Updates to WordPress Profiles and jobs.wordpress.net

WordPress profiles now include some additional fields that contributors can use to share how much time they dedicate to the WordPress project, which teams they work on, and whether or not their contributions are sponsored. All of the contribution fields are optional, and won’t appear on the public profile unless the hours and teams fields are filled in.

Shows the edit screen of a WordPress profile, with the Contribution tab selected, and new data fields including Sponsored (yes/no), Hours per week (number field), and Teams (multiple selection box).
The Profiles edit screen, showing the new Contribution tab

That little [Sponsored] tag next to “Contributions” will appear on your profile only if the other Contribution fields are filled in, and only if the option chosen under “sponsored” is “yes.”

Screenshot of a WordPress profile, showing the results of having the Contributions tab filled out

Hopefully this will be a gentle first step toward some version of the proposed Five for the Future program (discussed on this blog last November — wow, time flies!). I think it will also help with transparency, and might facilitate how teams set internal expectations for how much time different contributors might have to spend on a project or ongoing task.

The left sidebar of jobs.wordpress.net, with a list of Position Types, including Contrib

Somewhat related, jobs.wordpress.net now features a new position type: “Contributor.” Hopefully this will make it easier for companies to find and hire people who wish to become sponsored contributors.

Feedback and Call for Volunteers

This is a first iteration, so if you have concerns or suggestions, please share them in a comment on this post!

Welcoming more sponsored contributors into WordPress teams might happen more gracefully if there were some clearly stated expectations for avoiding conflicts of interest (perceived and actual). If you’d like to collaborate on creating a first draft for this in order to gather public feedback, please also comment on this post! 🙂 #contributors

#5-for-the-future, #profiles