Title: Chip Bennett – Team Updates – WordPress.org --- # Author Archives: 󠀁[Chip Bennett](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/)󠁿 [ ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) [Chip Bennett](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) 8:41 pm _on_ July 15, 2013 Tags: [themes ( 534 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [trt ( 309 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/)    # 󠀁[Theme Review Update for 07/15](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2013/07/15/theme-review-update-for-0715/)󠁿 ## Stats ### Currently * **98** new tickets are waiting for review. - **36** tickets are older than **2 weeks** - **67** tickets are older than **1 week** - **83** tickets are older than **3 days** * **36** tickets are assigned. ### In the past 7 days * **77** tickets were opened * **110** tickets were closed: - **68** tickets were approved. (**0** more were approved but are waiting to be made live.) - **41** tickets were not-approved. - **1** tickets were closed-newer-version-uploaded. ## Other With the release of WP 3.6 RC1, we will shortly begin discussion of any version- specific/periodic changes to the Guidelines. [#themes](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [#trt](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/) * [Login to Reply](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmake.wordpress.org%2Fupdates%2F2013%2F07%2F15%2Ftheme-review-update-for-0715%2F%23respond&locale=en_US) [ ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) [Chip Bennett](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) 6:47 pm _on_ July 8, 2013 Tags: [themes ( 534 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [trt ( 309 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/)    # 󠀁[Theme Review Team Update for 07/08/13](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2013/07/08/theme-review-team-update-for-070813/)󠁿 ## Stats ### Currently * **134** new tickets are waiting for review. - **51** tickets are older than **2 weeks** - **83** tickets are older than **1 week** - **116** tickets are older than **3 days** * **31** tickets are assigned. ### In the past 7 days * **95** tickets were opened * **165** tickets were closed: - **52** tickets were approved. (**2** more were approved but are waiting to be made live.) - **113** tickets were not-approved. - **0** tickets were closed-newer-version-uploaded. ## Admins The Theme Review Team has added one more person to the Admin ranks: [@esmi](https://profiles.wordpress.org/esmi/) will be helping to keep things running smoothly, particularly with the ticket request queue, and managing users with “reviewer” privileges in Theme-tracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub. [https://core.trac.wordpress.org/](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/).. Thanks, Mel! ## Guidelines In order to help clarify and to keep focus of the Guidelines on both things that are “required” and on things that developers/reviewers need to focus on outside of the automated tools (Theme Check 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/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party., etc.) and the Theme Unit Tests, the [Theme Review Codex page](https://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Review) has undergone a significant, but cosmetic, change. The Codex page now focus specifically on the over-arching, _required_ Guidelines. Clarification and expounding of the Guidelines have been moved to separate pages on the Make/Themes site, linked from the Codex page. Note that no Guidelines have changed in content; at this point, we’re merely trying to make the Guidelines easier to read, follow, and understand. This change will help focus reviews on the required elements of the Guidelines, while allowing us to expound/clarify as necessary without distracting from the Guidelines. (Sometimes, some Guidelines need particular explanation or clarification, but trying to maintain all that information in the Codex page had resulted the Codex page becoming more difficult to parse than we would like.) Note also that this effort is very much a work-in-progress. We’ll be working on clean-up and further clarification. Feel free to blame me for any copy/paste issues. Moving forward, we are going to continue to work on ways to make the Guidelines as easy as possible to follow, and to automate as much as possible in the review– both to make the review process as easy as possible, and to focus reviewers on those elements not covered by the various Plugins and the Theme Unit Tests. ## Review Process We have recently implemented some significant workflow changes, thanks to help from [@nacin](https://profiles.wordpress.org/nacin/) and @Otto42, that have added some needed improvements to the review process. ### Single-ticket reviews Previously, every Theme submitted via the uploader would generate a unique ticket. Now, so long as a previous review ticket remains open, any subsequent uploads are appended to the open ticket. This change allows developers to upload Theme revisionsRevisions The WordPress revisions system stores a record of each saved draft or published update. The revision system allows you to see what changes were made in each revision by dragging a slider (or using the Next/Previous buttons). The display indicates what has changed in each revision. while awaiting initial review, and also allows developers to upload Theme revisions as part of the review process, as long as the reviewer keeps the ticket open after making comments. ### Ticket Priorities Previously, all tickets were assigned a priority of “New”. Now, tickets for currently approved Themes are assigned a priority of “Theme Update”, tickets for previously reviewed (but not yet approved) Themes are assigned a priority of “Previously Reviewed”, and tickets for never-before-reviewed Themes are assigned a priority of  “New Theme”. This change primarily helps with reporting, trending, and prioritization of tickets. ### Reviewer Workflow Previously, users with “reviewer” privileges could assign themselves (or others) tickets, and could close tickets with a resolution of “approved”, “not-approved”, or “closed-newer-version-open”. This workflow has been simplified. Users can only assign themselves a Theme, by selecting the “assign” option. Once assigned, users can only close tickets with a resolution of either “approved” or “not-approved”. ### Ticket Status, Closure, and Resolution Previously, tickets could have essentially only two statuses: “open” or “closed”. Tickets would be initially “open”, and once reviewed, would be closed with an appropriate resolution. Now, tickets are created with the status “new”. Once a ticket is assigned, the status changes to “reviewing”. If the ticket is resolved as “not approved”, the status changes to “closed”. However, if the ticket is resolved as “approved”, the status changes to “approved”. ### Synchronizing Themes in the Theme Directory Previously, admins had to manage tickets in Theme-Trac and manually synchronize Themes in the Theme Directory admin area in order to cause new or updated Themes to go “live” in the Theme Directory. Now, with the udated ticket closure, resolution, and status changes, all tickets with the “approved” status are placed in a separate queue for the Admins. Once an admin performs a final “QA” review of the ticket, and confirms the review, the ticket is closed, and the status changes to “live”. An automated script runs periodically, and batches all tickets with the “live” status, and synchronizes them to the Theme Directory. These are the first of hopefully more changes yet to come, to continue to improve the Theme Review process and workflow. [#themes](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [#trt](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/) * [Login to Reply](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmake.wordpress.org%2Fupdates%2F2013%2F07%2F08%2Ftheme-review-team-update-for-070813%2F%23respond&locale=en_US) [ ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) [Chip Bennett](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) 12:10 am _on_ March 28, 2013 Tags: [themes ( 534 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [trt ( 309 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/), [weekly updates ( 229 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/weekly-updates/) # 󠀁[Theme Review Team Update for 03/25](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2013/03/28/theme-review-team-update-for-0325/)󠁿 Currently * **137** new tickets are waiting for review. - **21** tickets are older than **2 weeks** - **58** tickets are older than **1 week** - **99** tickets are older than **3 days** * **10** tickets are assigned. ## In the past 7 days * **94** tickets were opened * **63** tickets were closed: - **18** tickets were approved. - **32** tickets were not-approved. - **13** tickets were closed-newer-version-uploaded. We’re still struggling to get – and stay – on top of the queue. This would normally be a weekend to hold another queue push, but it’s a holiday weekend. So, we’ll try for another weekend soon. With the 3.6 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. about to drop, we’ll be turning our attention to the periodic Guidelines updates. Look for those conversations very soon. [#themes](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [#trt](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/), [#weekly-updates](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/weekly-updates/) * [Login to Reply](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmake.wordpress.org%2Fupdates%2F2013%2F03%2F28%2Ftheme-review-team-update-for-0325%2F%23respond&locale=en_US) [ ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) [Chip Bennett](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) 1:36 pm _on_ March 4, 2013 Tags: [themes ( 534 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [trt ( 309 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/), [weekly updates ( 229 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/weekly-updates/) # 󠀁[Theme Review Team Update March 4th](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2013/03/04/theme-review-team-update-march-4th/)󠁿 ## Stats at a glance ### Currently * **52** new tickets are waiting for review. - **0** tickets are older than **2 weeks** - **15** tickets are older than **1 week** * **11** tickets are assigned. ### In the past 7 days * **154** tickets were opened * **258** tickets were closed: - **85** tickets were approved. - **114** tickets were not-approved. - **59** tickets were closed-newer-version-uploaded. ## What we’ve been up to * [Improvements to Theme-Trac Front Page Wiki](https://themes.trac.wordpress.org/) - The front page wiki for Theme TracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub.[https://core.trac.wordpress.org/](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/). now displays more real-time stats (same as listed above), and includes the same about/communication information as found on the [Make/Themes site front page](https://make.wordpress.org/themes/). * [Month-end push to tame the review queue](https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2013/02/26/end-of-february-queue-push/) - As of this time last week, the review queue stood at about 150 tickets. After a concerted effort between then and now, with contributions from 28 Theme Review Team members, the queue has been reduced by two-thirds, and now stands at approximately 50 tickets. This effort was compounded by an increase in ticket submission rate over the past several months, that has resulted in an overall increase in the team’s workload. Historically, we’ve seen 10 tickets submitted per day on average. Lately, the average has been closer to 15 tickets per day, with peaks well above that. * [General discussion regarding what should be improved with the review system](https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2013/02/28/things-you-dont-like-or-would-like-to-improve-or-change/) - This is an on-going, open-ended discussion, and an opportunity for reviewers and developers to provide feedback to the team. * [Discussion regarding clarification of Theme name guidelines](https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2013/02/26/clarifying-guidelines-for-theme-name/) - This is also an on-going discussion, and an opportunity to clarify current intent regarding the existing Theme name guidelines as well as to consider future changes to those guidelines. * [Discussion regarding “coming-soon” Themes in the directory](https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2013/02/24/coming-soon-themes/) - The consensus from this discussion seems to be that “coming soon” Themes are not valid as “special-case/niche” Themes, and that “coming-soon” landing pages should be implemented either as custom page templates in general Themes, or else as a stand-alone 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/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party.. * [Discussion regarding Guidelines for appropriate Theme branding vs. white-labeling](https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2013/02/19/theme-brandingwhite-labeling-guidelines/) - This is an on-going discussion, that will likely yield some changes to the Guidelines in the next formal revision cycle. ## Concerns One of our biggest concerns currently is keeping the queue under control, especially with the recent increase in ticket submission rate. We currently have almost 100 people with ticket assign/close privileges, which means that we would only need, on average, every person to close 3 tickets every 2 weeks, to keep the queue clear. Even accounting for half of those people not being active, that still means that we only need half of those people to close 3 tickets every week. Theme Review is an intensive, yet all-volunteer activity that by its very nature will see waxing and waning of participation; so it is unrealistic to expect that even half of all reviewers will be active in a given week. That we got participation from almost 1/3 in a concerted effort over the past week probably indicates the realistic upper limit of week-to-week participation. If average participation is even half of that upper limit, that now means that active reviewers need to average one ticket closed _per day_, in order to stay on top of the review queue. On a related note: originally, we attempted to put a more formalized “trainee” program in place; but we found that the overhead for such a system had diminishing returns, at best. So, we scrapped that system, and simply started granting ticket assign/ close privileges to anyone who showed enough initiative to request at least a few Themes to review. This has worked to increase participation, but what we gain in participation we potentially lose in review consistency and quality. One of my goals is to get enough consistent participation that the admins can focus on ensuring review quality/consistency, instead of spending most of our effort on clearing the queue. So, solving the former issue of keeping the queue under control will help us address this issue as well. We are open to ideas. [#themes](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [#trt](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/), [#weekly-updates](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/weekly-updates/) * [Login to Reply](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmake.wordpress.org%2Fupdates%2F2013%2F03%2F04%2Ftheme-review-team-update-march-4th%2F%23respond&locale=en_US) [ ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) [Chip Bennett](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) 12:01 am _on_ January 22, 2013 Tags: [themes ( 534 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [trt ( 309 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/)    # 󠀁[Themes Team Update for 01/21](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2013/01/22/themes-team-update-for-0121/)󠁿 ### Stats! There are 119 new tickets waiting for review. 64 themes were reviewed in the last 7 days. Of those 64 reviews, 44 were approved, and 20 were not-approved. ### What we’ve been up to: First, we’re trying something different with Make/Themes. Due to some community feedback regarding the ease (or lack thereof) of finding the official communication channels for the Theme Team, we’re testing out a static front pageStatic Front Page A WordPress website can have a dynamic blog-like front page, or a “static front page” which is used to show customized content. Typically this is the first page you see when you visit a site url, like wordpress.org for example. for Make/Themes, that includes more information about the Theme team, and prominent links to our communication channels. We’ve been discussing support for Themes, which has led to a Support Team-led discussion about tools needed for Theme developers to provide better support on the WPORG forums. We also had a discussion on clarifying the guidelines with respect to screenshot images for Themes designed to use a custom/featured static front page. ### Things we’re slacking on: I’m behind on drafting a review checklist. I’ll be on top of that, shortly We owe Siobhan a response on what to include in the Theme handbooks regarding Theme review. Emil and I are still discussing that one, and we’ll follow up this week. The admins are struggling with finding a consistent way to ensure that the manual TracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub.[https://core.trac.wordpress.org/](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/)./ Extend synchronization takes place in a timely manner. So, that’s something that we’ll continue to work on. [#themes](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [#trt](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/) * [Login to Reply](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmake.wordpress.org%2Fupdates%2F2013%2F01%2F22%2Fthemes-team-update-for-0121%2F%23respond&locale=en_US) [ ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) [Chip Bennett](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) 11:42 pm _on_ January 17, 2013 Tags: [support ( 303 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/support/), [themes ( 534 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/)    # 󠀁[Support Team Request: Plugin/Theme Developer Support Needs](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2013/01/17/support-team-request-plugintheme-developer-support-needs/)󠁿 Cross-reference with [this Make/Themes discussion about Support URI](https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2013/01/13/theme-support-link/). Otto and Jane are fairly adamant that we need to be funneling Theme (and 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/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party.) developers into providing support for WPORG-hosted Themes (and Plugins) via the official WPORG support forums. In order to do so, I think we need to engage Theme/Plugin developers to find out what tools they need in order to provide a _high quality_ support experience via the WPORG forums. Since that discussion inherently involves the tools and infrastructure of the WPORG forums, I think it would be ideal for the Support Team to lead that discussion. So yes: this is the Themes Team throwing the issue over the wall to the Support Team. But based on the feedback we received from Theme developers in the linked Make/Themes discussion, I think that the developers that we are asking to provide support through a specific medium have some valid concerns that need to be addressed. So, if the Support Team is willing, I’ll be happy to channel Theme developers over to Make/Support. [#support](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/support/), [#themes](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/) * [Login to Reply](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmake.wordpress.org%2Fupdates%2F2013%2F01%2F17%2Fsupport-team-request-plugintheme-developer-support-needs%2F%23respond&locale=en_US) [ ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) [Chip Bennett](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) 8:32 pm _on_ December 11, 2012 Tags: [themes ( 534 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [trt ( 309 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/)    # 󠀁[Theme Review Team Update for 12/10](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2012/12/11/theme-review-team-update-for-1210/)󠁿 Since WordPress 3.5 was released today, the clock is now ticking on proposed Guidelines revisionsRevisions The WordPress revisions system stores a record of each saved draft or published update. The revision system allows you to see what changes were made in each revision by dragging a slider (or using the Next/Previous buttons). The display indicates what has changed in each revision. going into effect: 30 days from today. Since the 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/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. Directory Team are publishing stats, would anyone like for the Theme Review Team to resume doing so, as well? [#themes](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [#trt](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/) * [Login to Reply](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmake.wordpress.org%2Fupdates%2F2012%2F12%2F11%2Ftheme-review-team-update-for-1210%2F%23respond&locale=en_US) [ ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) [Chip Bennett](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) 12:51 pm _on_ December 4, 2012 Tags: [themes ( 534 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [trt ( 309 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/)    # 󠀁[Theme Review Team Update for 12/03](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2012/12/04/theme-review-team-update-for-1203/)󠁿 Nothing major to report for the Theme Review Team this week. The proposed guidelines changes have led to some great discussion, as always. Probably the most controversial, proposed change was formally prohibiting Themes from bundling shortcodes (i.e. shortcodes added by the user to $post->post_content). This proposal was, as expected, met with resistance by developers who have been bundling such shortcodes. I’m also talking with [@otto42](https://profiles.wordpress.org/otto42/) and Lance Willett regarding hosting of the Theme Test Data XML file. The “master” Theme Uint Test data are maintained at wpthemetestdata.wordpress.comWordPress.com An online implementation of WordPress code that lets you immediately access a new WordPress environment to publish your content. WordPress.com is a private company owned by Automattic that hosts the largest multisite in the world. This is arguably the best place to start blogging if you have never touched WordPress before. [https://wordpress.com/](https://wordpress.com/), and we update it fairly regularly, to keep it cleaned up, add handling for new/changed coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. features, etc. But currently, the file is hosted on Automattic’s wpcom-themes SVNSVN Apache Subversion (often abbreviated SVN, after its command name svn) is a software versioning and revision control system. Software developers use Subversion to maintain current and historical versions of files such as source code, web pages, and documentation. Its goal is to be a mostly compatible successor to the widely used Concurrent Versions System (CVS). WordPress core and the wordpress. org released code are all centrally managed through SVN. https://subversion.apache. org/., and we have to pingPing The act of sending a very small amount of data to an end point. Ping is used in computer science to illicit a response from a target server to test it’s connection. Ping is also a term used by Slack users to @ someone or send them a direct message (DM). Users might say something along the lines of“ Ping me when the meeting starts.” Lance to be able to update it. (I believe the Automattic Theme Wranglers also use this same data set, as well.) We’re going to pick up that discussion next week, after 3.5 release activity has waned. [#themes](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [#trt](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/) * [Login to Reply](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmake.wordpress.org%2Fupdates%2F2012%2F12%2F04%2Ftheme-review-team-update-for-1203%2F%23respond&locale=en_US) [ ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) [Chip Bennett](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) 2:39 pm _on_ November 27, 2012 Tags: [themes ( 534 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [trt ( 309 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/)    # 󠀁[Theme Review Team Update for 11/26](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2012/11/27/theme-review-team-update-for-1126/)󠁿 Two main things to report for the Theme Review Team. First, [we have begun discussion of the periodic Guidelines revision](https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2012/11/26/wordpress-3-5-guidelines-revisions/) that takes place with each major WordPress release. All revisionsRevisions The WordPress revisions system stores a record of each saved draft or published update. The revision system allows you to see what changes were made in each revision by dragging a slider( or using the Next/Previous buttons). The display indicates what has changed in each revision. take effect 30 days after final release of the new WordPress version. Second, I am working with a few people on some initial communication/planning for creating a review checklist, and other improvements to the Theme review workflow/ information, to help lower the learning curve for performing reviews. Also, a question for the Docs team about the Theme Review Handbook: just to clarify, what will be the intended use of the handbook? Is it going to be a “here’s how to get involved” guide, or is it intended to replace the existing Guidelines or other TRT material? I want to make sure that we’re supporting your efforts to the best of our ability. Please let me know what additional information you would like to see included in these updates. I used to publish Theme review stats, but they ended up not being particularly enlightening or useful, especially considering the time and effort involved in compiling them. [#themes](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [#trt](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/) * [Login to Reply](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmake.wordpress.org%2Fupdates%2F2012%2F11%2F27%2Ftheme-review-team-update-for-1126%2F%23respond&locale=en_US) [ ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) [Chip Bennett](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipbennett/) 1:31 pm _on_ November 20, 2012 Tags: [intro ( 7 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/intro/), [themes ( 534 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [trt ( 309 )](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/) # 󠀁[Theme Review Team Intro](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2012/11/20/theme-review-team-intro/)󠁿 Hi, I’m Chip Bennett, team repTeam Rep A Team Rep is a person who represents the Make WordPress team to the rest of the project, make sure issues are raised and addressed as needed, and coordinates cross-team efforts. for the Theme Review Team( TRT or WPTRT). The purpose of the TRT is to review and approve Themes to be hosted in the official WordPress Theme Directory, and to define and to maintain the guidelines for Theme review/approval. The TRT currently has 3 administrators, and around 75 reviewers. Admins: * Chip Bennett ([chipbennett](https://profiles.wordpress.org/users/chipbennett/)) * Emil Uzelac ([emiluzelac](https://profiles.wordpress.org/users/emiluzelac/)) * Edward Caissie ([cais](https://profiles.wordpress.org/users/cais/)) The TRT welcomes and actively solicits contributions from the Theme developer community at-large ([here’s how you can join us!](https://make.wordpress.org/themes/about/how-to-join-wptrt/)). Reviewing Themes has a bit of a learning curve, and full reviews can take a non- trivial amount of time, so most of the Reviewers have only completed a handful of reviews (_and we think that’s great; every contribution, no matter how big or how small, is important_). The official TRT home is the [Make/Themes](https://make.wordpress.org/themes/) website, the official [Theme Review guidelines](https://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Review) and [Theme Unit Tests](https://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Unit_Test) live in the Codex, and Theme Review tickets live in [Themes-Trac](https://themes.trac.wordpress.org/). The TRT has several objectives: * Timely review and approval of Themes. This is, of course, our primary objective. * Overall improvement of quality of Themes hosted in the official directory * Overall improvement of the reputation/perception of the official Theme directory, and more widespread adoption of searching for free Themes first and primarily in the official directory * To provide an educational resource for Theme developers * To build/foster a sense of community among Theme developers * To build/encourage consensus regarding Theme development best practices WPCSWordPress Community Support A public benefit corporation and a subsidiary of the WordPress Foundation, [established](https://wordpressfoundation.org/news/2016/introducing-wordpress-community-support-a-public-benefit-subsidiary/) in 2016. Action Items: * Develop a “checklist” style list of guidelines, to facilitate completion of Theme reviews * Consolidate more information directly into the Make/Themes site, to provide an easier means for Theme developers and new reviewers to find that information [#intro](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/intro/), [#themes](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/themes/), [#trt](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/tag/trt/) * [Login to Reply](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmake.wordpress.org%2Fupdates%2F2012%2F11%2F20%2Ftheme-review-team-intro%2F%23respond&locale=en_US)