WP Tavern

Guest Pooja Derashri, co-founder of WPVibes, discusses the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging within the WordPress community. They explore creating an inclusive culture, the significance of diversity in open source projects, and the need to address unconscious bias. Pooja also emphasizes the importance of empowering underrepresented voices in the tech industry and offers suggestions to promote diversity and inclusion.

Jill Binder and Birgit Olzem highlight the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the WordPress community. They discuss creating inclusive events, diverse speakers, and accessible WordPress spaces. The challenges of communication and different perspectives are also explored. Resources and upcoming workshops promoting diversity and supporting underrepresented voices are mentioned.

Piermario Orecchioni explores the world of website translations, discussing challenges and improvements. He emphasizes the need for consistency and a glossary. He shares his journey as a Polyglots team contributor and highlights improvements brought by GlotPress. Orecchioni encourages listeners to join the team and talks about translation efforts for projects like Openverse and Learn WordPress.

On the podcast today we have Juliette Reinders Folmer. Juliette is a highly experienced professional in the field of coding standards. With a deep understanding of industry best practices, she has dedicated herself for many years to ensuring code quality, and consistency within WordPress. Juliette acknowledges that coding standards encompass more than just formatting and white space, they also play a crucial role in maintaining compatibility and preventing conflicts between plugins. We chat about her commitment to WordPress coding standards, and how the work that she’s done in this field have made her a trusted authority. Through her contributions and guidance, she has helped countless developers enhance their code quality, ultimately improving the overall WordPress ecosystem. Maintaining open source projects like WordPress CS comes with its challenges. Juliette tells us about the importance of financial support and adequate resources to mitigate business risk, as projects that go unmaintained can create dependency issues and pose problems during corporate audits. She speaks openly about her recent decision to step away from contributing. The project is so crucial, but underfunded, and Juliette thinks it’s time to draw a line in the sand. It’s time for contributions in return for payment.

Vagelis Papaioannou, a software engineer from Greece, talks about his experiences contributing to WordPress events and working with the Learn Team. They discuss the welcoming atmosphere and educational opportunities at WordPress events, the financial aspects and inclusivity initiatives, and the benefits of big events and local meetups. They also highlight the importance of local events and the training team in learning and getting involved with WordPress.

Olga Gleckler, a self-taught developer with years of experience, challenges the misconception that only coders can contribute to the WordPress project. She shares examples of non-coding contributions and discusses the process of submitting patches and contributions. Olga highlights different ways individuals can contribute, such as managing processes, providing support, and writing documentation. Asking questions and seeking help is emphasized, along with the impact of the pandemic on contributions.

Scott Kingsley Clark, a WordPress developer known for his work on the Pods Framework, discusses the Fields API project. The aim is to simplify working with custom fields and content types in WordPress, unifying methods and APIs for managing custom fields. They explore the progress and growth of the project, as well as the challenges and benefits of a unified Fields API.

Jo Minney, founder of a small business specializing in building websites, discusses the challenges of organizing WordPress events in Australia due to its size and population. She emphasizes the importance of supporting speakers and creating equal opportunities for freelancers. They also address the challenges faced by the Australian WordPress community, from limited resources and burnout to attracting new organizers and attendees. Despite these challenges, there are success stories like hosting a successful do_action event and efforts to rebuild the WordPress community in Australia.

Jonathan Wold, deeply involved in the WordPress community, discusses Guildenberg, a project aiming to revolutionize the WordPress product ecosystem. They tackle the problem of discoverability in the WordPress space and the idea of creating a WordPress 'app store'. They explore the undervaluation of products in the WordPress ecosystem and the need for better understanding of pricing and support. They also discuss their distribution plans, finance, co-founders, and revenue sharing. The podcast ends with a discussion on progress, optimism, and plans for the future.

On the podcast today we have Dan Walmsley. Dan is a long-time user of WordPress, having started using it even before version one was released. With a passion for experimenting with different publishing platforms, Dan eventually discovered WordPress and has been using it ever since. Currently working at Automattic as a Code Wrangler, Dan is part of the Applied AI team. Although the team is relatively new, with only a few members, their mission is to coordinate and guide the various AI initiatives within the company. Dan talks about how Large Language Models work, and how ChatGPT has driven awareness, and demand, for AI technologies in a way that was almost impossible to predict just a year ago. This has caused many companies to become deeply interested in AI and what it can do for their business workflows. We get into whether the reality of AI can live up to the hype. We move on to explore the differences between site generators and site builders, and Dan introduces the concept of the ‘copilot era’ in which website creation can be somewhat automated. Whether you’re new to AI or have been paying attention for a while, this podcast offers a fascinating insight into its impact on society, and how it can accelerate progress in fields like scientific research.