Office Hours Meeting Recap – 23rd May 2026

Date: May 23, 2026
Time: 14:00–15:00 UTC
Platform: Zoom
Recording: Not recorded
Moderator: Rade Jekić (@rjekic)
Note-Taker: Rico F. Lüthi (@rfluethi)

Related links:

Meeting Context

This was the second session in the new Office Hours format. Since not all participants were available on time and the Learn Zoom account was not accessible at the start, the meeting continued on a private Zoom account.

In terms of content, the meeting picked up the open topics from April 18. Sumit prepared a first version of the 2026 goals, which the team discussed both in substance and in process. The group also discussed how onboarding for new contributors can be made simpler and clearer. Several ideas came up, including improving the handbook and reviving the Guide Program. These topics will be explored in more depth and made concrete in one of the next sessions.

Participants

NameWordPress.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/ ProfileLocation
Rico F. Lüthi@rfluethiSwitzerland
Rade Jekić@rjekicSerbia
Huzaifa Al Mesbah@huzaifaalmesbahBangladesh
Muhibul Haque@devmuhibBangladesh
Vasant B. Rajput@vasantrajputIndia
Sumit Singh@sumitsinghIndia

Total: 6 participants

Voices & Perspectives

The introductions were shorter than at the kick-off. Huzaifa Al Mesbah from Bangladesh introduced himself as a returning contributor to the Training Team. He has been active in the WordPress community since 2023, mainly in the CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. and Test teams, and was recognized as a Noteworthy Contributor with WordPress 7.0. Huzaifa now wants to engage more in the Training Team, which is great news for us, as we welcome an experienced WordPress developer on board. From his perspective as a newcomer to the Training Team, he noted that many people attend the weekly 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/ meetings, but the path into active contribution remains unclear.

Topics Discussed

1. 2026 Goals

Discussion:

Sumit prepared a first draft of the 2026 goals and gathered feedback from the team several times. Rico then wrote a revised version on top of that. Both documents will now be read together and consolidated into an official 2026 goals list.

Sumit emphasized that the goals also matter for external communication, for example when contributors at 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. ask about the team’s focus areas.

We discussed that we are late with defining the 2026 goals. The problem, however, is not that we have no goals, but rather that we have too many, which creates the risk that none of them get achieved. In that context, we also discussed whether it makes sense to define goals on a yearly cycle at all. Experience shows that toward the end of the year we have other priorities than setting goals for the next year. What matters most is that we have goals everyone understands, with a clear purpose, a timeline, and concrete work for implementation. As an alternative approach, the group considered a longer-term goals list from which, for example, the three most important items are picked each quarter and worked on concretely.

For the wording, the goals will be formulated according to SMART criteria (specific, measurable, attractive, realistic, time-bound). The goals will also be aligned with our vision and with the goals of the broader WordPress community, so that they remain connected in content. After the internal evaluation, the consolidated goals list will be published on Make WordPress Training, so that the discussion and decision can happen across the whole team.

Outcome:

  • Two working documents exist: a first draft by Sumit (with many comments) and a version by Rico.
  • Both will be read, commented on, and merged at the next meeting by June 27.
  • The consolidated goals will be formulated according to SMART criteria and aligned with the vision and the community goals.
  • A model with a longer-term goals list, from which three quarterly priorities are selected for concrete implementation, will be evaluated.
  • After the evaluation, the goals will be published so that the discussion and decision can happen across the whole team.

Open questions:

  • Which content from both documents will be taken over?
  • Which three goals get the highest priority?
  • Which vision points and community goals should we use for the alignment?
  • Do we keep the yearly cycle or move to a rolling, quarterly model?

2. Training Handbook Revision

Discussion:

The main problems identified in April still exist: outdated content, a lesson order that is hard to follow, and duplicated titles with different content. Muhibul is working on critical sections. Rico proposed consolidating the handbook first and then translating in a targeted way. A good first step would be to revise the entry sections “About” and “Getting Started” so that they can be translated into different languages when needed. From a newcomer’s perspective, Huzaifa pointed out that the landing page should make the next sensible step clearer.

The group also discussed whether it makes sense to translate the entire handbook at all. A full translation would significantly increase the maintenance and update effort, because every change would have to be carried over to all language versions.

The group also discussed introducing a “Last Reviewed” entry per handbook page. Unlike the original publication date (“first published”), “Last Reviewed” shows at a glance when a page was last checked. This makes the maintenance need visible and manageable, instead of relying on the original date. Vasant added the example of WPForms, where documentation pages show not only the update date but also when the page was last reviewed and who is responsible. A similar display could increase the motivation of contributors to work on individual pages.

Everyone agreed that the handbook must again become a central rulebook that we follow. When content becomes outdated or no longer current, the handbook is updated first. The handbook is the most important rulebook for our teamwork.

Outcome:

  • Continue the inventory of outdated and duplicated content in the TT-Admins pool.
  • Prioritize the revision of the “About” and “Getting Started” entry sections so that they can be translated into other languages when needed.
  • Critically evaluate a full translation of the handbook, since it would significantly increase the maintenance effort.
  • Prioritize the revision of the handbook landing page.
  • Introduce a new “Last Reviewed” field instead of “first published”. Use the WPForms example as a reference for the display.
  • Anchor the handbook as the central rulebook: changes in how we work are reflected in the handbook first.

Open questions:

  • Who (role or group) takes over which inventory areas?
  • Who implements the “Last Reviewed” field technically?
  • Which additional displays (responsible person, review date) do we adopt from the WPForms example?
  • Which languages do we translate the entry sections into, and who maintains them?

3. Sensei and Learn WordPress Issues

Discussion:

Since the update to WordPress 7.0, Rade can no longer see or edit the templates on Learn WordPress in the Site Editor. Requests to 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. team have so far gone unanswered. Rico wants to understand why it keeps happening that the lesson order inside a learning path gets mixed up. Specifically, he wants to know what triggers it, how to prevent it, and how a repair looks if it happens anyway. Without that knowledge, no one wants to work with Sensei, which cannot be in the team’s interest. A direct contact with Sensei developers may be useful. The participants agreed that Sensei has been repeatedly problematic, but a migrationMigration Moving the code, database and media files for a website site from one server to another. Most typically done when changing hosting companies. is not realistic in the short term.

For the long-term maintenance of the extensive content on Learn WordPress, it is also essential to define the classification of lessons cleanly, for example through a field for the applicable WordPress version. Otherwise, the team will one day face a content base that is fully outdated and could only be deleted. This topic therefore has high priority.

Outcome:

  • Bug reports are collected and escalated to the Meta team.
  • A direct contact with Sensei developers will be sought, focusing on triggers, prevention, and repair of the lesson order issue.
  • Classification fields for lessons (for example WordPress version) will be defined and introduced with high priority.
  • Caching and Sensei issues will be addressed together with the Meta team.

Open questions:

  • Who from the Sensei team can contribute to the root cause analysis?
  • Which fields do we need at a minimum for the classification of lessons?

4. Onboarding and Guide Program

Discussion:

Huzaifa observed that 30 to 40 people attend the weekly Slack meetings, but many of them do not contribute actively. Rico noted that this impression may not be entirely accurate, because many activities of contributors are not immediately visible. They happen in 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 by the repository owner. https://github.com/, in regional groups, and in other places. At the same time, there are surely people who only attend the Tuesday meeting and otherwise find no connection. To improve exactly this, the Guide or Mentor Program should be reactivated, so that no contributors are left who would like to do something but do not know what.

Outcome:

  • Reactivate the Guide or Mentor Program and promote it in the Slack channel and during onboarding.
  • Clear entry path on the handbook landing page.

Open questions:

  • Who takes care of reactivating the Guide or Mentor Program?
  • How are regional groups connected to the team?

5. Badge System Reform

Discussion:

The participants discussed the fundamental problem of the badge system. Badge hunters take up noticeable team time because they sign up for roles without bringing the basics along, and after receiving the badge, they are no longer active. Since this cannot be solved at the global level, the Training Team should develop its own pragmatic approach. This way, we avoid losing more time both through badge hunters themselves and through endless discussions about the badge system.

Outcome:

  • Collect concrete measures that the Training Team can implement on its own, without the Make team.
  • Communicate clearly to the whole team, with responsibilities and a timeline for the implementation.
  • Set up a review of the improvements in one year.

Open questions:

  • Where do we collect the suggestions?
  • Who takes care of turning them into a clear action plan?

6. Help Scout and Zoom Access for TT-Admins

Discussion:

The Zoom access was not available at the start of the session, because verification runs through Help Scout, and Help Scout access is only open to Team Reps. Muhibul explained that the Meta team has declined to extend the access, because the account also holds sensitive inboxes from other teams. Rade proposed a workaround: export the Help Scout tickets as a CSV, review them in the TT-Admins pool, and transfer only the relevant ones into GitHub issues. Rico pointed out that in his company a single Zoom account is shared with a passkey among ten people.

Outcome:

  • CSV export as an interim solution, with manual triage by TT-Admins.
  • In the medium term, talk with the Meta team about a leaner workflow.
  • The Zoom link will from now on be documented in the GitHub issue.

Open questions:

  • Who sets up the CSV export workflow?
  • How is responsibility for the Zoom account handled in the interim?

7. 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. Editor Workshop for Note Takers

Discussion:

A specific note-taker incident led to the proposal of a mandatory “Block Editor Basics” workshop. Sumit takes over the concept. Vasant complements it with a screencast tutorial for recurring TT tasks.

Outcome:

  • Sumit hosts the live workshop, records it, and publishes it on Learn WordPress.
  • Vasant creates a screencast tutorial.
  • Both formats are anchored in onboarding as a mandatory step before taking on the note-taker role.

Open questions:

  • Who handles the editing of the recordings?
  • Where do we publish the workshop, and how do we communicate the “mandatory workshop”?

8. Meeting Organization and Next Meeting

Discussion:

Starting with the next meeting, Sumit will take over the Zoom link preparation through the Learn account and document it in the GitHub issue. The moderator informs the Slack channel the day before the session and one hour before the start, and publishes the main topic in advance.

We all agreed that the Office Hours meeting must not turn into a Coffee Hours meeting, even though there is a clear need for social exchange. An Office Hours meeting needs detailed preparation: the tasks from the previous meeting are reviewed, and clear agenda items for the current meeting are set. Both are communicated in advance, so that participants can prepare and the meeting runs efficiently. The meeting concept serves as the reference.

Vasant proposed that the tasks decided at the meeting be communicated to everyone afterwards, with an invitation for several people to sign up per task and work on it together.

Outcome:

  • Sumit hosts the next meeting and provides the Zoom link.
  • The reminder routine becomes binding (day before and one hour before).
  • Meeting flow follows the published concept; adjustments are documented in the handbook.
  • After the meeting, an issue list is created with one issue per task, where people can sign up to work on it.
  • Next meeting: Saturday, June 27, 2026, 14:00 UTC.

Open questions:

  • Who takes notes on June 27?
  • Which tasks go into the issue list?

Decisions

#DecisionConsensus?
1The 2026 goals will be consolidated from two working documents: a first draft by Sumit and a revised version by Rico. All TT-Admins comment on both by June 27Yes
2Three prioritized main goals will then be published as a blog post on Make WordPress TrainingYes
3A separate TT-Admins meeting after the Tuesday Slack meetingYes
4Sumit takes over the Zoom link generation through the Learn account and documents it in the GitHub issueYes
5The Block Editor workshop becomes mandatory before the note-taker roleYes
6Vasant additionally creates a screencast tutorial for the note takersYes
7After each meeting, an issue list is created with one issue per task; contributors sign up there themselvesYes
8The moderator follows the defined meeting concept; adjustments are made immediately and documented in the handbookYes
9A “Last Reviewed” field will be introduced in the handbook, instead of “first published.”Yes
10Next Office Hours meeting on June 27, 2026, 14:00 UTC, moderation by @sumitsinghYes

Action Items

You can find the list of issues for the action items at: https://github.com/WordPress/Learn/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20state%3Aopen%20label%3A%22Office%20Hours%22

From this Meeting (May 23, 2026)

IssueTaskResponsibleStatus
#3475Collect TT-Admins comments on 2026 Goals@sumitsinghOpen
#3476Schedule TT-Admins follow-up meeting@sumitsinghOpen
#3477Prepare Zoom link for June 27 Office Hours@sumitsinghOpen
#3478Host Block Editor workshop for Note Takers@sumitsingh, @vasantrajputOpen
#3479Record screencast tutorial for Note Takers@sumitsingh, @vasantrajputOpen
#3480Follow up with the Meta Team on Sensei templates@rjekicOpen
#3481Contact Sensei developers on lesson order@rjekicOpen
#3482Export Help Scout tickets for TT-Admins review@rjekicOpen
#3483Create issue list from May 23 meeting@rfluethiOpen
#3484Promote issue list at Tuesday meeting@rjekic, @sumitsinghOpen
#3485Set up Slack reminders for Office Hours@sumitsinghOpen
#3486Introduce Last Reviewed field in handbook@devmuhib, @rjekicOpen
#3487Define badge-hunter filterFilter Filters are one of the two types of Hooks https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks. They provide a way for functions to modify data of other functions. They are the counterpart to Actions. Unlike Actions, filters are meant to work in an isolated manner, and should never have side effects such as affecting global variables and output. measure@rjekic, @sumitsingh, @devmuhibOpen
#3488Host Office Hours on June 27, 2026@sumitsinghOpen
#3489Add June 27 Office Hours to website@sumitsinghOpen

Open Items from the Previous Meeting (April 18, 2026)

IssueTaskResponsibleStatus
#3415Review task documentation template based on the existing issue template@andrewssanyaOpen
#3416Prepare and publish a poll on preferred meeting time@sumitsinghOpen
#3417Publish admin roster post (TT-Admins)@sumitsinghOpen
#3419Follow up with the Meta Team regarding the TT-Admins Slack channel@rjekicOpen
#3420Reach out to Nikola and Maria as a fallback option for WordCamp Europe@rjekicOpen

Next Meeting

Date: June 27, 2026
Time: 14:00 UTC
Moderator: @sumitsingh
Note-Taker: TBD

Proposed topics:

You can find the current list of open topics here: https://github.com/users/rfluethi/projects/10/views/1

  • #2 Time zone coverage: two parallel meetings vs. rotating schedule
  • #3 Video platform review: Zoom vs. Jitsi after the pilot phase
  • #4 Expanding Office Hours to other languages and regions
  • #5 Note-taking and publication workflow: who does what, and how?
  • #6 Consolidate the 2026 goals from two existing drafts
  • #7 Status of the Training Handbook inventory
  • #8 Block Editor workshop and screencast tutorial status
  • #9 TT-Admins task list: sign-up status and follow-up
  • #10 First team-internal badge-hunter filter measure

#meeting-recap, #office-hours, #training, #training-team