This is the home of the Make Community team for the WordPress open sourceOpen SourceOpen Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. project!
Here is where we have policy debates, project announcements, and assist community members in organizing events.
Everyone is welcome to comment on posts and participate in the discussions regardless of skill level or experience.
Get Involved
If you love WordPress and want to help us do these things, join in!
As a local event organizer, you are expected to learn and share the correct knowledge of the WordPress license. While we (or at least most of us) are not lawyers, it’s important to understand the basic rules and philosophy behind the license, because they are closely tied to how we vet anyone for anyone representing WordPress, like speakers, sponsors, and volunteers.
In this document, we’ll explore the ways you and your local MeetupMeetupMeetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook./WordCampWordCampWordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. participants can deepen your understanding of the WordPress license to build a stronger community together.
What is the GPLGPLGPL is an acronym for GNU Public License. It is the standard license WordPress uses for Open Source licensing https://wordpress.org/about/license/. The GPL is a ‘copyleft’ license https://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html. This means that derivative work can only be distributed under the same license terms. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses, of which the BSD license and the MIT License are widely used examples.?
The GPL is an acronym of General Public License. The source code of the software licensed under the GPL is free for anyone to run, study, share/copy, and modify.
Why does WordPress use the GPL?
The short answer is: the license of its predecessor software b2 was also GPL. It’s a “copyleft license” – that means all contributions must also be open sourced.
The WordPress community has fully embraced the GPL not only because it had to, but also because it has benefited from the freedoms the license provides to all users.
Just like how community events are organized by volunteers, WordPress software itself is written and maintained by a team of volunteers. Plugins and themes in the WordPress.orgWordPress.orgThe 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/ directory are also 100% GPL, allowing authors the freedom to learn from each other’s code and collaborate. This is similar to the way we share how we organize community events and build upon each other’s experience.
WordPress Community’s 100% GPL Rule
One of the requirements for WordCamp organizers is to embrace the WordPress license. Products they distribute or promote need to be 100% GPL or compatible when WordPress-derivative works are involved. This goes the same for the speakers, sponsors, and volunteers at WordCamp.
Meetup organizers are also asked to uphold the principles of the WordPress open sourceOpen SourceOpen Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. project, including the GPL. They should keep it in mind when considering co-organizers, sponsors, and hosted venues.
Helping Others Understand the GPL
If anyone asks you for a quick explanation of the GPL, you can always point them to the Bill of Rights section of wordpress.org/about page and explain these “four freedoms”.
If they want to learn more, the GPL Primer page in our WordCamp Organizer Handbook is a great resource. The links within the page are also very helpful.
Community DeputyProgram SupporterCommunity Program Supporters (formerly Deputies) are a team of people worldwide who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about program supporters in our Program Supporter Handbook. Handbook also has a great resource called “Frequently asked questions about the GPL”.
Some people can get a better grasp of an idea when the information is delivered in a medium other than writing. You can assist them by explaining things using slides and story-telling (e.g. some meetup communities use a short presentation to open every meetup, which includes the four freedoms and how they affect the WordPress ecosystem). Or you can share this video: Matt Mullenweg: WordPress and the GPL.
Misinterpretation happens
It is common to see individuals and businesses make mistakes in understanding the principles of the WordPress community’s 100% GPL rule, such as:
Stating their derivative product is under the GPL but add extra clause(s) that limit the four freedoms
Choosing a split license and think that complies with the 100% GPL rule
Not explicitly indicating any license
It’s wise to have a conversation with them and try to sort out their misunderstandings, instead of seeing them as an enemy or calling it out in public. This may sound surprising, but more often than not, they’ll appreciate your help in correcting their wrong interpretations.
If you are not sure how to confront with others about the license violation, reach out to your mentorEvent SupporterEvent Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues. or Community Team deputiesProgram SupporterCommunity Program Supporters (formerly Deputies) are a team of people worldwide who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about program supporters in our Program Supporter Handbook. for assistance.
Translating Resources
If you are involved in a community where many of the members don’t speak English, consider translating the existing resources to communicate the idea.
Community team deputiesProgram SupporterCommunity Program Supporters (formerly Deputies) are a team of people worldwide who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about program supporters in our Program Supporter Handbook. are currently in discussion with a meetupMeetupMeetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. organizer who is distributing a WordPress derivative that is not 100% GPLGPLGPL is an acronym for GNU Public License. It is the standard license WordPress uses for Open Source licensing https://wordpress.org/about/license/. The GPL is a ‘copyleft’ license https://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html. This means that derivative work can only be distributed under the same license terms. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses, of which the BSD license and the MIT License are widely used examples.. We often talk to future organizers about changing licenses for their products during the vetting process. In this case, it only came to the team’s attention after the orientation and setting up the group.
As part of the Good Faith Rules, it’s stated that to organize meetup events in official chapter groups, you are expected to embrace the WordPress license. Anyone who wants to use a different license can do so, just not as part of our official program.
Difficult choices
This case is unusual because the meetup group in question was created by the global community teamGlobal Community TeamA group of community organizers and contributors who collaborate on local events about WordPress — monthly WordPress meetups and/or annual conferences called WordCamps., on the WordPress chapter from the beginning. The group has met only once so far, and has less than 50 members.
Two options present themselves: the team can
remove this person from their role as meetup organizer of the group and email all members of the group, inviting a new organizer to step forward, or
remove the group from the WordPress chapter program (after emailing the members to explain what’s about to happen), leaving the organizer as a leader of the group, simply removing the official WordPress endorsement.
Both options have disadvantages, so I think it’s important for the team to discuss the best way forward.
Option 1: If the group started as part of the chapter program and was promoted through the events widgetWidgetA WordPress Widget is a small block that performs a specific function. You can add these widgets in sidebars also known as widget-ready areas on your web page. WordPress widgets were originally created to provide a simple and easy-to-use way of giving design and structure control of the WordPress theme to the user., it seems like the group should continue following the expectations of the chapter program. Removing the organizer from their role (if they decline to meet expectations) and inviting a new organizer to step forward might be confusing for group members, but would clearly communicate the importance of the 4 freedoms inside WordPress. People who joined because this is an official meetup, will stay in an official meetup. On the other hand, since the group is so new, we might be inviting people to take a leadership position before they’ve gotten to know the WordPress project well enough to make an educated decision.
Option 2: This option leaves the organizer in charge of a group that was created under the WordPress umbrella. Removing the WordPress chapter status from the current group could result in a “bait and switch” for people who joined the group because they learned about it on their WordPress dashboard. Even though we’d message everyone about the change, meetup.com emails aren’t read very consistently. It’s probably less destabilizing for the group, but might be seen as weaker support for the rights of the WordPress user. This would also leave the city with no chapter meetup, but of course another local WordPress enthusiast could apply to organize one.
Discuss!
I hope neither of these options are necessary, and that the organizer decides to embrace the WordPress license after all. Regardless, I’d love to know the team’s thoughts on these two options, because someday this question will come up again, and I’d like to be ready.
Please share your feedback in a comment on this post!
In the comments on this post a point was raised that warrants further discussion:
A person works for a marketplace that sells non-GPLGPLGPL is an acronym for GNU Public License. It is the standard license WordPress uses for Open Source licensing https://wordpress.org/about/license/. The GPL is a ‘copyleft’ license https://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html. This means that derivative work can only be distributed under the same license terms. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses, of which the BSD license and the MIT License are widely used examples. WordPress products. They want to help organize or volunteer at a WordCampWordCampWordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more..
When vetting all Volunteers for a WordCamp we use the 100% GPL vetting checklist and the GPL Primer We define Volunteers as organizers, speakers, and volunteers. We have a belief that our events should reflect the coreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. projects beliefs and philosophies, especially with regard to the GPL. Anyone associated with WordCamps in a Volunteer role is our representative. It is important that they reflect the projects values. We look at all Volunteers and review and WordPress derivative products and ensure that they are GPL. If not, we ask them if they can change the license to GPL. If they cannot, they cannot be a Volunteer at a WordCamp.
In the Comments a comment thought was repeated: @stephencronin
link Personally I think I should be judged on my own software, which is all 100% GPL, rather than my choice of employer.
link I think individuals who work at such a marketplace should be able to organize, participate, get involved etc. as long as they are representing themselves and not their company.
My employers do not exist within the WordPress realm so that’s easy for me to write. It just does not come up and when I participate in support at an event, it’s just me.
But if my employer was against opensource (they’re not, I checked), I don’t want my participation to be evaluated on that basis. My involvement as an individual contributor should be an option.
link there are two key things to bear in mind here:
The current rule that requires all WordCamp organisers, speakers, sponsors and volunteers to be 100% GPL compatible, extending to the company that they work for, is one that we cannot currently make an exception for. That’s how it is at the moment and individual exceptions cannot be made right now. Which brings me to the second key point…
While I think I can safely say that we will never change the rule that individuals must be GPL compatible in their personal capacity, there is a valuable discussion to be had with regards to how we handle individuals who are personally compatible, but their employer is not. This is the case that @stephencronin explained above with his employment at Envato. As @kcristiano has stated, this is a discussion better held in a dedicated post and I think it is a discussion that we need to have. I’m not sure what the outcome would be at this stage, but we definitely need to talk about it and make a firm decision that both upholds the principles of the WordPress project and remains as inclusive as possible.
I do agree with @hlashbrooke that we should take a look and decide how to handle individuals who are personally compatible with the GPL license, but work for a Company that is not. We’ll hold this post open until April 3rd for comments. Please chime in with your thoughts.
Here’s the draft version of “WordCampWordCampWordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. regulation OK/NG case study” in the handbook. I’d like to add more items when we agree on this.
We got the cases from this spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bkpvieQA4NIh9AFUxX-oZe_S7gKMdDvwewwUdERx2N0/edit#gid=0
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Questions about WordCamp regulations are welcome at #community-event.
Here are some case studies that you can refer when face issues.
#1
A company has the faux WordPress logo on their website or in contents.
NG. We need to ask the person to change that to a correct logo.
#2
A speaker owns and uses a domain name that have “wordpress” as a part of it. He asked the organizers to put a link to the site on his bio.
NG. We need to tell them to change the domain name, or he can’t be a speaker as it’s a violation.
#3
A WordCamp speaker who owns a wordpress-xyz.domain domain but does not mention it in their talks or at the conference and knows they will need to change the domain.
NG. We need to tell them to change the domain name, or he can’t be a speaker as it’s a violation.
#4
How we can handle budget outside US/Canada (e.g. banking account)
OK. We can transfer the money between the countries and US/Canada. And you also can receive and pay directly inside the country without bypassing US/Canada.
#5
A Hosting company wanted to sponsor WC Mumbai but they had a subsidiary which built and distributed Non-GLP themes to be bundled with CPanel. They said they couldn’t change much in another division and hence dropped out but later they wanted to sponsor another WordCamp.
NG. But they realized this would always keep them away from participating as sponsors so they switched their licenses for WordPress themes.
#6
On the speaker candidate’s website, the organization team found links to a theme shop that does not follow 100% GPLGPLGPL is an acronym for GNU Public License. It is the standard license WordPress uses for Open Source licensing https://wordpress.org/about/license/. The GPL is a ‘copyleft’ license https://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html. This means that derivative work can only be distributed under the same license terms. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses, of which the BSD license and the MIT License are widely used examples..
NG. We asked the speaker to remove the link, and the speaker removed the link.We welcomed him as a speaker.
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I need advice on how to handle the following two cases.
#7
A person works for a marketplace that sells non-GPL WordPress products. They want to help organize or volunteer at a WordCamp.
#8
A person is selling themes/plugins that require activation key to use them.
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After I get feedbacks from the team, I’d like to proceed on creating a new handbook page. Please add comments until 31th, March. Thanks.
( @shinichiN gave me translation support. Thanks. )
Last week Morgan Kay, an experienced WordCampWordCampWordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. organizer whom I vetted and approved to be lead organizer of WordCamp Seattle 2015, notified WordCamp CentralWordCamp CentralWebsite for all WordCamp activities globally. https://central.wordcamp.org includes a list of upcoming and past camp with links to each. that she planned to start distributing a WordPress pluginPluginA 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 that would not be released under the GPLGPLGPL is an acronym for GNU Public License. It is the standard license WordPress uses for Open Source licensing https://wordpress.org/about/license/. The GPL is a ‘copyleft’ license https://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html. This means that derivative work can only be distributed under the same license terms. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses, of which the BSD license and the MIT License are widely used examples..
Morgan agreed that this action would mean that she no longer met the WordCamp organizer expectations, so she should remove herself from the WordCamp Seattle organizing team. Brooke Dukes, another member of the Seattle organizing team, was willing to take on the lead organizer role, so the transition was smooth. Planning of WordCamp Seattle continues, and WordCamp Central will make an extra effort to support the Seattle organizing team as their planning cycle continues.
Curious about the NOT GPL tag. I saw it applied to a recent WC Providence video (http://wordpress.tv/?p=17789&preview=true), so I wanted to take a peek at the (unpublished) video and see why it was tagged as such. On a first glance I don’t see any huge, in-your-face issues … so I wanted to follow up here and ask why it was applied and what exactly it means in this context.
The only real reason I could see is that the speaker discusses a few (potentially) non-GPLGPLGPL is an acronym for GNU Public License. It is the standard license WordPress uses for Open Source licensing https://wordpress.org/about/license/. The GPL is a ‘copyleft’ license https://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html. This means that derivative work can only be distributed under the same license terms. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses, of which the BSD license and the MIT License are widely used examples. resources for beginners (like ThemeForest). I’m not sure this is worthy of blocking the video as not GPL, but wanted to follow up here for a second opinion.
Also, the speaker quite clearly tells the audience at the beginning – “and this will be up on WordPress.TV soon.” If we’re blocking videos based on specific GPL-related issues, have we pushed out our criteria to the various WC organizers so they can follow up with speakers? It’s a huge disservice to tell people a video will be available and then blockBlockBlock 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. it later.
