Update about the GatherPress project

We were invited to give regular updates about GatherPress.

Here are the significant advancements made by GatherPress since our initial proposal. GatherPress continues to evolve, thanks to the active participation and feedback from community members. Here’s a detailed overview of our progress.

Call for Feedback and status of the Proposal

We are actively seeking feedback from current MeetupMeetup Meetup 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. organizers. Your insights are invaluable in helping us refine GatherPress to better meet the needs of the WordPress community.

There are several ways to help:

  • You can test GatherPress right now using this Playground demo in your browser or test it on your own site installing the 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 available in the plugin repository and provide your feedback in the comments below or in our main GatherPress GitHub repository.
  • If you are a Meetup organizer, you can start testing GatherPress by publishing your Meetup events in our Demo site joining the current WordPress Meetup groups that are already using this platform, helping us to test real cases. Read the home page here, fill the form to join the tests and provide your feedback on the same site or on our GitHubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged be the repository owner. https://github.com/ repositories: For the plugin features on our main GatherPress repository, and for the Community integration, on the Gatherpress-WP-org-integration repository.
    We would like to know if it was easy or not for you to add a venue, an event, and your general feeling about the use of GatherPress. ideally we would like to have feedback from attendees as well, so feel free to share the form with your attendees.
  • If you are a member of the Community or MetaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. teams, please add feature requests and reply to questions for what is needed to create the integration between GatherPress and the 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/ network (user accounts, user activity in profiles, email sending, group creation and management, etc) here on the Gatherpress-WP-org-integration GitHub repository.
  • You can spread the word about the tool, invite event organizers to join the tests, invite people to test the tool and send feedback, etc.

It’s only after GatherPress has proven its viability through your feedback that the Meta team can implement it on the .org network for the pilot program, as we proposed in January. Therefore, your input is crucial to ensure a successful integration. Please test and provide feedback before the end of September 2024.

Improvements

Since introducing GatherPress, we have focused on integrating features that enhance event management within WordPress. Our initial release has been well-received, and community feedback has been instrumental in guiding our development process. Based on user feedback, we have implemented several improvements:

  • We added OpenStreetMap to load the maps by default, Google Maps is still available as an option,
  • Customizable post type and taxonomyTaxonomy A taxonomy is a way to group things together. In WordPress, some common taxonomies are category, link, tag, or post format. https://codex.wordpress.org/Taxonomies#Default_Taxonomies. slugs with localized defaults,
  • Improvements to accessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility),
  • Import and export events, venues and topics using WordPress’ native tools,
  • Now using WordPress Playground to:
    • Enable the “Live Preview” on .org/plugins
    • Instantly preview changes from a commented Playground-link on each PR
    • Automatically generate multilingual screenshots for .org/plugins
    • Run end-to-end tests
    • Curate and maintain a set of demo-data, that is re-used in all of those Playgrounds,
  • And more, all our released features can be seen in our main GitHub project.

GatherPress on the WordPress Plugin Repository

GatherPress is now available on the official WordPress Plugin Repository since the end of June. This makes it easier for users to discover, install, and update GatherPress directly from their WordPress dashboards. Additionally, you can test GatherPress using the Playground. We encourage you to try the plugin, and as always, your feedback is invaluable.

Translation Availability

GatherPress is now available for translation. We invite community members to contribute translations, making GatherPress accessible to a broader audience. Please share it with your Polyglots teams to organize translation sprints and to get it translated to as many languages as possible!

Thanks to all the polyglots around the world, who have already translated GatherPress into 8 languages!

WordCampWordCamp WordCamps 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. US Contributor DayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/.

GatherPress will have a dedicated table at the upcoming WordCamp US Contributor Day (September 17, 2024). This is a fantastic opportunity to meet Mike and Mervin, discuss the project, provide feedback, and contribute to the development of GatherPress. We encourage you to join us and get involved. You can even join us remotely via a video call during the Contributor Day if you do not attend the WordCamp.

Involvement can happen in many ways, for example:

  • Contribution with tasks we have identified as important for our next version.
  • Small backlog tasks to help get your feet wet with the project.
  • Testing and identifying issues in the plugin and documenting them in a ticket to be prioritized in a future release of the plugin.
  • Helping test our code by contributing to unit tests (JavaScriptJavaScript JavaScript or JS is an object-oriented computer programming language commonly used to create interactive effects within web browsers. WordPress makes extensive use of JS for a better user experience. While PHP is executed on the server, JS executes within a user’s browser. https://www.javascript.com/. or 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. https://www.php.net/manual/en/preface.php.) or end-to-end tests (playwright).
  • Work with the Meta team for the integration with the WordPress.org network.

Development Roadmap

Looking ahead, we have an exciting roadmap for GatherPress. Upcoming features include:

  • Recurring event management, 
  • 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. updates and improvements,
  • Email notification when event starts,
  • Event federation using ActivityPub,
  • New calendar block,
  • And more, all our planned features can be seen in our main GitHub project.

Furthermore, we are building addons to easily build integration with other plugins. 

We are also working to integrate GatherPress with the WordPress.org network, and are identifying the requirements with the Meta and Community teams before creating a full roadmap with dates for the integration and the start of the pilot program.

We are committed to continuous improvement and look forward to delivering these new capabilities.

Join the Team

We invite community members to join the GatherPress team. Whether you are a developer, designer, translator, community member or simply passionate about improving event management in WordPress, your contributions are welcome. Together, we can shape the future of GatherPress. You can join the GatherPress Slack or GitHub and participate in our weekly huddles on Fridays at 15:00 UTC (16:00 UTC from November to March). The upcoming huddles are always listed on the homepage of our website.

Get to know GatherPress and the Team

You can visit our blog and watch the interviews we gave, they are packed with information about GatherPress. To know more about who we are, you can have a look at the team page.

We are grateful for the community’s support and look forward to your continued involvement as we refine and expand GatherPress. Together, we are shaping the future of event management within the WordPress ecosystem.

For any queries or to provide direct feedback, please reach out to @mauteri or @patriciabt on WordPress 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/..

Thank you for your support!

The GatherPress Team

Written and reviewed by @patricia70, @mauteri, @carstenbach, @malgra from the GatherPress team, and reviewed by @_dorsvenabili, @nao, @peiraisotta.
Many thanks!

+make.wordpress.org/meta/

#meetups, #community-management, #community-events, #community-team, #learn, #meta, #meta-wordcamp

#meetups, #community-management, #community-events, #community-team, #learn, #meta, #meta-wordcamp

Proposal: Pilot program to test GatherPress on the WordPress.org network as a Meetup alternative

Introduction

We propose a pilot program to test GatherPress, a community-developed 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, within interested and active WordPress meetupMeetup Meetup 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. groups. This initiative stems from our community’s need for an innovative event management tool tailored to the unique demands of WordPress event organizers and participants.

The pilot program would be held in real-world conditions with WordPress Meetup groups.

We have expressed commitments to a trial run from New Jersey and Nashville groups in the USA, French-speaking groups in Switzerland, and potential interest from groups in Spain, Japan as well as from learn.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/.

Overview of GatherPress

GatherPress, led by @mauteri and @hrmervin, is a plugin designed with functionalities akin to Meetup.com, but specifically crafted for the WordPress community by members of the WordPress community. It is the result of the WordPress community’s desire for new event management tools that meet the diverse needs of event organizers and members. 

You can find more information on the website and on GitHub.

Documentation pages, including a demo video, are available on the website.

We welcome everyone to comment here, to test GatherPress (also for accessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility)) or join the GatherPress weekly huddles, 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/. channel or even the team.

Summary of Value Proposition

GatherPress

✅ Members and Attendance data lives on your website and database. Community Organizers define privacy policies, selectively publish attendees lists, gather additional data from attendees, etc.

✅ Democratized access to data and functionality, as WordPress is customizable

Open SourceOpen Source Open 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.: free, and scaled with WordPress

Meetup and Commercial Apps

❌ Data Ownership, Data Integrity, Data Privacy

❌ Control of Roadmap, Enhancements, and Integrations

❌ Cost and Scale

❌ Control UXUX UX is an acronym for User Experience - the way the user uses the UI. Think ‘what they are doing’ and less about how they do it. and accessibility

Pilot Program Objectives

Real-World Testing

The pilot aims to test GatherPress in a live environment, providing practical insights into its functionality and user experience feedback.

Community engagement

Engage with the participating meetup groups from the international community. 

Feedback & Analysis

Collect feedback from both organizers and participants throughout the course of their use of GatherPress during the trial.

Analyse suggestions, feedback, and bug reports to refine the application into its next version(s).

Reports

Periodic summary posts on how the program is working for the whole community to know about it.

Future Planning

Following the completion of the trial, set the public roadmap of functionality and integrations to be released. Ultimately, the objective of GatherPress is to potentially replace Meetup.com as the centerpoint of the WordPress Community Events and Dashboard WidgetWidget A 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. source data. 

Benefits of the Proposal

1. Community-centric development

This pilot and this project, empowers the WordPress community by directly leading the development process of a tool designed by and for the community at large.

A major challenge of the community is influence over the roadmap of commercially available tools, to build features and functionality needed by organizers, participants, and users with accessibility needs. 

2. Enhanced Event Management

GatherPress promises to offer a more integrated and seamless event management experience within the WordPress ecosystem. Among our goals are to allow community organizers to gather data from attendees unique to each hosted event as needed. Additional capabilities are present for triggering additional reminders, customized waitlist workflows, and selectively publishing attendees lists. The GatherPress plugin is built to be extendable and configurable. Companion plugins will be able to seamlessly integrate with the coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. plugin. GatherPress will also be built to leverage features of other community-based plugins (like BuddyPress).

3. Cost-Effectiveness

This project has the potential to reduce the community’s reliance on external platforms like Meetup.com. The estimated cost savings of leveraging our own application is approx $ 215,000 USD per year, coupled with the full control over event management tools and ownership of our community’s data. WPCSWordPress Community Support WordPress Community Support PBC is a Public Benefit Corporation, created specifically to be the financial and legal support for WordCamps, WordPress Meetup groups, and any additional “official” events organized within the WordPress Community Events program. pays Meetup.com $24.50 per group per month (inclusive of a 30% discount). There were 734 groups as of October of 2023.

4. Use-Case Specific Testing

An example of how this testing can grant case-by-case capabilities includes Localization (translated language). By opening the pilot program to groups from various countries, we ensure that the tool is adaptable and functional in a multilingual context, essential for the diverse WordPress community. Furthermore, communities will benefit from the open source nature of the application, enabling customization of RSVP and onboarding workflows.

5. Data Liberation

The WordPress Open Source community is indeed large, and our data is valuable, as is the privacy. GatherPress hosted by WordPress community proper, will enable organizers and leadership to 1) own the community’s data, and 2) make it selectively available for analysis. Insights learned from our community at large, will inform growth opportunities and strategic initiatives into the future. Today, WordPress operates the Data Liberation project, enabling users of commercial tools to migrate into a WordPress experience. You can learn more about the Data Liberation project at: https://wordpress.org/data-liberation/.

6. Meetup.com Importer

One of the first companion plugins the GatherPress team is currently working on is the ability to import meetup.com data to a GatherPress-powered WordPress site. This will make the transition from meetup.com to GatherPress as seamless as possible and simplify managing both as a group transitions from one platform to another.

Next steps

The ideal setup for the pilot is to run GatherPress on a multisiteMultisite Multisite is a WordPress feature which allows users to create a network of sites on a single WordPress installation. Available since WordPress version 3.0, Multisite is a continuation of WPMU or WordPress Multiuser project. WordPress MultiUser project was discontinued and its features were included into WordPress core.https://codex.wordpress.org/Create_A_Network. within the wordpress.org network, in collaboration with # metaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress.-wordcampWordCamp WordCamps 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., # community-events, # meta, and # learn. This approach ensures seamless integration and alignment with the existing WordPress infrastructure, potentially allowing other meetup groups to join and already be in the definitive environment if the pilot program is successful. 

Alongside this trial, meetup groups should continue to leverage Meetup.com in parallel to GatherPress.

Timeframe

We are prepared to commence immediately and suggest a minimum of a 6 month duration to meet our pilot’s objectives.

Conclusion

This pilot program presents a unique opportunity to shape the future of event management in the WordPress community. By leveraging the collective knowledge and experience of our meetup groups, we can ensure that GatherPress evolves into a tool that truly resonates with the needs and expectations of our global community.


This proposal has been written by @patricia70 and @hrmervin and reviewed by @mauteri.

Suggestions, edition and additional information (thank you): @annebovelett, @devinmaeztri, @harishanker, @harmonyromo, @iandunn, @isvictorious, @javiercasares, @kcristiano, @nao, @peiraisotta, @unintended8, @_dorsvenabili

The draft was submitted for feedback to other community members as well, the above list only includes the persons who commented.

#meetups, #community-management, #community-events, #community-team, #learn, #meta, #meta-wordcamp

Recap of the Contributor Working Group’s Mentorship Chat on September 21, 2023

In attendance: @adityakane, @coachbirgit, @gusa, @harishanker, @kafleg, @leogopal, @matteoenna, @mayukojpn, @kirasong, @nao, @ninianepress, @oglekler, @onealtr, @patricia70, @sereedmedia, @tobifjellner, @topher1kenobe, @webtechpooja, @yoga1103

Notes: @nao

Agenda: https://make.wordpress.org/community/2023/09/19/contributor-working-group-mentorship-chat-agenda-september-21st-0700-utc-apac-emea-and-1600-utc-amer/

Meeting Start

APAC/EMEA: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1695279617297589
AMER: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1695312003171489

Summary

Based on the conversation, here are some takeaways from the meetings:

  • We should try doing the next cohort alongside 6.5
  • The next cohort size should be bigger
  • We should put out a call for mentorsEvent Supporter Event 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. along with mentees
  • We should try to include more Make/Teams in the process
  • We should revisit the process of mentorship, add more documentation, and processes
  • Our project management tool will be our GitHub Project

Pending Tasks from our Past Cohort

These pending tasks were discussed, and additional feedback was provided.

Training Team’s Onboarding Process & Guide Program

@leogopal brought up the Training Team’s Learning Pathway project and suggested that we work on creating different pathways for contributors to meet their interested roles.

@gusa shared @piyopiyofox’s comment in the Refreshing the contributor pipeline discussion, where she said the Training Team onboarding program is highly successful and can be adapted to other Make Teams, process-wise.

Planning the Next Mentorship Cohort

Timing

Many shared their preference for the next cohort tining to be after some break, possibly alongside of 6.5 release. “As soon as possible” was also mentioned.

Cohort Size

@nao @harishanker @adityakane @tobifjellner said the cohort size could be larger next time. No mention in the exact number, except @adityakane said doubling the size (= 26 mentees).

@tobifjellner suggested multiple mentees per mentorEvent Supporter Event 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. could also be possible.

Centralize project management

Everyone agreed that we need a better project management tool, and using the GitHub Project for the working group that @leogopal had set up earlier is a good idea.

@coachbirgit shared that the discussion feature on GitHubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged be the repository owner. https://github.com/ Project can be useful for the group, so @nao enabled it: https://github.com/WordPress/wp-contributor-working-group-tracker/discussions

Working alongside a release

@nao @harishanker @coachbirgit @tobifjellner @kirasong @sereedmedia said running the next cohort along the 6.5 release would give enough preparation time for the working group.

@sereedmedia: “I like that the cohort could get exposure to the release process, regardless of what team they are on. it touches all the teams in some way, and the releases are why we are all here at the end of the day.”

@adityakane said intentionally decoupling the timing from release could help new contributors see non-coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. development parts of the project.

@ninianepres: “having a cohort alongside one release it super great and less overwhelming. But also, it’s worth taking a look at when these releases are scheduled just so we don’t feel we’re rushed like the last cohort”

Duration/Timeframe

Some suggestions were brought up about the duration and timeframe: increasing the 4-week period, separating out the general onboarding parts, and spending four weeks on the specific team onboarding.

@sereedmedia made a point about reviewing survey feedback before making a concrete decision.

Things to change for the next cohort

Additional comments:

@kafleg: “Strictly monitoring and reporting the updates, and Mentee rating from Mentor and monitor”

@coachbirgit: “Template for a 90-day plan as follow-up for the mentees after the cohorts end.”

@sereedmedia: “Bug scrub & contributor dayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/. as a sprint, developing actionable contribution goals for each team that would be suitable for a “first issue”

@oglekler: “I can make a bug scrub meetupMeetup Meetup 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. or something”

@ninianepress: “Consider having facilitators initiate the onboarding process, followed by mentors taking over/have different levels where junior & senior mentors or facilitators come in at different times; create checklists and forms for mentors as well this time and not just mentees; more clarity around defining the roles”

@adityakane: “Clearer framework, Github to project manage.”

Open floor/FYI

#wpcontributors, #contributor-mentorship, #contributor-working-group, #mentorship-programs, #mentorship-chat, #mentorship-chat-agenda #mentorship-chat-recap

#mentorship-chat-recap

Update: Contributor Orientation Tool

WordCampWordCamp WordCamps 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. Europe 2019 organising team presented new tool that we’ve been developing to help new contributors select the make team they wish to contribute to – Contributor Orientation Tool. The tool was built as a prototype at which state we asked for feedback from broader community. Many thanks to @webcommsat for writing that post and @fabiofava, @iandunn, @karmatosed, @melchoyce and @mburridge for their feedback and input on that post.

As WordCamp Europe 2020 organising team is back to work, we are continuing our work on Contributor Orientation Tool as well. General plan is to write proposal and ask for help from community outside of WCEUWCEU WordCamp Europe. The European flagship WordCamp event. org team, rebuild codebase, enable Make Teams reps manage content for their teams, launch 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 at 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/ and after that, at WordCamp.org with close collaboration with #meta and #meta-wordcamp teams, respectively.

Before we publish our proposal, we would like to ask anyone interested in getting involved to reach out either here, in comments; or in Make Slack, look for @francina, @webcommsat (@abhanonstopnewsuk on 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/.), @siemens82 (@aleksandarnis on Slack) or myself (@zzap on Slack); or come directly to GitHub repo.

Also, if you are attending WordCamp US, feel free to find @francina and/or myself and we can chat in person. Thank you.

WordPress meetup organizer newsletter: April 2019

Hello WordPress MeetupMeetup Meetup 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. organizers!

Welcome to another meetup organizer newsletter full of news, information and inspiration for your local meetup.

Newsletter contents:

  • Organizer best practices: helping your local meetup
  • Proposal for Central 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. Directory
  • Diversity Outreach Speaker Training Workshops
  • Reminders

Organizer best practices: helping your local meetup

On the Make Community blog, there is a discussion that has been kickstarted about ways to help your local meetup and some best practices around them.

Here are 11 ways to contribute to your local WordPress meetup, which can also serve as a graceful path to community leadership:

  1. spread the word about the meetup (sharing photos on social media, word of mouth, flyers, blog posts, etc)
  2. greet & welcome new attendees
  3. take attendance (if your group keeps a record of who actually attended the event)
  4. deliver opening or closing remarks (easier if the points to cover are written down)
  5. facilitate a round-table discussion
  6. give a presentation
  7. help find a free venue
  8. record & post a presentation to WordPress.tv
  9. organize refreshments
  10. suggest or recruit speakers
  11. organize an event series

Proposal for Central Block Directory

With blocks becoming the new way to manage content in WordPress, more and more types of blocks are being developed to cater for different use cases and content types. In an effort to make it easier for content creators to find these block types, there is a proposal for a new type 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 and a directory to handle it.

The proposal outlines a new type of WordPress plugin that provides blocks and nothing else, named Single Block Plugins. The primary benefit would be to provide content creators with individual pieces of functionality and new types of blocks without the need to search for and install new plugins.

The Single Block Plugins would be hosted in a separate Block Directory section of the Plugin Directory and they would initially be JavaScriptJavaScript JavaScript or JS is an object-oriented computer programming language commonly used to create interactive effects within web browsers. WordPress makes extensive use of JS for a better user experience. While PHP is executed on the server, JS executes within a user’s browser. https://www.javascript.com/.-based. Each plugin will register a single block, and they will be searchable and installable from within the editor itself. This puts blocks at the publishers’ fingertips — you no longer have to leave the editor to find them.

Want to get involved in shaping this new type of plugin? Join in the conversation on the proposal post, follow the Meta team blog, and join the #meta channel in the Making WordPress Slack group.

Diversity Outreach Speaker Training Workshops

Have you ever had trouble getting women and people from other groups underrepresented in tech to speak at your meetupsMeetup Meetup 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. and WordCamps? Check out the Diversity Outreach Speaker Training workshop: https://make.wordpress.org/training/speaker-training

Write to us to sign up for this or find out about future training sessions here: http://tiny.cc/wpwomenspeakTo sign up and get more details, either fill out our form and comment with which date you’d would like to attend a training email the working group at speaker-training@wordcamp.org

Reminders

That’s it for now — chat to you next time!

Your friends on the Community Team
make.wordpress.org/community

#newsletter #meetup

#meetup-organizer-newsletter

Slack notifications for WordCamp and Meetup application updates


In the WordPress project, multiple teams (#meta, #core, #polyglots, etc.) make use of 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/. notifications to surface new, interesting changes in their team’s respective channel. This includes notifications on new commits, tracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub.https://core.trac.wordpress.org/. issue updates, new translation strings availability, etc.

(Screenshot of a commit notification)
(Screenshot of a commit notification)


These notifications serve at least two purposes:

1. People interested in following these teams have a very convenient way to look at recent and ongoing activities.

2. It provides a way to acknowledge contributors.

In the WordPress community channels, we don’t currently use this tool, but there may be some cases where having these notifications would add lot of value for us.

These include:

  1. Someone sends a new application for a WordCampWordCamp WordCamps 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.
  2. Someone sends a new application for a WordPress chapter meetupMeetup Meetup 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.
  3. A new WordCamp is set to Scheduled status
  4. A new WordPress meetup group is now active in the chapter
  5. A WordCamp application is declined
  6. A Meetup application is declined

For reference, you can see status of some active WordCamp applications here.

These notifications could include whether the event is a WordPress or a Meetup, city and country of the event, description of the update, and 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/ usernames of people who were involved in vetting the event application.

I have written some initial code for this, and it could look like:

(screenshot for when a new WordCamp application is submitted)
(screenshot for when a new WordCamp application is submitted)


(screenshot for when WordCamp is scheduled)
(screenshot when a WordCamp application is scheduled)


(screenshot for when a WordCamp application is declined)
(screenshot when a WordCamp application is declined)


A few more things to note and discuss here:

  1. We can perhaps send these notifications to #community-events,  #community-team, or both of these channels.
  2. The props section will include usernames of everyone who added notes to the application listing and/or changed the listing’s status.
  3. We would also want to send notifications when an application is declined, and not just when it is received or scheduled, in order to credit the deputiesProgram Supporter Community 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. who nevertheless did the  work to vet and respond to it. It could normalize the process of declining the application, because it is not uncommon for subsequent applications to be approved.

What do you think? Should we have these notifications? If we have them, then should they be more granular, or less granular? What changes in language or overall appearance would you suggest? Leave your thoughts in a comment on this post!

#community, #slack

Community team on Slack

Hello! Now that we’ve been using 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/. for nearly two months, I’m reviewing where we can improve. Some other teams have made specific feature requests, and I’m happy to hear those in the #slackhelp channel. (If there’s anything that can be done to make Slack better for you, I’m all ears.)

Now, for this team in particular, there have been a few requests as it pertains to channels. Like most teams, you joined Slack to find an already created #community channel waiting for you. It turns out, #community isn’t a great name, as many think it is either a watercooler of sorts or for general discussion topics. Others think it pertains to local communities (half right). The “community” team is really a super-team composed of a number of wide-ranging initiatives.

There are a lot of users in the channel, and a decent amount of noise, especially if you only care about only one particular initiative or project. There’s lot of cross-talk. Meetings can run into each other or need to be carefully scheduled around each other.

Slack suggests you create channels only as you realize you need them, and we adopted this model. Before WordCampWordCamp WordCamps 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. San Francisco was over, a #training channel was created. Here’s my current proposal, based on the projects page and a review of all requests I’ve received:

  • #events — Rename the #community channel to #events. WordCamps, meetupsMeetup Meetup 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., and other events. Includes sponsorships talk. Can have subdivisions for WordCamps and/or meetups at a later point.
  • #outreach — This would cover a number of projects that are mostly dormant or nascent. As things ramp up, this could divide further into channels for academic outreach, #diversity, #mentorship / #gsoc, etc.
  • #training — The training team; this channel already exists.
  • #wptv — WordPress.tv video moderation.

Of course, there will be stuff that takes place that spans multiple teams. I don’t think it’ll be difficult how to make that work, though. As an example: as most stuff focuses on events, community-team-wide housekeeping and updates could be covered during regular #events meetings. I think this is a very good trade-off.

#meta, #slack