Dev-squad GitHubGitHubGitHub 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/ triage: Thursdays 07:00 UTC
Welcome to another edition of the Training Team’s Contributor Spotlight! In this series, we introduce one of our many valued contributors and invite you to learn more about their journey.
In what is quickly becoming a tradition, in recent months, Oneal has been busy helping organize WordCamp Asia 2024, just like he did in the 2023 edition.
When not contributing to the community, Oneal works as a Project Manager, Agile Coach, and IT Instructor. He also manages WordPress sites for family members, non-profit groups, and charity organizations.
May the Force be with you
Oneal is a big Star Wars fan. Actually, that’s what led him to WordPress in 2007: he volunteered to build a website for a global fan club.
How did you discover WordPress, and why did you start using it for your projects? “I used Drupal to build a website for my costuming group but found WordPress easier for non-technical users, with more community support. It was also better supported by developers in the community.”
After migrating the first site, Oneal continued using WordPress to build websites, blogs, and community membership sites for family members, small businesses, and other charity and community organizations.
His passion for George Lucas’ epic series still burns: Oneal spends his weekends building and wearing Star Wars-themed costumes for charity events, fundraisers, and children’s hospital visits.
Training for the Training Team
Oneal’s online journey has often involved training. In the 1990s, he ran an internet cafe, teaching people how to use the internet, join chatrooms, and play and run LAN games. Then, he trained co-workers on doing customer support over the phone, Skype, and IRC.
Eventually, he joined one of the biggest logistics companies in the Philippines as an IT Learning and Development Specialist, training thousands of people each year.
What motivated you to go beyond using WordPress and start contributing to the open-source project? What drew you to the Training Team? “I discovered the global WordPress community during the pandemic. I had been using WordPress since 2007, but my work hours prevented me from getting involved in the local WordPress community. The lockdowns in 2020 left me with free time to join the Training Team meetings. Then, Courtney Robertson asked me to run one of the Team’s online meetings.”
Oneal also helped Jill Binder organize the #WPDiversity workshops. He’s run events in the Philippines, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, India, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Switzerland, and helped Jill run workshops in South America.
In July 2022, Oneal was invited to join the Training Team faculty as an Administrator, where he currently helps vetting Training Team online workshop facilitator and training presenter applications.
He is also on the WordPress Community Program Support Team, helping vet 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. and MeetupMeetupAll local/regional gatherings that are officially a part of the WordPress world but are not WordCamps are organized through https://www.meetup.com/. A meetup is typically a chance for local WordPress users to get together and share new ideas and seek help from one another. Searching for ‘WordPress’ on meetup.com will help you find options in your area. applications.
What was your first contribution, and how did seeing your work reach so many people feel? “I helped run online meetings, edited meeting notes, and supported team members running online workshops. It made me feel like I’m part of the community of contributors. The WordPress community is not only made up of developers or coders—there are many avenues of contribution where anyone could make a difference.”
Could you share any challenges or obstacles you faced when starting to contribute and how you overcame them? “Time zones are a big challenge. I’m based in the Philippines (APAC timezone), and many meetings I helped run were usually in the US or UK timezone. l had to be awake at 1 am to join; eventually, the Training Team shifted to a two-meeting arrangement, accommodating contributors across the globe.
Another challenge is the cost of attending WordCamps and Meetups. “In the US and Europe, you can drive to an event. If you want to attend a WordCamp in Asia, you have to fly, which not only costs money but also means taking time off from work.”
Nonetheless, when Oneal heard about WordCamp Asia 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand, he decided that this had to be the first WordCamp he would attend in person. “I applied as an organizer, and for almost a year, 50 of us took time out of our week for meetings and prepared a flagship WordCamp in another country.”
Were there any specific resources that helped you along your journey as a contributor? “A great resource in WordPress is the vast amount of content created by the Training Team. There are workshops and videos on every aspect of WordPress, and many are translated into multiple languages for broader reach.
But the best resource is the people in the community. There are people who will guide you and those who will bend over backward to help you, and there are those who will sit and listen to you. They are the greatest assets, and why many of us still contribute.”
Can you share any memorable moments or achievements while contributing to WordPress? “One of the most satisfying times was when I was asked to contribute to an online workshop, discussing how the Training Team Faculty admin performs the vetting process for content contributors and how to ensure they comply with 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..”
What advice would you give someone who wants to start contributing to WordPress? “Jump in! Just join any team you feel you can contribute. Everyone is friendly and willing to help. There is always something to do, and there are many areas where you can make a difference. The community is dynamic and always moving, and people are welcoming and encouraging.
WordPress is not just software, code, ones, and zeros. WordPress is people. WordPress is a community. That is what makes WordPress stronger and keeps people coming back.”
Thank you, Oneal, for all your dedication and contributions to the Training Team and 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!
Are you interested in contributing to the Training Team? Check out our Getting Started guide or join the Guide Program for mentorship with an experienced contributor. We’d be happy to have you join us!
Today’s notetaker & willing to post Recap notes (we have a reusable 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. for that now)
Welcoming new users to our Slack channel
Alt meeting for Pacific Rim
Recap of Learn siteLearn siteThe Training Team publishes its completed lesson plans at https://learn.wordpress.org/ which is often referred to as the "Learn" site. meeting
Update on Lesson Plan audit
Discussion items
Renaming Lesson Plan Workshops (courses?)
Lesson plans that involve brands need to be discussed/considered.
We have notes from @azhiyadev in the comparison categoryCategoryThe 'category' taxonomy lets you group posts / content together that share a common bond. Categories are pre-defined and broad ranging..
Lessons in the Almost Ready column are easy lifts to finish. Could we get volunteers to finish those?
Speaker Diversity lesson plans from @jillbinder are a priority, and Jill has rewritten a considerable amount as part of the #WPDiversity program.
Auditing each lesson on Learn also involves
Completing metadata
Checking for missing images, replacing as possible
Looking for Slides in GitHubGitHubGitHub 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/ repo
Grammar/spellcheck
Content completion
Internal linking within the Learn site (not back to GitHub lesson plans)
Updating outdated links to Codex to HelpHub/Developer Docs
Callout formatting
It’d be super helpful to have a lesson plan reusable block on Learn.
Additional help auditing the lesson plans would be most appreciated!
You are welcome to join the team at any time! If you are new to the Training Team, please introduce yourself in the #training channel before the meeting (or anytime!) and feel free to join us in the meeting and participate as you are able.
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The WordPress training team creates downloadable lesson plans and related materials for instructors to use in live environments.
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