Dev Chat Summary: March 1st (4.7.3 week 5)

This post summarizes the dev chat meeting from March 1st (agenda, Slack archive).

4.7.3 Schedule

• Reminder of plan to release 4.7.3 as bugfix and maintenance release on Monday March 6, 2017
• RC is available so please test

Community Summit

• Working to review submissions on Planning for Community Summit 2017 post on Make/CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. as well as submissions to the Make/Summit team via the Community Summit 2017: Sign-up Request post
• Between now and Friday, March 5th the Core team needs to come up with:
  • 1) a list of topics for the summit
  • 2) A list of representatives to attend the Community Summit
  • 3) One or two contributors who are willing to help with the organization of the event
• “participating” generally means being physically present for the discussions in Paris, France days prior to WCEU this summer for the Community Summit
• Each topic facilitator will do both a pre-summit and post-summit Make/Core post. @jbpaul17 to confirm timelines with @_dorsvenabili to help prep those facilitators for those post timings.
• 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/. in core [will submit to CS]
  • “what we hope and imagine for the future with the REST APIREST API The REST API is an acronym for the RESTful Application Program Interface (API) that uses HTTP requests to GET, PUT, POST and DELETE data. It is how the front end of an application (think “phone app” or “website”) can communicate with the data store (think “database” or “file system”) https://developer.wordpress.org/rest-api/., and how we hope to get there… what we have in core now and how we can improve it and how we can attract more JavaScript first developers to build on WordPress and especially contribute to core… How the REST API relates to wp-adminadmin (and super admin).” Submitted by @adamsilverstein to attend and volunteer to help in whatever role is most helpful.
  • “REST API admin usage: Where we can start moving things to using the APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. (and maybe even get a couple of them done at the summit)” Related submission from @chriscct7, recommended to include @rmccue
  • @kadamwhite: A heavy dependency on “the future of JSJS JavaScript, a web scripting language typically executed in the browser. Often used for advanced user interfaces and behaviors. in core” and that discussion should originate from the broader WP community, not be mandated by the REST API group
• Technology version support policies [will submit to CS]
  • @jorbin: (versions of PHPPHP The web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 5.6.20 or higher, MySQLMySQL MySQL is a relational database management system. A database is a structured collection of data where content, configuration and other options are stored. https://www.mysql.com/., Browsers, Screen Readers, other AT, etc.) Let’s come up with some concrete plans for when we intend to deprecate things and how we want to handle it. People Who would be good to have in this discussion: @dd32 (to help with stats) @pento (to help with messaging) @afercia and @rianrietveld ( to help formulate AT support policies if they don’t exist already), @westonruter ( as maintainer of the largest JS component) @azaozz ( as maintainer of tinyMCE component) @matveb ( as dev lead of new editor)
  • @getsource, @boonebgorges, and @matt as additional reps for this topic
• Improved management of contributors with time to spare [will submit to CS]
  • @johnbillion: This topic is particularly focused on pre-existing contributors who are paid to contribute to WordPress (eg. those whose time is sponsored by their employers), but also pre-existing contributors who aren’t sponsored but who do want to contribute a significant and/or consistent amount of time, and also potential contributors in a similar position.
    As a project, we need to manage these people’s time much better. These people need to be project managed in one way or another to avoid repeats of situations we’ve had in the past where a contributor is literally being paid to fix things in WordPress and the project is failing to enable them to do so effectively, or even at all. I’d (@johnbillion) like to attend the summit, and I’d be happy to jointly lead this discussion with someone who has good project management experience and some ideas about how WordPress might be able to better manage contributors, but at the same time do it in such a way that retains the fun and interesting aspects of contributing without turning it into something that too closely resembles “work”. [Side note from John: Worth noting that this doesn’t only apply to core, but it’s a good place to start.]
  • @helen did a survey of time availability a while ago, sent list to John to use for this topic
  • @aaroncampbell, @getsource, @jorbin, @boonebgorges, and @logankipp as additional reps for this topic
• On-boarding experience for new contributors [will submit to CS]
  • @joemcgill: Lots of people who want to get involved have no idea where to focus their efforts.
  • @kadamwhite: Speaking for myself this is hugely related to the future of JS in core and the REST API, since those pieces really need the energy new contribs would bring
  • @getsource: I am willing to participate or lead, although I don’t know what leading it means besides guiding conversation at this point. @aaroncampbell also willing to lead.
  • @peterwilsoncc, @flixos90, @logankipp, @jorbin, @johnbillion, and @stevenkword as additional reps for this topic
• Communicating changes to WordPress Core [will NOT submit to CS]
  • @jorbin: For the past few years, core has produced a field guideField guide The field guide is a type of blogpost published on Make/Core during the release candidate phase of the WordPress release cycle. The field guide generally lists all the dev notes published during the beta cycle. This guide is linked in the about page of the corresponding version of WordPress, in the release post and in the HelpHub version page. and worked with the 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. and plugins team to email 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 others about changes to core. Each release though triggers a number of people who don’t know about changes until after the release. Challenge: How can we help ensure changes that aren’t worthy of user marketing promotion are known by a far greater percentage of WordPress developers?
    Might also impact or benefit from input from +make.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//plugins +make.wordpress.org/themes +make.wordpress.org/marketing +make.wordpress.org/meta.
    Even when we get the field guide out on time, issues come up post release.
    two ideas:
    1) Translating the field guide (is this reasonable if the posts that it links to aren’t translated?) Also means polyglots should be in the discussion
    2) Using the new release email mailing list to announce RCrelease candidate One of the final stages in the version release cycle, this version signals the potential to be a final release to the public. Also see alpha (beta).
  • @helen: I think it’s worth at least starting the conversation earlier, even if it ends up still being valuable to continue something in person.
  • @desrosj: There may also be some great ideas from people who cannot attend in person. It would be a great opportunity for them to have their ideas heard and contribute, even if they are not able to follow through with the discussion in person at the summit.
  • @jorbin: I’m going to withdraw the communication topic as my proposal for the summit with the note that I might want to resubmit it depending on how the virtual discussion goes
  • @azaozz and @sergey as additional reps for this topic
• Security [will submit to CS]
  • @chriscct7: The process of a security ticketticket Created for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker. from report through triagetriage The act of evaluating and sorting bug reports, in order to decide priority, severity, and other factors. through disclosure. Aaron Campbell (security czar) has made it clear this needs to be discussed at some point and I feel like the community summit would provide a good venue as many of those on the team will be there in person and we can mirror the conversation easily for those who are not. Recommend including @aaroncampbell
  • @aaroncampbell: This is actually a good idea, although I don’t think it’s because “those on the team will be there” but rather because I’d love to get input from some other people too, and security is generally sensitive enough that a place like the summit seems useful
  • @rmccue, @kadamwhite, @matveb, @joen, @westonruter, @melchoyce as additional reps for this topic
• Collection of Anonymous data [will NOT submit to CS]
  • @chriscct7: If core is interested in doing it, I think my experience with doing it for a tracTrac An open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress. ticket (settings reduction) might prove to be useful to add to the discussion. Recommend including @drewapicture
  • General agreement to NOT include this topic since this is currently opt-in and the issue is finding an owner of this topic
• Bootstrap/Load [will NOT submit to CS]
  • @schlessera: Opening up the WordPress Core Architecture to make it flexible enough as a platform so that it can:  * serve both novice end-users as well as large-scale enterprise installations in an optimized way;  * quickly adapt to changing external requirements, to keep up with the accelerating pace of the web. Recommend including @rmccue
  • General agreement to NOT include this topic since it does not need to happen in-person, already has discussions underway, and should be scheduled in next couple of weeks
• Code editor [will NOT submit to CS]
  • @georgestephanis: Code Syntax Highlighting implementation and 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) concerns — how we can get CodeMirror or whatever better library there is implemented and rolled out for both CustomizerCustomizer Tool built into WordPress core that hooks into most modern themes. You can use it to preview and modify many of your site’s appearance settings. Custom CSSCSS Cascading Style Sheets., Theme/Plugin Editor, and Content Blocks. Recommend including @afercia @westonruter
  • General agreement to NOT include this topic since it does not need to happen in-person and should happen sooner than the CS.
• REST API authentication [will NOT submit to CS]
  • @georgestephanis: Third-party authentication with the REST API.    Between OAuth 1.0a, OAuth2, central application brokers, Application Passwords, or some other system — there’s a lot of possibilities here, and it’d be really nice if Core could pick something and move forward with it before folks start spoofing cookie authentication in applications to integrate with core.
  • Relevant chat summary from the last time we had one
  • This really needs an owner, otherwise it’ll continue to be punted. There’s fundamental differences on what the direction should be.
  • @samuelsidler: I don’t think core can decide until someone has documented the possible options, along with their strengths and weaknesses, then had some discussions on what would be best for core and why.
  • @georgestephanis, @rmccue, @logankipp volunteered post on Make/Core to move this topic along
  • We will table this idea and maybe propose it for the summit based upon how the near term discussions go
• Front-end Editing [will NOT submit to CS]
  • @westonruter: Frontend editing powered by bootstrapping the customizer onto the frontend, with inline direct manipulation of elements on the page and the controls sidebarSidebar A sidebar in WordPress is referred to a widget-ready area used by WordPress themes to display information that is not a part of the main content. It is not always a vertical column on the side. It can be a horizontal rectangle below or above the content area, footer, header, or any where in the theme. being lazy loaded to slide in from the left as needed. Editable elements include post content and site configuration (sidebars, menus, options, etc). Recommend including @celloexpressions
  • General agreement to NOT include this topic since it depends on too many other things we won’t know by then, so we will pass on that topic (at least for now).
• Nextgen Widgets [will NOT submit to CS]
  • @westonruter: Next generation of widgets which harmonize with content blocks in the editor.
  • General agreement to NOT include this topic for the CS, but good conversation for the 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/..
• Feedback on Core focuses [will NOT submit to CS]
  • @georgestephanis: Six months in, how are we feeling about shifting away to a more top-directed set of focuses for the year?
  • General agreement to NOT include this topic as it’ll be hard to say until/unless we’ve shipped a core release by then (we likely won’t) and is a conversation that should happen in public.
• Complete list of representatives nominated to attend the Community Summit: @matt, @nacin, @adamsilverstein, @rmccue, @kadamwhite, @chriscct7, @dd32, @pento, @afercia, @rianrietveld, @westonruter, @azaozz, @matveb, @getsource, @boonebgorges, @aaroncampbell, @jorbin, @logankipp, @peterwilsoncc, @flixos90, @johnbillion, @stevenkword, @azaozz, @sergey, @karmatosed, @joen, @westonruter, @melchoyce, @jnylen0, @ipstenu, @joemcgill, @joehoyle, @rachelbaker, @michael-arestad, @petya, @danielbachhuber, @ocean90, @samuelsidler, @afercia, @desrosj, @iseulde, @jjj, @celloexpressions
• We’re still searching for 1-2 contributors who are willing to help with event organization, so please comment here or reach out to @jbpaul17 if you’re interested
• @jbpaul17 will send the Core team responses to the Community Summit team by Friday, March 3rd.

Browser support

• Please take a look at @desrosj’s post: The New Editor and Browser Support
• This will be a topic of discussion at next week’s devchat.
• Please leave your thoughts there as comments, and bring them along next week as well.

#4-7-3, #core, #dev-chat, #summary