Reviewing the Guidelines

The official 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 guidelines are currently found on DevHub under Detailed Plugin Guidelines. The older version now redirects (thank you!). Like the Codex and DevHub, we’re mid transition and apologize for any confusion when that redirect wasn’t happening.

Historically, any time someone has a patently clear misunderstanding about what a guideline means, they are asked if they can help us understand what was confusing and how to make it better. I’m sad to tell you that in the history of me asking that question, less than five people out of the hundreds have replied.

Since we have the goal in mind to expand the plugin review team, one of the requirements on me as the rep is to clarify the Plugin Repository Guidelines. In the last seven months (since the Community Summit 2015) I have been refining, tweaking, and editing them in an attempt to make them more clear so we can get them at a point where they will be easily enforceable by people who don’t have the deep history of understanding misbegotten behaviors that caused their creation in the first place.

The sole reason this has been done in private was so that those currently on the team were all on the same page before we bring it up to the rest of the world.  Once we know we understand the guidelines, then we can educate the next generation. It’s taking us this long to straighten things out in part because we don’t have a handbook. Not a one. I’ve started from scratch to make a passable one, which is now being converted into something understandable and sharable with others.

My personal goal is to have ‘betaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process.’ release of the Handbook up by end of July and the revamped guidelines available for public discussion here no later than end of August.

I am greatly sorry if anyone thinks they weren’t listened to, or that the guidelines were some great big secret circle of conspiracy. Neither are the case. We have always listened, we have always been adjusting things, and we’ve (almost always) been working on a major overhaul of everything. We were just starting from a very different position than nearly any team out there on 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/, which made it exceptionally difficult.

There have been a lot of hurt feelings both within the team and without, but I’m optimistic that we’re now, finally, at a good place to move forward.

Please keep an eye on this blog for what’s next.

#guidelines, #teams