini @numeeja @tobifjellner @zodiac1978 @valeriosza @sterndata @firoz2456 @xkon attended.

Read the meeting transcript in the Slack archives. (A Slack account is required)

Contributor tips
Are you eager to help people, but you don’t know what to say? We have several pre-written replies that you’re welcome to use!

#weekly-chat

James Huff 6:14 pm on March 29, 2018
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March 29th Support Team Meeting Summary

Announcements

  • Common Gutenberg Questions – Keep populating the document if you come upon anything that should be covered by it.
  • HelpHub block descriptions – Help shape the new blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. descriptions for the new support front page.
  • The new About page is live, so there are plenty of strings to translate if you’re available to help.

WordPress 4.9.4

WordPress 4.9.4 has been out for a while. So far we haven’t had any trouble.

Meeting Time

Following the rest of the globe switching to Daylight Saving Time, and by majority vote, the meeting time will remain at 17:00 UTC (exactly where it is right now) with the hope that we never change the time again.

Therefore, the next meeting will be Thursday, April 5, 2018, 17:00 UTC.

Checking in with international liaisons

The Russian, Swedish, and Greek communities had representatives stop by our meeting this week.

If you do support for WordPress in non-English speaking communities, please do stop by and say hello during our meetings so we can share experiences.

Attendance

@macmanx @sterndata @geoffreyshilling @t-p @contentiskey @abletec @firoz2456 @fierevere @nikolam @bemdesign @cthreelabs @clorith @bethannon1 @ipstenu @anevins @howdy_mcgee @numeeja @stephencottontail @tobifjellner @xkon @otto42 @jdembowski attended.

Read the meeting transcript in the Slack archives. (A Slack account is required)

Contributor tips
Please consider contributing to WordPress by testing for bugs. Less bugs means less support topics.

#weekly-chat

James Huff 6:26 pm on March 1, 2018
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March 1st Support Team Meeting Summary

Announcements

  • HelpHub draws ever closer, please read about the current state of it, as it affects our support efforts
  • We have an upcoming support workshop on March 16: Dealing with Angry Users
  • Just a reminder that WordPress 4.9.3 broke automatic background updates, so if you encounter anyone still on 4.9.3, please kindly direct them in how to update manually from Dashboard > Updates.

WordPress 4.9.4

WordPress 4.9.4 has been out for a week. So far we haven’t had any trouble.

Checking in with international liaisons

The Russian, Italian, Swedish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Greek communities had representatives stop by our meeting this week.

If you do support for WordPress in non-English speaking communities, please do stop by and say hello during our meetings so we can share experiences.

Attendance

@stephencottontail @macmanx @lasacco @cristianozanca @firoz2456 @jdembowski @bethannon1 @anevins @numeeja @bcworkz @zoonini @sterndata @fierevere @contentiskey @t-p @otto42 @zodiac1978 @howdy_mcgee @tobifjellner @pmfonseca @fernandot @xkon @sergeybiryukov @clorith @yaniiliev attended.

And, a special thanks to @stephencottontail for leading the meeting while @clorith was traveling!

Read the meeting transcript in the Slack archives. (A Slack account is required)

Contributor tips
If you simply use WordPress, you already know enough to help people. It’s ok to seek out topics that you’re comfortable with. You don’t have to know everything to make an impact in someone’s WordPress experience.

#weekly-chat

James Huff 7:00 pm on December 7, 2017
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December 7th Support Team Meeting Summary

Announcements

  • If folks are having trouble unsubscribing from a pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party forum, it’s partially cache-related, and can be cleared up by following these instructions.
  • Health Check has received some more great updates since last week. Troubleshooting mode now switches to the default theme, has a way to toggle themes/plugins, and can now be disabled without logging out/in again.

New Volunteer Orientation

The New Support Volunteer Orientation via Slack at WCUS 2017 was a huge success!

@bethannon1 will be taking charge to organize this monthly in a variety of time zones. Over time, we’ll decide on an official schedule based on what works, and eventually finalize and publish a document/script so that non-English communities can easily translate it and run their own.

WordPress 4.9.1

WordPress 4.9.1 has been out for a week. So far we haven’t had any trouble, though users are occasionally running into #40040 still.

GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/

Gutenberg will be in WordPress 5.0, and it is definitely different from the current editor. There will be a plugin available to restore the classic editor if necessary, but we wanted to discuss if we should do anything special for this release.

Overall, time will tell, but we’re leaning towards having a separate FAQ/OMG/BBQ post just for Gutenberg.

Checking in with international liaisons

The Russian, Italian, Hindi, Swedish, Portuguese, and Brazilian communities had representatives stop by our meeting this week.

If you do support for WordPress in non-English speaking communities, please do stop by and say hello during our meetings so we can share experiences.

Attendance

@macmanx @bcworkz @bdbrown @williampatton @pmfonseca @t-p @geoffreyshilling @cristianozanca @chetan200891 @numeeja @zoonini @zodiac1978 @bethannon1 @fierevere @sterndata @lasacco @jdembowski @thabotswana @amboutwe @contentiskey @tobifjellner @mikbaloch @stephencottontail @mariovalney attended.

Read the meeting transcript in the Slack archives. (A Slack account is required)

Contributor tips
Are you looking to contribute WordPress support, but English isn’t your native language? Don’t worry, there are several forums that could use your help!

#weekly-chat