WP Tavern

Marieke van de Rakt, former co-founder of Yoast, discusses the growing divide between community-oriented contributions and commercial interests in the WordPress community. She highlights potential consequences of this division and emphasizes the importance of businesses contributing to WordPress. The podcast also explores the benefits of open source software and the impact of participation in the WordPress community on product success. The need for compensating contributors and the risks of proprietary platforms are also discussed.

In this episode of Jukebox podcast, I'm joined by Javier Casares, Estela Rueda, and Courtney Robertson to discuss the challenges of translating WordPress documentation into multiple languages. They share their plans to start translating documentation, create dedicated teams, and establish a writing style guide for language translation. They stress the significance of the journey towards inclusivity and the involvement of dedicated teams for successful translation efforts. Technical aspects, such as updating content and creating tools for managing translation tasks, are also discussed. Despite the challenges, the team aims to make WordPress accessible for everyone and expand the WordPress community through translation efforts.

On the podcast today we have Jake Goldman. Jake is the President & Founder of 10up, a digital agency that builds websites and tools for content creators, leveraging open platforms like WordPress. He's on the podcast today to talk about the recent merger with Fueled and Insignia. We talk about why the merger was needed and what it brings to the table in the future. Will WordPress still be a part of this, larger, company? We also talk about Jake's view on the roll of AI on the future of WordPress, and the tools that they have been building for the last few years.

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.