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";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"WordPress Planet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://planet.wordpress.org/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"language";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2:"en";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:47:"WordPress Planet - http://planet.wordpress.org/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"item";a:50:{i:0;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:88:"WPTavern: Fight for the Future Launches “Save Security” Campaign in Support of Apple";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52486";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:92:"http://wptavern.com/fight-for-the-future-launches-save-security-campaign-in-support-of-apple";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3063:"<p><a href="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/save-security.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52525"><img src="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/save-security.png?resize=1025%2C456" alt="save-security" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52525" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.fightforthefuture.org/" target="_blank">Fight for the Future</a>, a non-profit organization that works to preserve freedom of expression on the web, launched its new &#8220;<a href="https://savesecurity.org/" target="_blank">Save Security</a>&#8221; campaign today in support of Apple. The FBI has requested that the company hack into an iPhone recovered from one of the terrorists involved in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_San_Bernardino_attack" target="_blank">San Bernardino mass shooting</a> to assist in the criminal investigation.</p>
<p>Apple has refused numerous court orders to create a new tool that would allow the government to circumvent the iPhone&#8217;s security measures that protect the encrypted communications of private individuals. The company will go to court on March 22nd for hearing in Riverside, CA. Fight for the Future plans to display thousands of statements in support of Apple from Internet users outside the courthouse.</p>
<p>The Save Security campaign website summarized what is at stake with the government forcing Apple to weaken its encryption:</p>
<blockquote><p>In its attacks on Apple, the FBI is seeking a legal precedent that would let them force any company to weaken the security of its products. Engineers use consumer products like the iPhone to maintain the most sensitive systems on the planet. Hospitals. Air traffic control. Nuclear power. What the FBI is asking for puts lives at risk, by undermining security everywhere.</p></blockquote>
<p>Two weeks ago, Automattic <a href="https://transparency.automattic.com/2016/03/03/automattic-and-wordpress-com-stand-with-apple-to-support-digital-security/" target="_blank">announced</a> that it stands with Apple to support digital security. The company <a href="https://cloudup.com/iZG9vzAV3U3" target="_blank">filed an amicus brief</a> in support of Apple alongside Cloudflare, Ebay, Kickstarter, Twitter, GitHub, Reddit, Square, and other leading technology companies.</p>
<p>&#8220;The fact is that if a security flaw exists, there is no way to ensure that only trusted governments, investigating a crime, can exploit that vulnerability,&#8221; Automattic&#8217;s attorney Paul Sieminski said in the announcement. &#8220;Improving security for everyone means aggressively finding and closing holes, not creating new ones.&#8221;</p>
<p>If you want to join in Fight for the Future&#8217;s campaign to support Apple, the <a href="https://savesecurity.org/" target="_blank">SaveSecurity.org</a> website offers a profile picture you can use as well as a website banner (see <a href="https://savesecurity.org/?ALWAYS_SHOW_SC_BANNER=true" target="_blank">live demo</a>) to raise awareness.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 16 Mar 2016 22:56:45 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:1;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:76:"WPTavern: How to Connect Your WordPress Powered Site to Apple News Publisher";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52502";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:86:"http://wptavern.com/how-to-connect-your-wordpress-powered-site-to-apple-news-publisher";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5623:"<p>When Apple News Publisher <a href="http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2015/06/08Apple-Announces-News-App-for-iPhone-iPad.html">launched in September, 2015</a>, it partnered with 20 publishers including, ESPN, The New York Times, and CNN. Today, publishers large and small are able to <a href="https://icloud.com/newspublisher">sign up</a> to Apple&#8217;s <a href="https://developer.apple.com/news-publisher/">News Publisher program</a> which delivers content from sites to devices running iOS 9 or above. Since its launch, the service has garnered more than <a href="http://9to5mac.com/2015/10/27/apple-news-40-million/">40 million users</a>.</p>
<p>Aside from its user base, one of the main benefits to syndicating through News Publisher is that content is optimized across all of Apple&#8217;s iOS 9 devices, providing a better user experience as opposed to RSS readers that can render content unpredictably.</p>
<h2>Configuring Sites for News Publisher</h2>
<p>There are three options for publishers to push content to the service. You can use the content creation screen inside of News Publisher, connect an existing site using a plugin, or submit the URL to your site&#8217;s RSS feed.</p>
<a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/NewsPublisherContentAuthoring.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52504"><img class="size-full wp-image-52504" src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/NewsPublisherContentAuthoring.png?resize=1025%2C544" alt="News Publisher Content Creation Screen" /></a>News Publisher Content Creation Screen
<p>I submitted the Tavern to News Publisher a few weeks ago and received a notification today that the site is approved. When submitting your site, you&#8217;ll need to give Apple your contact phone number and physical address. You&#8217;ll also need to upload a PNG logo that&#8217;s transparent, less than 2MB in size, and meets <a href="https://help.apple.com/newspublisher/icloud/#/apd7c9ae979c">Apple&#8217;s logo guidelines</a>.</p>
<a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/PublisherSubmissionProcess2.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52506"><img class="size-full wp-image-52506" src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/PublisherSubmissionProcess2.png?resize=837%2C652" alt="News Publisher Submission Process" /></a>News Publisher Submission Process
<p>If you use WordPress and your site is approved, consider using the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/publish-to-apple-news/">Publish to Apple News</a> plugin developed by <a href="http://www.alleyinteractive.com/">Alley Interactive</a> and other contributing developers. Once installed, visit your channel&#8217;s administration page in News Publisher and click on the API Key link. This will give you the three things needed to connect your site.</p>
<a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ChannelAPIInfo.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52507"><img class="size-full wp-image-52507" src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ChannelAPIInfo.png?resize=693%2C536" alt="Channel API Information" /></a>Channel API Information
<p>Login to your WordPress site and visit <strong>Settings &gt; Apple News</strong> and insert the following information into the corresponding fields. Since the field names and order don&#8217;t match, I created this short list.</p>
<ul>
<li>Channel ID &gt; API Channel</li>
<li>Key ID &gt; API Key</li>
<li>Secret &gt; API Secret</li>
</ul>
<p>From the settings screen, you can configure if the plugin should publish and update articles to Apple News automatically and whether to do it at the same time as WordPress in one action. You can also choose which Post Types are available. At the bottom of the screen, there are a host of design options that enable you to alter the display of how your articles look in Apple News.</p>
<a href="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/NewsPublisherOptionsPage.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52508"><img class="size-full wp-image-52508" src="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/NewsPublisherOptionsPage.png?resize=757%2C835" alt="News Publisher Plugin Options Page" /></a>News Publisher Plugin Options Page
<p>I don&#8217;t know what the Tavern&#8217;s content looks like on News Publisher as I wait for the initial series of posts to be approved. For the time being, the content is styled with the default settings.</p>
<h3>Monetizing Your Feed</h3>
<p>To monetize your News Publisher feed, enable iTunes connect with your developer ID. If you don&#8217;t have one, you&#8217;ll need to enroll in <a href="https://developer.apple.com/programs/enroll/">Apple&#8217;s Developer Program </a>Once that&#8217;s complete, sign the Apple News Content Agreement and provide your tax and banking information on iTunes Connect. Note, that in order to <a href="https://help.apple.com/newspublisher/icloud/#/apdd44eeeeeb">place ads</a> in your content, you need to publish articles from a CMS like WordPress.</p>
<h2>Is News Publisher Worth the Hassle?</h2>
<p>As a new publisher to Apple&#8217;s syndication system, it&#8217;s too early to tell if signing up was a waste of time or a benefit to readers. In the next week or two, I&#8217;ll report my findings, including feedback from Tavern readers on what they think of the format. Until then, you can subscribe to our channel by <a href="https://apple.news/TQYQeeBHDRce_JL3U0PCWGw">opening this link</a> on a device that uses iOS 9 or later. If you subscribe to the Tavern, tell us about your experience in the comments.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 16 Mar 2016 20:46:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jeff Chandler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:2;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:33:"Matt: Kat Hagan Works Differently";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:22:"https://ma.tt/?p=46347";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:50:"https://ma.tt/2016/03/kat-hagan-works-differently/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:246:"<p><span class="embed-youtube"></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="http://workdifferent.com/wdstories-kat-hagan-automatic/">Kat Hagan is an engineer and a team lead at Automattic, and you can read all about her story that led her there</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 16 Mar 2016 18:51:19 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:3;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:78:"WPTavern: Dyad: A Beautiful Free WordPress Theme for Photographers and Foodies";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52207";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:87:"http://wptavern.com/dyad-a-beautiful-free-wordpress-theme-for-photographers-and-foodies";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2976:"<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/dyad/" target="_blank">Dyad</a> is the latest free theme release from the folks at Automattic. It was designed to suit creative websites, with written content and photographs receiving equal treatment.</p>
<p>The theme is actually a fork of <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/receptar/" target="_blank">Receptar</a>, a theme by <a href="http://www.webmandesign.eu/" target="_blank">WebMan Design</a>. The original split-screen, book-like design for single posts was created to look like a modern cook book.</p>
<p>Automattic designers added a featured content slider to the homepage along with a sticky top navigation menu, among other changes. The featured tag can be set in the customizer. If you don&#8217;t want to use the slider, the theme will default to displaying the custom header image (which is set by adding a featured image to the page assigned as the static homepage).</p>
<p><a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/dyad-screenshot.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52479"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/dyad-screenshot.png?resize=660%2C683" alt="dyad-screenshot" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52479" /></a></p>
<p>The homepage sports a grid layout for posts with featured images and excerpts side-by-side. Single posts display the featured image and title at 50% of of the screen with the content on the other half. The layout responds nicely for mobile devices.</p>
<p><a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/dyad-single-post-responsive.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52495"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/dyad-single-post-responsive.png?resize=660%2C391" alt="dyad-single-post-responsive" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52495" /></a></p>
<p>Dyad includes one expandable widget area in the footer. Any widgets dropped into this area will expand to fit one, two, three, or four columns. The footer also includes space for a social links menu with icons available for 26 different social accounts.</p>
<p>Check out a <a href="https://dyaddemo.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">live demo</a> of Dyad on WordPress.com to see the theme in action.</p>
<p>One consideration for using the theme is that you will always need to have large-sized feature images readily available to maintain the design. The optimal size is 1800px x 1280px. This shouldn&#8217;t be a problem for photography, cooking, portfolio, or other image-heavy sites. However, if your content is more text-oriented with a few scattered images, you may want to select a different theme.</p>
<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/dyad/" target="_blank">Dyad</a> is Automattic&#8217;s 87th free theme release on WordPress.org. Full documentation for setting it up is available on the theme&#8217;s WordPress.com <a href="https://wordpress.com/themes/dyad/" target="_blank">homepage</a>.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 16 Mar 2016 17:47:01 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:4;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:94:"WPTavern: White House Seeks Feedback on GitHub for Government-Wide Open Source Software Policy";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52437";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:104:"http://wptavern.com/white-house-seeks-feedback-on-github-for-government-wide-open-source-software-policy";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3710:"<a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/white-house.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-52474"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/white-house.jpg?resize=1024%2C520" alt="photo credit: The White House Washington DC - (license)" class="size-full wp-image-52474" /></a>photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/71380981@N06/19902559769">The White House Washington DC</a> &#8211; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">(license)</a>
<p>The White House is <a href="https://sourcecode.cio.gov/" target="_blank">calling for developers to comment</a> on its proposed draft for a Government-wide Open Source Software policy. In the request for public comment, the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/" target="_blank">White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB)</a> outlined two major goals for the new policy:</p>
<blockquote><p>This policy requires that, among other things: (1) new custom code whose development is paid for by the Federal Government be made available for reuse across Federal agencies; and (2) a portion of that new custom code be released to the public as Open Source Software (OSS).</p></blockquote>
<p>The pilot program proposed in the draft policy would require &#8220;covered agencies to release at least 20 percent of their newly-developed custom code, in addition to the release of all custom code developed by Federal employees at covered agencies as part of their official duties.&#8221;</p>
<p>Specifically, the government is asking for feedback on a list of considerations regarding releasing custom code as open source. A few examples include the following:</p>
<ul>
<li>To what extent is the proposed pilot an effective means to fuel innovation, lower costs, benefit the public, and meet the operational and mission needs of covered agencies?</li>
<li>Would a different minimum percentage be more or less effective in achieving the goals above?</li>
<li>To what extent could this policy have an effect on the software development market? For example, could such a policy increase or decrease competition among vendors, dollar amounts bid on Federal contracts, or total life-cycle cost to the Federal Government?</li>
<li>What opportunities and challenges exist in Government-wide adoption of an open source policy?</li>
</ul>
<p>Encouraging developers to produce reusable code to be shared across federal agencies could significantly lower development costs and improve government efficiency. It could also promote transparency of the code quality produced by vendors and employees.</p>
<p>After the embarrassing <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/10/silicon-valley-reacts-to-healthcaregov.html" target="_blank">debacle of Healthcare.gov</a>, which cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, it&#8217;s good to see government embracing open source in an expanded capacity.</p>
<h3>How to Contribute</h3>
<p>You can join the conversation by participating in discussions on the <a href="https://github.com/whitehouse/source-code-policy/issues" target="_blank">source code policy GitHub issues</a> or by logging a new issue. The White House even welcomes changes and line edits to the policy content via <a href="https://github.com/whitehouse/source-code-policy/edit/gh-pages/pages/index.md" target="_blank">pull requests</a>.</p>
<p>Anyone can <a href="https://github.com/WhiteHouse/source-code-policy" target="_blank">contribute on GitHub</a> to help shape the federal source code policy until April 11, 2016. At that time public contributions will be closed and the White House will analyze feedback while creating the final policy.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 15 Mar 2016 22:54:28 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:5;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:56:"WPTavern: Shopify Launches Official Plugin for WordPress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52450";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:66:"http://wptavern.com/shopify-launches-official-plugin-for-wordpress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2620:"<p>Shopify <a href="https://www.shopify.com/blog/113145925-introducing-shopify-for-wordpress" target="_blank">announced</a> today that the company is jumping into the WordPress market with a new official plugin and three WordPress themes. The Canadian company captures just <a href="https://wappalyzer.com/categories/ecommerce" target="_blank">8% of the e-commerce technology market share</a>, trailing WooCommerce (31%), Magento (19%), OpenCart (11%), Prestashop (10%), and others (13%).</p>
<p>The new <a href="https://github.com/Shopify/buy-button-wordpress" target="_blank">Shopify Buy Button</a> plugin is intended for users who already have a business set up on WordPress and are only looking to sell a few products with a buy button, as opposed to a full-fledged store. It allows users to sell products that have already been added to their Shopify stores and requires a $9/month Shopify Lite subscription.</p>
<p><a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/shopify-wp.gif" rel="attachment wp-att-52463"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/shopify-wp.gif?resize=975%2C549" alt="shopify-wp" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52463" /></a></p>
<p>Shopify partnered with Themezilla, Themify, and Ultralinx to build Shopify-powered WordPress themes. The themes are only free to download for a limited time, which leaves users without updates unless they purchase the theme from the commercial provider.</p>
<p>The corresponding plugin is currently hosted on GitHub but is in the process of being reviewed for WordPress.org, according to product representative Daniel Patricio.</p>
<p>&#8220;Many users have already been using it through the themes for a couple weeks now so we just wanted to get it out there to the rest of our users,&#8221; Patricio said. &#8220;We are in the review cycle to get it listed and should be up shortly where people will be able to get updates as we add features.&#8221;</p>
<p>It is not advisable to use or install the plugin until it is hosted on WordPress.org, as Shopify currently has no way to deliver security updates to users. It is unclear why the company chose to officially launch its new WordPress integration without updates in mind, but this is a major concern. If a vulnerability were discovered, the company has no straightforward way to alert people who have downloaded the plugin from GitHub.</p>
<p>When asked for an ETA for the plugin&#8217;s arrival on WordPress.org, Patricio said, &#8220;We don&#8217;t have a timeline yet but will be getting it up there soon.&#8221;</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 15 Mar 2016 19:23:16 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:6;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:38:"Matt: What’s in My Bag, 2016 edition";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:22:"https://ma.tt/?p=46172";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:51:"https://ma.tt/2016/03/whats-in-my-bag-2016-edition/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12982:"<p>Many people have been requesting an update to <a href="https://ma.tt/2015/01/whats-in-my-bag-2014/">my what&#8217;s in my bag post from last year</a>. Almost every single item in the bag has changed, this year has had particularly high turnover. We&#8217;re <a href="https://ma.tt/2015/05/macbook-usb-c-review/">still in a weird teenage period of USB-C adoption</a>, and I hope by next year to have many fewer non-USB-C or Lightning cables. Things with a asterisk * are the same from last year. Without further ado:</p>
<p><a href="http://i0.wp.com/ma.tt/files/2016/02/DSC_1387.jpg?ssl=1"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-46178" src="http://i0.wp.com/ma.tt/files/2016/02/DSC_1387.jpg?w=604&ssl=1" alt="" /></a></p>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://shop.lululemon.com/products/clothes-accessories/men-bags/Mens-Cruiser-Backpack">This is my favorite item of the new year, a Lululemon Cruiser backpack</a> that has a million pockets both inside and outside, and allows me to carry more stuff, more comfortably, and access it faster. Lululemon updates their products and designs every few months, but if you ever spot something like this online or in the store check it out. Hat tip on this one to <a href="http://roseinmidair.com/">Rose</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TX5YUCM">A short Lightning + micro USB cable</a>, which is great for pairing with a battery pack. I sometimes carry a few of these around and give them away all the time, as &#8220;do you have a light?&#8221; has evolved to &#8220;do you have a charge?&#8221; in the new millenium.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012V56D2A">Short regular USB to USB-C cable</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BX47X2">Belkin Retractable Ethernet</a>. *</li>
<li>Anker <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0119OI9XU">USB-C to USB-C cable</a>. Make sure to read the reviews when you buy these to get the ones that do the proper voltage. I can charge a Macbook with this, and the new Nexus 5x, directly from the battery pack or the #43 wall charger.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CDFYNS">Mini-USB cable</a>, which I use for the odd older device (like a Nikon camera) that still does mini-USB (that older big one). Would love to get rid of this one.</li>
<li>A charge cable for #45, the Fitbit Charge HR. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0142A96G2">You can buy these cheap on Amazon</a>, and if you lose it you&#8217;re out of luck, so I usually keep a few at home and one in my bag.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.apple.com/shop/product/ME291AM/A/lightning-to-usb-cable">This is my goldilocks regular lightning cable, not too long and not too short</a>, 0.5m.</li>
<li>A retractable micro-USB.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MLA02LL/A/magic-mouse-2">Apple Magic Mouse 2</a>, the new one that charges via Lightning, natch.</li>
<li>Way over to the right, <a href="http://www.muji.us/store/stationery/notebooks.html">a small Muji notebook</a>.</li>
<li>This is a weird but cool cable, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T7BK9PY">basically bridges USB to Norelco shavers</a>. I use a Norelco beard trimmer and for some reason all of these companies think we want to carry around proprietary chargers, this is a slightly unwieldy cable but better than carrying around the big Norelco power brick.</li>
<li>Lockpick set. *</li>
<li><a href="https://www.honest.com/bath-and-body/honest-organic-lip-balm-trio">Lavender mint organic lip balm from Honest Co</a>, which I think I got for free somewhere.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.aesop.com/usa/skin-care/lip/rosehip-seed-lip-cream.html">Aesop rosehip seed lip cream</a>, which I bought mostly for the smell, when it&#8217;s done I&#8217;ll probably switch to <a href="http://www.aesop.com/usa/skin-care/lip/avail-lip-balm.html">their lip balm</a>. (I should do a cosmetics version of this for my dopp kit, it&#8217;s had lots of trial and error as well.) I love Aesop, especially t<a href="http://www.aesop.com/usa/body-care/cleanse/resurrection-aromatique-hand-wash-4.html">heir Resurrection line</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Aveda-Blue-Oil-0-24-oz/dp/B0031KN9UE">Aveda Blue Oil</a> that I find relaxing. *</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Thunderbolt-Cable-0-5-Meter-MD862LL/dp/B00WVDGZM6/">Short thunderbolt to thunderbolt cable</a>, which is great for transferring between computers. *</li>
<li>Muji international power adapter, much simpler, lighter, and cooler than what I used before.</li>
<li>Way on the top right, this is probably the least-travel-friendly thing I travel with, but the utility is so great I put up with it. It&#8217;s the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D4LBOV6">Sennheiser Culture Series Wideband Headset</a>, which I use for podcasts, Skype, Facetime, Zoom, and Google Hangout calls with external folks and teams inside of Automattic. Light, comfortable, great sound quality, and great at blocking out background noise so you don&#8217;t annoy other people on the call. Worth the hassle.</li>
<li>A customized Macbook Pro 15&#8243;, in space grey, with the WordPress logo that shines through.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Car-Vent-Mount-Smartphones/dp/B00O5JARCI/">Belkin car mount</a>, which is great for rentals. *</li>
<li>A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X8Z47XA">USB 3.0 SD / CompactFlash / etc reader</a>.</li>
<li>microSD to SD adapter, with a 64gb micro SD in it. Good for cameras, phones, and occasionally transferring files. Can be paired with the card reader if the computer has a USB port but not a SD reader. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B010Q588D4/">When you get a microSD card it usually comes with this</a>.</li>
<li>One of my new favorite things: <a href="http://www.dxo.com/us/dxo-one">DxO One camera</a>. It&#8217;s a SLR-quality camera that plugs in directly to the lightning port on your iPhone, and can store the photos directly on your phone. Photo quality is surprisingly good, the only problem I&#8217;ve had with it is the lightning port pop-up will no longer close. The other similar device I tried but wasn&#8217;t as good was the <a href="http://www.getolympus.com/us/en/air-a01.html">Olympus Air A01</a>, so I just carry around the DxO now.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PTCFFW/">TP-LINK TL-WR702N Wireless N150 Travel Router</a>, which works so-so. Not sure why I still carry this, haven&#8217;t used it in a while. *</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018TGGH4E">Aukey car 49.5W 3-port USB adapter</a>, which has two high-powered USB ports and a Quick Charge 3.0 USB-C port.</li>
<li>My favorite external battery right now, the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019IFIJW8">RAVPower 20100mAh Portable Charger</a>, also with Quick Charge 3.0 and a USB-C port. This thing is a beast, can charge a USB-C Macbook too.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/High-Resolution-Display-Adaptive-PagePress-Sensors/dp/B00IOY8XWQ">Kindle Voyage</a> with the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Limited-Edition-Premium-Leather-Origami/dp/B00NO84J0W">brown leather cover</a>. *</li>
<li>Macbook power adapter.</li>
<li>Very cool <a href="http://en-us.sennheiser.com/momentum-wireless-headphones-with-mic">Sennheiser Momentum Wireless</a> headphones in ivory,customized with the WordPress logo. I&#8217;m testing this out as a possible gift for <a href="https://automattic.com/">Automatticians</a> when they reach a certain number of years at the company. For a fuller review, <a href="https://ma.tt/2015/04/best-headphones-spring-2015-edition/">see this post</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.cotopaxi.com/products/waterbottle-white?variant=8128462529">Cotopaxi water bottle</a> that I got for free at the <a href="https://sas.summit.co/">Summit at Sea conference</a>. The backpack has a handy area to carry a water bottle, and I&#8217;ve become a guy who refills water bottles at the airport instead of always buying disposable ones.</li>
<li>Special cord for the #30 Momentum headphones.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004C51HRY/">Retractable 1/8th inch audio cable</a>. *</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IYA2ZJW/">Powerbeats 2 Wireless headphones</a> that I use for running, working out, or just going around the city.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E9W11QM">Belkin headphone splitter</a>, for sharing audio when watching a movie on a plane. *</li>
<li><a href="https://www.google.com/chromecast/speakers/">Chromecast audio</a>, which I&#8217;ve never used but it&#8217;s so small and light I carry it around just in case.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.google.com/chromecast/tv/">Chromecast TV</a>, which I&#8217;ve also never used but also small and light and I&#8217;m sure it&#8217;ll come in handy one of these days.</li>
<li>Verizon iPhone 6s+, which is normal, but the new thing here is I&#8217;ve stopped carrying a wallet, and a separate phone case, and now carry this big &#8216;ol <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VGDQRAW">Sena Heritage Wallet Book</a>. At first I felt utterly ridiculous doing this as it feels GINORMOUS at first, but after it wore in a little bit, and I got used to it, it&#8217;s so freeing to only have one thing to keep track of, and it&#8217;s also forced me to carry a lot less than I used to in my wallet.</li>
<li>Maison Bonnet sunglasses. Hat tip to <a href="https://about.me/tonyconrad">Tony</a>.</li>
<li>Stickers! <a href="http://wapuu.jp/">Wapuu</a> and <a href="https://slack.com/">Slack</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blinks-Ultralight-Comfortable-Contoured-Blindfold/dp/B000WNX21Y/">Bucky eye shades</a>, like an eye mask but has a curve so it doesn’t touch your eyes. I don’t use this often but when I do it’s a life-saver. *</li>
<li>My favorite USB wall plug, after trying dozens, is this <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UWMCXD8/">Aukey 30W / 6A travel wall charger</a>. I love the foldable plug, and it&#8217;s really fast.</li>
<li>I generally only have one wall charger, but temporarily carrying around this <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019C23ZGW">Tronsmart 33W USB-C + USB charger with Quick Charge 3.0</a>, which can very quickly charge the battery or the Nexus, and a Macbook in a pinch. Hopefully will combine this and #42 sometime this year. One thing I really dislike about this item is the bright light on it, which I need to cover with tape.</li>
<li>The only pill / vitamin / anything I take every day: <a href="http://www.elysiumhealth.com/">Elysium Health Basis</a>. I&#8217;m not an expert or a doctor, but read up on them and the research around it, pretty interesting stuff.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.fitbit.com/chargehr">Fitbit Charge HR</a>. I gave up on my Apple Watch. I&#8217;ll probably try the Fitbit watch when it comes out. My favorite feature is the sleep tracking. Least favorite is the retro screen, and that it doesn&#8217;t always show the time.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-Permanent-Markers-Marker-32101PP/dp/B000XANH9S">Double-sided sharpie (thick and thin point)</a> and a <a href="http://www.muji.us/store/pen-pencils.html">Muji pen</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.westoneaudio.com/index.php/products/hearing-protection/es49-custom-hearing-protection.html">Westone ES49 custom earplugs</a>, for if I go to concerts or anyplace overly loud. *</li>
<li>Some index cards, good for brainstorming.</li>
<li>Passport. * As Mia Farrow said about Frank Sinatra, &#8220;I learned to bring my passport to dinner.&#8221;</li>
<li>Jetpack notebook, I like to have a paper notebook to take notes, especially in group or product meetings, because there isn&#8217;t the distraction of a screen.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.google.com/nexus/5x/">Nexus 5x</a>, which is definitely one of the better Android devices I&#8217;ve had, paired with <a href="https://fi.google.com/">Google Project Fi</a> phone / data service, which has saved me thousands of dollars with its $10/gb overseas data pricing. Since my iPhone is so huge, I tried to go for a smaller Android device. I always travel with both in case something happens to one phone, for network diversity, and as I said this has better international data pricing than Verizon.</li>
<li>Business card holder. *</li>
<li>Post-it notes.</li>
</ol>
<p>All in all 13 items stayed the same, the other 40 are new to this edition.</p>
<p><a href="http://i0.wp.com/ma.tt/files/2016/02/DSC_1387.jpg?ssl=1"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-46178" src="http://i0.wp.com/ma.tt/files/2016/02/DSC_1387.jpg?w=604&ssl=1" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>That&#8217;s a wrap, folks! If you have any questions or suggestions please drop them in the comments. Once my <a href="https://ma.tt/2016/02/lent-this-year-buying-things/">no-buying-things moratorium for Lent</a> is over I can start trying new things out again.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 15 Mar 2016 17:24:01 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:7;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:60:"WPTavern: Tickets for WordCamp Jacksonville 2016 Now on Sale";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52421";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:70:"http://wptavern.com/tickets-for-wordcamp-jacksonville-2016-now-on-sale";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2514:"<p><a href="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/wordcamp-jacksonville.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52424"><img src="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/wordcamp-jacksonville.png?resize=1025%2C502" alt="wordcamp-jacksonville" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52424" /></a></p>
<p>Florida hosts some of the most successful and longest-running WordCamps in the US with events in Miami, Orlando, and Tampa Bay. Jacksonville, the largest city in Florida with a population of more than 800,000, will be hosting its very first WordCamp. The event will be held April 16-17 downtown at the <a href="https://2016.jacksonville.wordcamp.org/location/" target="_blank">Florida State College</a> campus.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://frankcorso.me/" target="_blank">Frank Corso</a>, lead organizer for the WordCamp and an organizer of the Gainesville WordPress Meetup, the team is planning for 250 attendees. The WordPress community in northern Florida is working together to make the event happen.</p>
<p>&#8220;One of the co-organizers is the organizer of the local WPjax meet-up group and another organizer is the organizer of another city&#8217;s WP meetup group,&#8221; Corso said. &#8220;A few of us started talking at WordCamp Miami 2015 and realized that we really wanted to have a local WordCamp in our area. So, we reached out some others in the Jacksonville area to see if there was enough demand for it. We received a large amount of support for it and decided to proceed.&#8221;</p>
<p>Last week the event&#8217;s organizers introduced the <a href="https://2016.jacksonville.wordcamp.org/2016/03/11/introducing-the-first-round-of-speakers/" target="_blank">first round of speakers</a>, which includes local tech entrepreneurs and WordPress community leaders from around Florida. The deadline for speaker applications has passed, but organizers are still looking for <a href="https://2016.jacksonville.wordcamp.org/2016/03/03/call-for-volunteers/" target="_blank">volunteers</a> and <a href="https://2016.jacksonville.wordcamp.org/2016/01/04/call-for-sponsors/" target="_blank">sponsors</a>.</p>
<p>WordCamp Jacksonville <a href="https://2016.jacksonville.wordcamp.org/tickets/" target="_blank">tickets</a> went on sale today, but there are only 250 available due to venue capacity. Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/WordCampJax" target="_blank">@WordCampJax</a> and the #wcjax hashtag on Twitter for all the latest news.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 14 Mar 2016 22:34:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:8;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:67:"WPTavern: When Contributing to WordPress Full-Time Leads to Burnout";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52409";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:77:"http://wptavern.com/when-contributing-to-wordpress-full-time-leads-to-burnout";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4014:"<a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/BurnoutFeaturedImage.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52418"><img class="size-full wp-image-52418" src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/BurnoutFeaturedImage.png?resize=657%2C333" alt="Burnout Featured Image" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12480780@N05/24053903526">Fireplace 4</a> &#8211; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">(license)</a>
<p>As a distributed worker, one of the toughest obstacles I face is burnout. It&#8217;s one of the reasons I took a month off from all things WordPress. According to <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burnout">Merriam-Webster</a>, burnout is, &#8220;the condition of someone who has become very physically and emotionally tired after doing a difficult job for a long time.&#8221; Once burnout sets in, it&#8217;s tough to recover without avoiding the job completely.</p>
<p>Drew Jaynes, WordPress core developer, describes how contributing to the WordPress project full-time <a href="http://werdswords.com/contributing-full-time-isnt-everyone/">led to burnout</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;Here’s the thing: burnout is a real struggle. And when you’re working on something full-bore, 100 percent of the time, and you burnout, there aren’t a lot of good options to help combat that except to keep pressing on and try to get your groove back,&#8221; Jaynes said.</p>
<p>Recognizing the signs that burnout is imminent is an important step towards avoiding it, &#8220;I typically realize I’m burned out when I basically lose interest in whatever thing I’d been previously passionate about. Burnout is the result of going at something too hard for too long. And then when you stop, getting started again is a struggle,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Jaynes realized it was time to move on from full-time contributing to something new after experiencing burnout three times in seven months. Although he will continue to contribute back to WordPress, it will be in a more limited role as he focuses on products.</p>
<h2>How Matt Mullenweg Avoids Burnout</h2>
<p>People combat burnout differently based on their individual circumstances. When asked <a href="https://www.producthunt.com/live/matt-mullenweg#comment-151645">how he combats burnout</a> in an <a href="http://wptavern.com/highlights-from-matt-mullenwegs-qa-session-on-product-hunt">Ask Me Anything segment</a> in September 2015, Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic, responded:</p>
<blockquote><p>Everything is connected, so if one of ( health | diet | relationships | family | work | soul | creative outlet ) is running on empty for too long, it will impact the others and you might end up treating the symptom rather than the cause. Recovery always comes from the people around you who give you unconditional love and support, which I&#8217;ve been lucky to have since I was an infant.</p>
<p>To avoid it now I try to take small mini-breaks frequently, be that a ten minute meditation every day, jogging a few times a week, or taking a few days to recharge once a month. I find that&#8217;s better (and less stressful) than trying to do a big blow-out reset or vacation once a year. Conversely, a lot of times when people think I&#8217;m on vacation I&#8217;m actually working as much or more than when I&#8217;m at home, just from a more interesting location (often with fewer distractions). Funnily enough I&#8217;m more likely to actually take time off and unplug at home, and more likely to be working when in an exotic location.</p></blockquote>
<p>I work for a company that has an unlimited vacation policy. I took advantage of it by taking a month off to clear my mind to help me refocus and it worked wonders for my mental well-being. If you feel it&#8217;s necessary and your employer has a similar policy, don&#8217;t be afraid to ask for some time off to regroup. What do you do to combat burnout? Please share your advice in the comments.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 14 Mar 2016 22:05:50 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jeff Chandler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:9;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"Matt: Addicted to Distraction";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:22:"https://ma.tt/?p=46355";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:46:"https://ma.tt/2016/03/addicted-to-distraction/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:665:"<blockquote><p>Addiction is the relentless pull to a substance or an activity that becomes so compulsive it ultimately interferes with everyday life. By that definition, nearly everyone I know is addicted in some measure to the Internet. It has arguably replaced work itself as our most socially sanctioned addiction. [&#8230;]</p>
<p>Denial is any addict’s first defense. No obstacle to recovery is greater than the infinite capacity to rationalize our compulsive behaviors.</p></blockquote>
<p>Oldie but goodie <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/opinion/sunday/addicted-to-distraction.html?_r=2">from the New York Times, Addicted to Distraction</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 14 Mar 2016 18:57:38 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:10;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:65:"WPTavern: WordPress Global Translation Day Set for April 24, 2016";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=51996";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:74:"http://wptavern.com/wordpress-global-translation-day-set-for-april-24-2016";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4941:"<a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/globe.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-29134"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/globe.jpg?resize=1024%2C499" alt="photo credit: . Entrer dans le rêve - cc" class="size-full wp-image-29134" /></a>photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tranbina/4765484383/">. Entrer dans le rêve</a> &#8211; <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
<p>The WordPress Polyglots team is planning its first ever <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2016/03/02/wordpress-global-translation-day-april-24th-2016/" target="_blank">Global Translation Day</a> to be held April 24, 2016, in every timezone around the globe. The 24-hour translation sprint will start at dawn in the East and end in the West. In addition to translating strings, organizers are also looking to grow the translation teams and educate new translators. They have identified the following three goals for the event:</p>
<ul>
<li>Show people who are interested in translating WordPress in their language how to get involved</li>
<li>Translate and validate the waiting strings for current projects under the supervision of the current General translation editors</li>
<li>Add more general translation editors to different translation teams</li>
</ul>
<p>The Global Translation Day is an ambitious undertaking that involves coordinating a 24-hour live stream of tutorials about translating WordPress in different languages, as well as local, on-site contributor teams.</p>
<p>&#8220;Not very many people know how big the translation efforts around WordPress are, how dedicated our volunteer Translation Editors are to making sure we have quality, consistent software translations,&#8221; Polyglots contributor Petya Raykovska said. &#8220;We wanted the Global Translation Day to shed a bit of light on that and especially on the local teams.</p>
<h3>Growing the WordPress Platform by Making it More Internationally Accessible</h3>
<p>The Polyglots team is slowly chipping away at the world&#8217;s most widely spoken languages to provide core, theme, and plugin translations for users in their own languages.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have many languages that need a lot of help,&#8221; Raykovska said. &#8220;Our Japanese, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese teams are amazing, these are active 100% translated locales,&#8221; she said. &#8220;But when it comes to plugin and theme translations, that’s where the demand is greatest.</p>
<p>&#8220;On the other hand, we have languages that need help for WordPress core. All the Indian languages can use a huge push, our African and Asian languages need help.&#8221;</p>
<p>The progress of each locale is tracked on the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/" target="_blank">Translation Teams</a> page, displaying the percentage of strings translated for each.</p>
<p><a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/translations.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52391"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/translations.png?resize=1025%2C395" alt="translations" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52391" /></a></p>
<p>&#8220;Some of the biggest languages in the world are represented in this chart and if we got them to 100% that could have a huge impact on WordPress itself,&#8221; Raykovska said.</p>
<p>&#8220;If you remember the big jump WordPress did in 2011 and then in 2014, when international downloads surpassed English downloads, half of those international downloads were for Japanese,&#8221; she said.</p>
<p>&#8220;Now imagine what impact languages like Chinese, Hindi (and other Indian languages) and other languages in countries where English is not a default language, can have. The Global WordPress Translation day is about making WordPress accessible to more people and also about helping the platform’s growth,&#8221; Raykovska said.</p>
<p>The Polyglots are calling all multilingual contributors to join in the event. Raykovska reports that so far they have more than 60 teams committing to take part, with 10 mini-contributor days held locally and more incoming. The Polyglots are also planning to host remote events where local teams use their own Slack channels to onboard contributors and work on translations.</p>
<p>Contributors can choose from a number of ways to get involved. You can record a video in your language for the promotion clip, volunteer to do a live stream talk about translating WordPress into your language, organize a local contributor day, or get involved with the main organization.</p>
<p>If you have the language skills to participate in the translation sprint, it&#8217;s one of the easiest ways to start contributing to WordPress and help prepare the platform for its next major international leap. Join #polyglots on Slack to connect with the team.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 14 Mar 2016 18:11:02 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:11;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:23:"Matt: Changelog Podcast";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:22:"https://ma.tt/?p=46350";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:40:"https://ma.tt/2016/03/changelog-podcast/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:575:"<p>I know a lot of people are on their way to SxSW right now, <a href="https://changelog.com/197/">here&#8217;s a podcast I joined called The Changelog you can download and check out on the way there</a> (or back). It&#8217;s a bit more technical than the interviews I normally do, we talk about Javascript, Calypso, the philosophy of open source and WordPress, some of the thinking behind Automattic&#8217;s acquisitions, and my favorite programming books. I hope <a href="https://changelog.com/197/">you can check it out</a>, Adam and Jerod did a great job on this one.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 12 Mar 2016 02:17:19 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:12;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:43:"WPTavern: In Case You Missed It – Issue 4";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:44:"http://wptavern.com?p=52368&preview_id=52368";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:49:"http://wptavern.com/in-case-you-missed-it-issue-4";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6892:"<a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/ICYMIFeaturedImage.png" rel="attachment wp-att-50955"><img class="size-full wp-image-50955" src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/ICYMIFeaturedImage.png?resize=676%2C292" alt="In Case You Missed It Featured Image" /></a>photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/112901923@N07/16153818039">Night Moves</a> &#8211; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">(license)</a>
<p>There&#8217;s a lot of great WordPress content published in the community but not all of it is featured on the Tavern. This post is an assortment of items related to WordPress that caught my eye but didn&#8217;t make it into a full post.</p>
<h2>Justin Tadlock Announces Simpler Pricing</h2>
<p>Justin Tadlock <a href="http://themehybrid.com/weblog/simpler-pricing-for-theme-designer-and-plugin-developer">revamped his pricing</a> model for his <a href="http://themehybrid.com/plugins/plugin-developer">Plugin Developer</a> and <a href="http://themehybrid.com/plugins/theme-designer">Theme Designer</a> plugins. Based on two months of feedback, Tadlock removed the pricing tiers in favor of a single price. Both plugins are $90 and come with source files, one year of support, and access to the Theme Hybrid Slack channel.</p>
<p>Existing customers have already been upgraded and can take advantage of the new perks. What&#8217;s nice is that Tadlock is giving those who purchased the plugins for $125 a partial refund of $35 to make up the difference.</p>
<h2>Using WordPress to Break The Silence</h2>
<p>Mahangu Weerasinghe, who works at Automattic as a Happiness Engineer, <a href="http://heropress.com/essays/breaking-the-silence/">published a fantastic essay</a> on HeroPress this week that describes how WordPress helped him break his silence. Weerasinghe suffers from stuttering and as a result, remained silent even if he had something to say. It&#8217;s an inspirational story and the best content I&#8217;ve read all week. There are many quotable spots in the post, but this is my favorite.</p>
<blockquote><p>There are a lot of things we cannot control in this world, many forces at work that we cannot even see. But, as members of this community, I think we can content ourselves with this thought:</p>
<p>Because of the GPL, and the way it works, WordPress will be available as a publishing platform for decades to come, and long after the next social network comes and goes, for as long as the Internet remains free and accessible, anyone with WordPress will be able to have their say.</p>
<p>What WordPress did for me, it can do for others. And that’s why we need to keep going.</p>
<p>Because every silence can be overcome.</p></blockquote>
<p>Congrats Weerasinghe on defeating the silence and helping others to do the same.</p>
<h2>Automattic Acquires Pressable</h2>
<p>Automattic has purchased the rest of Vid Luther&#8217;s common stock shares in Pressable and has effectively <a href="https://poststatus.com/automattic-pressable/">acquired the company</a>. Chris Lauzon, a Happiness Engineer at Automattic, is the company&#8217;s interim CEO. Be sure to read Matt Mulleweng&#8217;s statement which clearly indicates to me that the company is not part of Automattic&#8217;s long-term interests.</p>
<h2>Matt Mullenweg in The Irish Times</h2>
<p>Ciara O&#8217;Brien <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/matt-mullenweg-how-wordpress-got-the-whole-world-blogging-1.2558828">interviewed Matt Mullenweg</a> when he visited Dublin, Ireland to speak at an Irish Software Association event. It&#8217;s one of the better interviews I&#8217;ve read in recent memory and if you know Matt well enough, you can tell which parts of the interview he showed his sense of humor.</p>
<p>For example, when asked how he relaxes and switches off work mode, he responds &#8220;Well, this is lovely. We have tea and little cookies.” I can almost guarantee you that he chuckled while making that remark.</p>
<h2>Introvert Reviews Pressnomics</h2>
<p>Jeff Matson, who leads the documentation efforts for Rocketgenius, <a href="http://jeffmatson.net/realization-of-progress-and-success/">documented</a> (pun intended) his experience at Pressnomics 4. Thanks to his involvement in the community the past few years, people recognized him and started conversations with him instead of the other way around.</p>
<blockquote><p>I’m the nerd with the thick glasses, overgrown beard, and a hoodie; the guy who lives in a rather small apartment, drives a Kia, and shops at outlet malls. To put it simply, I’m your typical every-day middle-class 20-something guy. Certainly not the typically targeted clientele for such a high level business-centric conference.</p></blockquote>
<p>Yet, he had a great time and strengthened relationships and created new ones with members of the community. As a friend, it&#8217;s great to see Jeff make large strides both in his professional and personal life.</p>
<h2>Co-Organizing WordCamp Miami</h2>
<p>David Bisset <a href="http://davidbisset.com/wordcamp-miami-2016-the-mega-review/">shares his experience</a> co-organizing one of the largest WordCamps in the US. According to a recent tweet, the team is already making plans for WordCamp Miami, FL 2017.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">One of the reasons <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wcmia?src=hash">#wcmia</a> organization team is so great: post-conference planning meetups. 2017 planning has begun. <a href="https://t.co/NZF31TRNOj">pic.twitter.com/NZF31TRNOj</a></p>
<p>&mdash; David Bisset (@dimensionmedia) <a href="https://twitter.com/dimensionmedia/status/708282526477979650">March 11, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<h2>Wapuu of the North!</h2>
<p>As a traditional part of this series, I end each issue by featuring a Wapuu design. For those who don&#8217;t know, Wapuu is the <a href="http://wapuu.jp/2015/12/12/wapuu-origins/">unofficial mascot</a> of the WordPress project. St. Patrick&#8217;s day is right around the corner, so what better way to celebrate than with a Wapuu with Irish roots. Meet, The Wapuu of the North.</p>
<p>The Wapuu of the North was created by Peter of <a href="http://1440design.com/wordpress/branding-wordcamp-belfast/" target="_blank">1440 Design</a> for WordCamp Belfast, Ireland. This particular Wapuu has quite the head of hair!</p>
<p><a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/belfast_wapuu.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-52005"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52005" src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/belfast_wapuu.jpg?resize=1000%2C1000" alt="belfast_wapuu" /></a></p>
<p>That&#8217;s it for issue four. If you recently discovered a cool resource or post related to WordPress, please share it with us in the comments.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 12 Mar 2016 01:24:46 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jeff Chandler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:13;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:77:"WPTavern: OnePress: A Free Single-Page WordPress Theme Built with Bootstrap 4";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=51305";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:86:"http://wptavern.com/onepress-a-free-single-page-wordpress-theme-built-with-bootstrap-4";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3001:"<p>If you&#8217;re a fan of the scrolling single-page parallax style themes, <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/onepress/" target="_blank">OnePress</a> is a new one on WordPress.org that may pique your interest. After less than a month in the official directory, it has already been installed on more than 3,000 websites. OnePress was developed by the folks at <a href="https://www.famethemes.com/themes/onepress/" target="_blank">FameThemes</a> using <a href="http://v4-alpha.getbootstrap.com/" target="_blank">Bootstrap version 4</a>. It is suitable for business, portfolio, and agency websites.</p>
<p>The theme features a full-screen background image with action buttons in the first major section. Scrolling further down reveals an about section, services, a video lightbox, an animated counter, team section, latest news, and contact form (powered by Contact Form 7).</p>
<p><a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/onepress.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52246"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/onepress.png?resize=1025%2C769" alt="onepress" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52246" /></a></p>
<p>All of the sections can be easily configured in the customizer and each has design options such as overlay color and opacity, section titles and subtitles, number of columns, and more. You can elect to hide any of the sections that you don&#8217;t want to use.</p>
<p>Also, if you&#8217;re not a fan of the parallax animations, there are options to disable them per element or globally for all the animations in the theme. You can also disable the sticky header when scrolling.</p>
<p><a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/onepress-customizer.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52356"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/onepress-customizer.png?resize=1025%2C374" alt="onepress-customizer" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52356" /></a></p>
<p>OnePress includes controls in the customizer for setting social profiles in the footer. It also includes a setting for pasting in a MailChimp Action URL for a newsletter signup form.</p>
<p>Check out a <a href="http://www.famethemes.com/preview/?theme=OnePress" target="_blank">live demo</a> of OnePress and click the menu items or scroll to view all of the sections. You can also toggle through desktop, tablet, and mobile views. Its smooth responsiveness and mobile-friendly menu are powered by Bootstrap.</p>
<p>OnePress is an excellent example of how a single-page WordPress theme can be easily configurable via WordPress&#8217; native customizer. It is available for <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/onepress/" target="_blank">download from WordPress.org</a> or via your admin theme browser. The OnePress homepage on FameThemes has thorough <a href="http://docs.famethemes.com/article/43-onepress-documentation" target="_blank">documentation</a> for setting up each of the sections.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 11 Mar 2016 22:10:01 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:14;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:59:"WPTavern: WordPress 4.5 Improves Comment Moderation Screens";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52295";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:69:"http://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-5-improves-comment-moderation-screens";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6151:"<p><a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/comments.png" rel="attachment wp-att-28128"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-28128" src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/comments.png?resize=984%2C455" alt="comments" /></a>Building on the momentum generated from the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2015/10/28/comment-object-and-query-features-in-4-4/">WordPress 4.4 development cycle</a>, WordPress 4.5 includes a number of enhancements to comments. In a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2016/03/09/comment-changes-in-wordpress-4-5/">post on the Make Core blog</a>, Rachel Baker explains the changes and what to expect.</p>
<p>&#8220;WordPress 4.5 includes several ancient bug fixes and a few enhancements in the Comments component. We have <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&component=Comments&milestone=4.5&group=resolution&col=id&col=summary&col=owner&col=type&col=priority&col=component&col=version&order=priority">closed 25 tickets</a>,&#8221; Baker said.</p>
<p>The biggest change users will notice are the design improvements to the comment moderation screen when clicking one of the available links in a comment moderation email. Instead of appearing as a large block of plain-text, comments are formatted as long as they contain the following HTML elements.</p>
<ul>
<li>A &#8211; Links</li>
<li>Abbr &#8211; Abbreviations</li>
<li>Acronym &#8211; Defines an acronym</li>
<li>B &#8211; Bold</li>
<li>Blockquote &#8211; Specifies a section that is quoted from another source</li>
<li>Cite &#8211; Defines the title of a work</li>
<li>Code &#8211; Defines a piece of computer code</li>
<li>Del &#8211; Defines text that has been deleted from a document</li>
<li>Em &#8211; Emphasizes text</li>
<li>I &#8211; Italicize</li>
<li>Q &#8211; Defines a short quotation</li>
<li>S &#8211; Specifies text that is no longer correct</li>
<li>Strike &#8211; Defines strikethrough text</li>
<li>Strong &#8211; Defines important text</li>
</ul>
<p>During testing, I noticed that in some cases, the text still appears in a large block as if the paragraph tag is ignored. I&#8217;ve already reported this issue to Baker who is looking into it. As you can see, the text that is bold, blockquoted, linked, and italicized, maintains its formatting on the moderation screen.</p>
<a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CommentFormattingOnModerationScreen.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52346"><img class="size-full wp-image-52346" src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CommentFormattingOnModerationScreen.png?resize=1025%2C571" alt="Formatted Text On The Comment Moderation Screen" /></a>Formatted Text On The Comment Moderation Screen
<p>In addition to visual enhancements, an Edit Comment link was added to the bottom of the comment. In the future, it would be nice to edit a comment in place during the moderation flow, similar to how Quick Edit works, instead of navigating to a different screen. Other notable changes include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Updated message styles that match other screens.</li>
<li>The comment date is only wrapped in a link if the comment permalink exists.</li>
<li><code>#wpbody-content</code> is appended to comment moderation email links for accessibility.</li>
<li>The <code>rel=nofollow</code> attribute and value pair will no longer be added to relative or same domain links within <code>comment_content</code>.</li>
<li><code>WP_Comment_Query</code> now supports the <code>author_url</code> parameter.</li>
<li>The new <code>pre_wp_update_comment_count_now</code> filter allows you to bail out of updating the comment count for a given Post.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Maximum Comment Field Length</h2>
<p>Those who publish lengthy comments will be happy to know that in WordPress 4.5, &#8220;the comment fields will enforce the maximum length of each field’s respective database column with hardcoded attributes. The hardcoded limits can be adjusted to accommodate custom database schemas using the <code>comment_form_default_fields</code> filter,&#8221; Baker said. By default, the limits are as follows:</p>
<ul>
<li>Comment: 65525 characters</li>
<li>Name : 245 characters</li>
<li>Email: 100 characters</li>
<li>Url: 200 characters</li>
</ul>
<p>When comments are submitted in 4.5, they&#8217;ll be checked by the new <code>wp_get_comment_fields_max_lengths()</code> function and the <code>wp_get_comment_fields_max_lengths</code> filter. If a value is more than the limit, a <code>WP_Error</code> is displayed. If a user publishes a comment and sees an error page, they&#8217;ll be able to navigate back to their comment via a link rather than having to use their browser&#8217;s back button.</p>
<a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CommentErrorNavigation.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52347"><img class="size-full wp-image-52347" src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CommentErrorNavigation.png?resize=724%2C354" alt="Comment Error Page Navigation" /></a>Comment Error Page Navigation
<p>It&#8217;s great that comments continue to receive attention, even if there&#8217;s a long way to go. Unfortunately, the ability to <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/33717">send a notification email when a comment is approved from moderation</a> was punted to a future release. I&#8217;m looking forward to reviewing plugins that allow users to easily configure the comment length limits as seen above. It would be nice to configure the limits so spammers see an error message because of their comment&#8217;s length rather than being placed into the moderation queue.</p>
<p>To see and test these improvements yourself, download and install <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2016/03/wordpress-4-5-beta-3/">WordPress beta 3</a> on a test site. If you think you’ve discovered a bug, please create a new post on the <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta" target="_blank">Alpha/Beta area</a> of the support forums. What do you think of these changes to comments in WordPress 4.5?</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 11 Mar 2016 20:07:32 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jeff Chandler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:15;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:85:"WPTavern: GitHub Now Supports Emoji Reactions for Pull Requests, Issues, and Comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52304";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:93:"http://wptavern.com/github-now-supports-emoji-reactions-for-pull-requests-issues-and-comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3903:"<p>Last month GitHub finally <a href="http://wptavern.com/github-responds-to-letter-from-open-source-project-maintainers" target="_blank">responded</a> to the <a href="http://wptavern.com/open-source-project-maintainers-confront-github-with-open-letter-on-issue-management" target="_blank">open letter on issue management</a> that has now been <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oGsg02jS-PnlIMJ3OlWIOEmhtG-udTwuDz_vsQPBHKs/htmlview?usp=sharing&sle=true" target="_blank">signed</a> by nearly 2,000 open source project maintainers. GitHub officially apologized for the lack of communication and promised to add new features and iterate on the core experience.</p>
<p>Shortly after acknowledging the letter, GitHub <a href="http://wptavern.com/github-introduces-issue-and-pull-request-templates" target="_blank">introduced templates for issues and pull requests</a>, which allow project maintainers to guide contributors towards submitting more meaningful contributions.</p>
<p>One of the other major requests included in the open letter was a voting system to declutter +1&#8217;s from issues. While the +1&#8217;s constitute valuable feedback, maintainers need a better UI to help make these conversations easier to read.</p>
<p>GitHub has now answered this request by <a href="https://github.com/blog/2119-pull-request-and-issue-reactions" target="_blank">adding emoji reactions to pull requests, issues, and comments</a>. Emoji support is nothing new but organizing it into reactions helps keep comments more manageable:</p>
<blockquote><p>In many cases, especially on popular projects, the result is a long thread full of emoji and not much content, which makes it difficult to have a discussion. With reactions, you can now reduce the noise in these threads.</p></blockquote>
<p>Reactions are currently limited to six emoji that are commonly used in GitHub conversations:</p>
<p><a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/github-reactions.gif" rel="attachment wp-att-52312"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/github-reactions.gif?resize=917%2C359" alt="github-reactions" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52312" /></a></p>
<p>Going forward, emoji reactions should make life easier for project maintainers, as they provide a quick way to assess consensus. If contributors embrace emoji reactions, the new feature can help maintainers gauge how widespread a bug is. They also serve to highlight the most helpful comments in a conversation.</p>
<p>Emoji reactions, which were also recently adopted by Slack and Facebook, are making their way into more applications as an alternative way of offering feedback. Path was one of the first social apps to offer reactions in 2012. Buzzfeed has taken the feature to a new level with the addition of gif reaction options at the end of articles:</p>
<p><a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/buzzfeed-reactions.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52327"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/buzzfeed-reactions.png?resize=1025%2C601" alt="buzzfeed-reactions" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52327" /></a></p>
<p>A feature that was once limited to social networks is now changing communication in the workplace by facilitating conversations for large groups of people. While emoji reactions offer people more ways of expressing themselves, they can also serve as a metric, a gauge, and a voting system.</p>
<p>The new <a href="http://wptavern.com/new-feature-plugin-for-wordpress-adds-emoji-reactions-to-posts" target="_blank">Reactions feature plugin</a> for WordPress received no small amount of criticism when it was introduced earlier this week. Even if the plugin never reaches the proposal stage, the conversation about the value of emoji reactions in modern communication is worth having.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 11 Mar 2016 16:10:15 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:16;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"Matt: From Silence to Publishing";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:22:"https://ma.tt/?p=46343";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:49:"https://ma.tt/2016/03/from-silence-to-publishing/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:722:"<blockquote><p>My parents first noticed my stutter when I was three years old. For the longest time, I thought I would one day be rid of it. I went for speech therapy, I did fluency exercises, I prayed. But now, at age thirty, I’m fairly confident that it’s here to stay. [&#8230;]</p>
<p>Somehow, as I progressed through high school, the expectant pauses of those listening to me were more difficult to bear that the nicknames and name calling. Often, I would not speak up, even when I had something I wanted to say.</p>
<p>My default setting was silence.</p></blockquote>
<p><a href="http://heropress.com/essays/breaking-the-silence/">Read the rest of Mahangu Weerasinghe&#8217;s story, Breaking the Silence</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 10 Mar 2016 22:48:42 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:17;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:67:"Post Status: Automattic has purchased a majority stake in Pressable";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://poststatus.com/?p=22262";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:44:"https://poststatus.com/automattic-pressable/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5218:"<p><a href="https://automattic.com">Automattic</a> has purchased a majority stake in <a href="https://pressable.com/">Pressable</a>, one of the earliest managed WordPress hosting companies, founded in 2010. They were first known as ZippyKid, and <a href="https://poststatus.com/zippykid-pressable/">rebranded in 2013</a>.</p>
<p>Automattic was already a shareholder in Pressable, most recently as the primary investor of <a href="https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/pressable#/entity">a $1.5 million round</a> in April of 2015.</p>
<p>Technically, Automattic purchased  common stock shares from Vid Luther, the CEO of Pressable. The monetary value of that common stock was, &#8220;enough to be debt free,&#8221; according to Vid. He owned about 37% of the company, or 4.5 million shares of 7 million shares of common stock (versus preferred shares). The company has also been in debt, reportedly close to $1 million worth.</p>
<p>Automattic is now the majority owner of Pressable, and since Vid sold his shares, this is effectively an acquisition, and Automattic will be able to set the direction of the company from now on. Chris Lauzon, a Happiness Engineer at Automattic, is the interim CEO. There are other smaller investors in Pressable whom maintain their shares in the company, and it&#8217;s unknown what those investors will do.</p>
<p>When I confirmed the exit with Vid, he said, &#8220;This is the best thing that I could have done for my family, or myself.&#8221; He was burning the candle at both ends, working twice as much as he wanted to be working, and wasn&#8217;t seeing the growth and success that he dreamed of for so many years. Pressable has always done okay in the managed WordPress market, but never outpaced quick-growth and heavily funded WP Engine, or the first entry to the market, Pagely. But Pressable has not been in a position of strength for a really long time.</p>
<p>Pagely, WP Engine, and Pressable were really the first three into the market of managed hosting &#8212; a market that now includes nearly every big name host. It&#8217;s fascinating to see the different directions they&#8217;ve gone since. WP Engine <a href="https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/wp-engine#/entity">has raised</a> nearly $40 million over the years and gone for scale (Automattic also invested in their Series A), while Pagely has bootstrapped the whole way and really hit their stride in the last couple of years with a move to the higher end of the market. Dozens of managed hosting companies exist today.</p>
<p>The work these three companies put into the early managed market got the attention of the biggest players in the market, like GoDaddy and EIG (owner of BlueHost, HostGator, and many more). Pressable fought hard, and Vid&#8217;s exit from the company comes after a long road with many challenges.</p>
<p>Pressable has long been on Rackspace infrastructure, as Vid had relationships with them going back a long time; that infrastructure suffered <a href="http://wptavern.com/recent-pressable-outages-the-result-of-a-slow-loris-attack">a few catastrophic outages</a> from attacks that cost Pressable quite a few customers in January 2015, stunting progress.</p>
<p>They nearly sold Pressable to WP Engine about two years ago, and decided against it at the 11th hour. The financing round last year was a period of rejuvenation for them, after a troubled period between the malicious attacks on their infrastructure and some internal issues, and the team was looking forward to new opportunities moving forward, including a potential focus on hosting catered for eCommerce with WordPress.</p>
<p>Speaking to an agency owner with clients at Pressable, they told me they believe they, &#8220;always struggled to find their voice and audience in a space that quickly filled up.&#8221; I agree with the observation.</p>
<p>Pressable&#8217;s revenues were under $2 million per year, and they have a team of about 10 people. Vid is no longer at the company; his last day was March 7th. It remains to be seen exactly what direction Automattic will take the company, though I presume it will continue business as usual for now, like they did <a href="https://poststatus.com/automattic-acquired-woocommerce-woothemes/">after the WooThemes acquisition</a>. While Automattic now owns the company, Matt Mullenweg made it clear to me that it&#8217;s not in their long term interest to be significantly involved in the traditional hosting business.</p>
<p>Matt Mullenweg gave the following statement about the purchase:</p>
<blockquote><p>Automattic is happy to be an investor in a number of WordPress-related companies and web hosts, and will continue to invest in the future. With Pressable we&#8217;ve unfortunately been forced to take a more active role to protect Pressable&#8217;s customers, employees, and our investment. Chris Lauzon, a Happiness Engineer at Automattic, has been temporarily working with the Pressable team to get everything in order, especially on the support side. Automattic continues to enjoy working with and supporting many great WordPress hosts, and we expect that Pressable will be able to operate fully independently in the future.</p></blockquote>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 10 Mar 2016 21:59:06 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15:"Brian Krogsgard";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:18;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:64:"WPTavern: Do the Woo: A New Podcast for WooCommerce Store Owners";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52197";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:73:"http://wptavern.com/do-the-woo-a-new-podcast-for-woocommerce-store-owners";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3266:"<a href="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/podcast.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-52297"><img src="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/podcast.jpg?resize=960%2C472" alt="photo credit: Maciej Korsan" class="size-full wp-image-52297" /></a>photo credit: <a href="https://stocksnap.io/photo/IQVHQYS3GL">Maciej Korsan</a>
<p>Bob Dunn, a WordPress educator better known on the web as <a href="https://bobwp.com/" target="_blank">BobWP</a>, is <a href="http://dothewoopodcast.com/welcome-to-do-the-woo-the-podcast-for-woocommerce-shop-owners/" target="_blank">launching a podcast for WooCommerce store owners</a>. &#8220;Do the Woo&#8221; will air weekly on Wednesdays with tips and tricks to help store owners attract more customers. Dunn plans to host guests involved in WooCommerce development, as well as store owners who will be invited to share their challenges and successes.</p>
<p>After using WooCommerce for five years with client projects, as well as his own products, Dunn is prepared to share his store management experience with listeners. He&#8217;s used the plugin and many of its extensions for selling services, bookings, downloads, and currently for his membership site sales. He has also taught WooCommerce workshops and is preparing new courses for his students.</p>
<p>Store owners are the targeted audience for Dunn&#8217;s new podcast with a focus on the business aspects of store management.</p>
<p>&#8220;It will be a mix of topics, rather than a straight interviews format, which is what many of the other podcasts are,&#8221; Dunn said. &#8220;I’ll be sharing eCommerce news and tips from a WooCommerce perspective. I’ll Interview Woo experts, designers, developers and shop owners. I’ll also share ideas for using Woo in ways that the average user might not have considered. There will be some tech, but also marketing, sales and social, all around WC.&#8221;</p>
<p>Dunn is aiming to reach both tech savvy users and those who would rather focus solely on the business of running a store.</p>
<p>&#8220;Having built sites for shop owners and in my role as co-organizer for the Seattle WooCommerce meetup, I would have to say that it’s a mix of technical skill,&#8221; he said. &#8220;As with anything WordPress, it spans the spectrum. Some are very hands-on and comfortable with the technology, while others want to focus more on their products and sales and tend to avoid the tech end of things.&#8221;</p>
<p>With an estimated 30% of e-commerce sites running on WooCommerce, a podcast focused on navigating the WooCommerce ecosystem as a store owner has a good chance of finding a decent audience with the right content strategy.</p>
<p>&#8220;My goal is to help these shop owners by giving them marketing ideas and providing a forum for stories from some of their colleagues who have insights and experiences to share,&#8221; Dunn said.</p>
<p>Interested listeners can subscribe at <a href="http://dothewoopodcast.com/" target="_blank">DoTheWooPodcast.com</a> where the first official episode will be published next week. Dunn will also be running WooCommerce-related posts on <a href="http://BobWP.com" target="_blank">BobWP.com</a> every Wednesday.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 10 Mar 2016 21:27:52 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:19;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:93:"WPTavern: WPWeekly Episode 225 – Interview With Scott Kingsley Clark Lead Developer of Pods";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:44:"http://wptavern.com?p=52290&preview_id=52290";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:99:"http://wptavern.com/wpweekly-episode-225-interview-with-scott-kingsley-clark-lead-developer-of-pods";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2883:"<p>In this episode of WordPress Weekly, <a href="http://marcuscouch.com/">Marcus Couch</a> and I interview <a href="https://scottkclark.com/">Scott Kingsley Clark</a>, lead developer of the <a href="http://pods.io/">Pods framework</a> plugin. Clark explains the financial and organizational structure of the <a href="https://pods.io/friends-of-pods/">Friends of Pods program</a> and how it benefits the plugin&#8217;s development.</p>
<p>He also explains what the <a href="https://github.com/sc0ttkclark/wordpress-fields-api">Fields API project</a> is and its significance to WordPress. To make a long story short, it&#8217;s on par with the REST API&#8217;s inclusion in core. Last but not least, in a first for WordPress Weekly, Clark sings a song while strumming his Baritone Ukulele.</p>
<h2>Stories Discussed:</h2>
<p><a href="http://wptavern.com/custom-content-type-manager-plugin-update-creates-a-security-nightmare">Custom Content Type Manager Plugin Update Creates a Security Nightmare</a></p>
<h2>Plugins Picked By Marcus:</h2>
<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/video-conferencing-with-zoom-api/">Video Conferencing with Zoom API,</a> by <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/j_3rk/">Deepen Bajracharya</a> from Nepal, gives you the power to manage Zoom Meetings from your WordPress dashboard. You can manage meetings, users, and display meetings in posts or pages using shortcodes.</p>
<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/timeline-diagram/">Time Line Diagram</a>, by <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/md-shiddikur-rahman/">Shiddikur Rahman, </a>is a responsive WordPress Plugin that allows you to create a beautiful vertical storyline. You simply create posts, assign images, a date, and then Time Line Diagram will automatically populate the posts in chronological order, based on the year and date.</p>
<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/easier-excerpts/">Easier Excerpts,</a> by <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tommcfarlin/">Tom McFarlin </a>and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ericdye/">Eric Dye</a> from PressWare, automatically expands and contracts the post&#8217;s excerpt to eliminate unnecessary white space.</p>
<h2>WPWeekly Meta:</h2>
<p><strong>Next Episode:</strong> Wednesday, March 16th 9:30 P.M. Eastern</p>
<p><strong>Subscribe To WPWeekly Via Itunes: </strong><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wordpress-weekly/id694849738" target="_blank">Click here to subscribe</a></p>
<p><strong>Subscribe To WPWeekly Via RSS: </strong><a href="http://www.wptavern.com/feed/podcast" target="_blank">Click here to subscribe</a></p>
<p><strong>Subscribe To WPWeekly Via Stitcher Radio: </strong><a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/wordpress-weekly-podcast?refid=stpr" target="_blank">Click here to subscribe</a></p>
<p><strong>Listen To Episode #225:</strong><br />
</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 10 Mar 2016 20:37:13 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jeff Chandler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:20;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:93:"WPTavern: Jetpack 3.9.3 Maintenance Release Adds Compatibility for WordPress 4.5 Custom Logos";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52250";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:103:"http://wptavern.com/jetpack-3-9-3-maintenance-release-adds-compatibility-for-wordpress-4-5-custom-logos";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2731:"<p><a href="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/jetpack-logo.gif" rel="attachment wp-att-27470"><img src="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/jetpack-logo.gif?resize=700%2C276" alt="jetpack-logo" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-27470" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://jetpack.com/2016/03/10/jetpack-3-9-3-maintenance-and-compatibility-release/" target="_blank">Jetpack 3.9.3 and 3.9.4</a> are now available. Although 3.9.3 is billed as a &#8220;maintenance and compatibility release,&#8221; there are a number of significant changes and improvements that make this an important release.</p>
<p>WordPress 4.5 will introduce native <a href="http://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-5-to-introduce-native-support-for-a-theme-logo" target="_blank">support for a theme logo</a>. This will render Jetpack&#8217;s site logo feature obsolete. The 3.9.3 release of the plugin adds compatibility with WordPress 4.5 by ensuring that sites use core&#8217;s implementation for custom logos instead.</p>
<p>According to Konstantin Obenland in a recent <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2016/03/10/custom-logo/" target="_blank">post</a> on make/core, &#8220;Jetpack will do a migration behind the scenes to work with it out of the box.&#8221; He also said that WordPress core&#8217;s new custom logo feature will use <a href="http://wptavern.com/customizer-responsive-preview-and-selective-refresh-to-be-merged-into-wordpress-4-5" target="_blank">Selective Refresh</a>, which means that the preview will load instantly after the image has been uploaded.</p>
<p>Notable enhancements in this release include:</p>
<ul>
<li>When using Carousel and Photon together, Jetpack will now link to the Photon version of full-sized images</li>
<li>Performance improvements to Comments, Infinite Scroll, Markdown, Publicize, Sitemaps, and the Subscription widget</li>
<li>Infinite Scroll: Introduced a later filter for settings</li>
<li>New filters in the Top Posts Widget code</li>
<li>oEmbed for Houzz.com</li>
</ul>
<p>The release also fixes an annoying bug in the Comments module that would reload the page when clicking &#8216;Reply.&#8217;</p>
<p>Jetpack 3.9.4 was released right on the heels of 3.9.3 to fix an issue where some comments were being displayed incorrectly. The problem was significant enough to push out an additional release right away.</p>
<p>Updating to the latest version of Jetpack will help your site work seamlessly with WordPress 4.5 when it is released the week of April 12. Check out the full <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/jetpack/changelog/" target="_blank">changelog</a> for both releases to see all of the enhancements and bug fixes.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 10 Mar 2016 18:29:51 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:21;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:90:"WPTavern: WordCamp Europe 2016 Expands Attendee Capacity to 2200, Largest WordCamp to Date";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52248";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:99:"http://wptavern.com/wordcamp-europe-2016-expands-attendee-capacity-to-2200-largest-wordcamp-to-date";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2919:"<a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/MuseumsQuartier.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-52255"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/MuseumsQuartier.jpg?resize=800%2C448" alt="photo credit: rank.at" class="size-full wp-image-52255" /></a>photo credit: <a href="https://www.rank.at/en/blog-article/old-meets-new-in-the-heart-of-vienna-the-museumsquartier-vienna.html">rank.at</a>
<p><a href="https://2016.europe.wordcamp.org/" target="_blank">WordCamp Europe 2016</a> is now on track to be the largest WordPress conference to date. The event, which will be held in Vienna June 24-26, has expanded its capacity to 2200 attendees (including micro-sponsors.) 400 additional tickets will be made available this week.</p>
<p><a href="http://wptavern.com/wordcamp-europe-2016-sold-out-organizers-working-to-get-more-venue-space" target="_blank">The first 1700 seats sold out</a> six months in advance, causing organizers to scramble to expand the venue capacity to meet the overwhelming demand for more tickets. They were able to secure three additional halls in the Leopold Museum and the Baroque suites of the MuseumsQuartier, all located within a minute&#8217;s walking distance of each other.</p>
<p>“With the camp happening in the city center, we wanted to make it easy for people to visit all the exquisite museums and sights in the area,&#8221; lead organizer Petya Raykovska said. As a bonus, conference goers will receive free access to the Leopold&#8217;s museum&#8217;s permanent exhibitions as part of their tickets.</p>
<p>WordCamp Europe will also be hosting the largest WordPress contributor day on record. Organizers are planning for 500 attendees and are considering using one of Vienna&#8217;s universities as the venue.</p>
<p>&#8220;We would have liked it to be in Leopold’s but unfortunately securing stable wifi for so many people in a museum is above our budget, so we’re looking for a venue that already has the infrastructure,&#8221; Raykovska said.</p>
<p>Current attendees represent 68 different countries, and the organizing team now includes members from 10 countries spanning both Eastern and Western Europe. The team would like to host a WordPress community summit for Europe but have not received confirmation for this year.</p>
<p>The host city for WordCamp Europe 2017 will be selected by the end of March. This will expand the organizing team for the current event, as future hosts will come on board to learn the ropes.</p>
<p>The next batch of <a href="https://2016.europe.wordcamp.org/tickets/" target="_blank">tickets</a> for the event will go on sale Friday, March 11th at 10 AM CET. In the meantime, the 250 people who signed up for the <a href="http://eepurl.com/bNsAUr" target="_blank">waiting list</a> will receive an email to claim their tickets first via a special reservation link.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 10 Mar 2016 10:35:06 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:22;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:73:"WPTavern: Write CSS in the Customizer with the Advanced CSS Editor Plugin";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52194";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:83:"http://wptavern.com/write-css-in-the-customizer-with-the-advanced-css-editor-plugin";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3247:"<a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/paint-brush.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-52240"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/paint-brush.jpg?resize=1024%2C538" alt="photo credit: cutting in - (license)" class="size-full wp-image-52240" /></a>photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10687935@N04/6021868900">cutting in</a> &#8211; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">(license)</a>
<p>Last year WordPress developer <a href="http://www.hardeepasrani.com/" target="_blank">Hardeep Asrani</a> and the folks at <a href="http://themeisle.com/" target="_blank">ThemeIsle</a> released <a href="http://wptavern.com/customize-your-login-page-using-the-wordpress-customizer" target="_blank">Custom Login Customizer</a>, a plugin that allows users to design their own login pages in the customizer. Since that time core developers have made more progress on the customizer roadmap, allowing for more varied uses outside of a theme-related context.</p>
<p>Last week the ThemeIsle team debuted <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/advanced-css-editor/" target="_blank">Advanced CSS Editor</a>, a new plugin in its arsenal that demonstrates another exciting use for the customizer. It makes use of <a href="http://wptavern.com/customizer-responsive-preview-and-selective-refresh-to-be-merged-into-wordpress-4-5" target="_blank">postMessage transport</a> to offer live previews of CSS changes while a user is writing them in the customizer. The plugin also allows users to write CSS for different device screen sizes, including desktop, tablet, and mobile phones. The demo below shows a screen capture of the plugin in action on my test site:</p>
<p><a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/edit-css.gif" rel="attachment wp-att-52205"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/edit-css.gif?resize=924%2C558" alt="edit-css" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52205" /></a></p>
<p>Seeing CSS edits updating in real time, instead of switching back and forth between a file editor and the frontend, was a refreshing experience. Having the ability to quickly write and preview media queries is also a convenient feature.</p>
<p>Although many core contributors are not fond of having a file editor in WordPress, the feature has yet to be removed. Using the Advanced CSS Editor plugin makes you wonder what the core file editor might look like in the customizer, at least for CSS files.</p>
<p>In the past, the customizer&#8217;s paint brush admin icon seemed like an ambitious stretch for a feature that, up until recently, felt clunky and slow to render previews. But recent advancements like <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2016/02/16/selective-refresh-in-the-customizer/" target="_blank">selective refresh</a> will help to make the customizer provide a true live preview experience.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/advanced-css-editor/" target="_blank">Advanced CSS Editor</a> plugin is a good example of how fast previews can be in the customizer and how much of a better experience it offers over similar plugins that require multiple clicks to refresh.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 09 Mar 2016 23:13:46 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:23;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:58:"WPTavern: Jetpack Turns 5 and Celebrates With a New Domain";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52190";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:68:"http://wptavern.com/jetpack-turns-5-and-celebrates-with-a-new-domain";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9574:"<p>On this day in 2011, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/jetpack/">Jetpack</a>, the project formerly known as &#8220;.org connect&#8221; inside Automattic, was released to the public. At the time, the team consisted of five people. Today, there are more than 50 people on various teams within the project, including, support, user experience, growth, and development. It&#8217;s also active on more than 1 million sites.</p>
<a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Jetpack11Interface.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52213"><img class="size-full wp-image-52213" src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Jetpack11Interface.png?resize=989%2C855" alt="Jetpack 1.1 User Interface" /></a>Jetpack 1.1 User Interface
<p>To celebrate the occasion, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/professor44/">Jesse Friedman</a>, Experience Advocate at Automattic, <a href="http://jetpack.com/2016/03/09/5-years-in-jetpack-is-soaring-higher-than-ever/">shares four unique stories</a> from people who rely on Jetpack for their sites. The stories include a food blogger who uses 20 different modules, a developer who manages a number of sites, a new user who discovers the benefits of <a href="http://jetpack.com/support/photon/">Photon</a>, and a convert who prefers Jetpack over clunky alternatives.</p>
<p>Jetpack&#8217;s support team is also celebrating its fifth birthday. According to Carolyn Sonnek, Happiness Rocketeer for Jetpack, the support team responded to over 93,000 support messages between email and the forums last year.</p>
<p>In addition to Jetpack&#8217;s birthday, the site&#8217;s domain has moved from Jetpack.me to Jetpack.com. Automattic <a href="http://www.thedomains.com/2015/12/09/automattic-com-owner-of-wordpress-acquires-jetpack-com/">purchased the domain</a> in December 2015, from Jetpack Design of Santa Monica, CA. According to domain appraisal service <a href="http://www.estibot.com">Estibot.com</a>, its <a href="http://www.estibot.com/appraise.php?a=appraisal&k=f818b525ed659fb84fdca10f05e64f47&domain=jetpack.com">estimated value</a> is $51K.</p>
<h2>Interview With Jesse Friedman</h2>
<p>Friedman describes his journey working on Jetpack and shares what he&#8217;s learned since joining the team.</p>
<p><strong>How long have you been on the Jetpack journey and what&#8217;s it been like?</strong></p>
<p>I started using Jetpack in the Spring of 2012. I was working as the Director of Web Development at a web development and marketing company. I needed several different tools to round out the WordPress environment I was building to house a 2,000 site multisite that was growing by 50 sites a month.</p>
<p>All of us on the team agreed that Jetpack solved a lot of different needs for us in one convenient plugin. As developers, we loved the out of the box features like Sharing, Publicize, and Monitor, and our clients loved Stats.</p>
<p>In 2014, I left that company and joined up with the BruteProtect team. We worked hard to build a great security plugin that has been implemented on millions of websites. Later in 2014, we were excited to receive the news that we were joining the Jetpack team to continue BruteProtect as a Jetpack feature. Released last year, Jetpack Protect guards our users from malicious and brute force login attempts. It was truly something special to go from being a big fan of Jetpack to being on the team at Automattic.</p>
<p><strong>What are some things you have learned through Jetpack development that have benefited you in other areas?</strong></p>
<p>In the last 18 months, I’ve been doing a lot of work around the experience users have with Jetpack. Everything from individual features, to the connection process, to our website and how we communicate with our users. I’ve learned a lot about Jetpack and our community. The main thing being that, while Jetpack provides a lot of value to professionals and veterans, it is just<span class="copyonly"> as</span><i></i>, if not more important for new users.</p>
<p><strong>Do you think Jetpack is a key component to WordPress reaching 50% market share?</strong></p>
<p>The WordPress community as a whole is growing so quickly. Hosts provide really simple tools to build a WordPress website with a single click or even no clicks at all. That means that WordPress and Jetpack have to be just as intuitive and work to improve the new user experience.<i class="copy_only"></i></p>
<p>This is especially important when we consider growing WordPress&#8217; market share. I think everyone who builds something for WordPress, or publishes on WordPress, or organizes WordPress community events, are critical to growing to 50% or beyond.</p>
<p>Any WordPress tool or plugin that can help a user build their website faster while providing maintenance tools like Manage or security tools like Protect is going to play an important role in the growth of market share.</p>
<p>Jetpack specifically, is in a unique position because we can leverage the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://wordpress.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">WordPress.com</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>infrastructure and network to build extremely powerful tools (like a global CDN) in an otherwise simple interface. Not to mention Jetpack’s popularity, it’s one of the most popular plugins across all of WordPress. Which is reinforced for me as I spend more and more time with our users, who are quite happy.</p>
<h2>Paid Services in Jetpack Remain at a Minimum</h2>
<p>Jetpack has come a long way since its inception but it&#8217;s interesting to look back at 2011 and review what some in the WordPress media world had to say about it. Ryan Imel, of WPCandy.com, <a href="http://wpcandy.com/thinks/jetpack-means-more-than-features-for-dot-org-users/">looked into new opportunities for Automattic</a> as Jetpack provided a direct line into millions of self hosted sites.</p>
<blockquote><p>Jetpack is now a direct line in to WordPress.org Dashboards for Automattic. When (not <em>if</em>) Automattic releases a new software as a service, a simple update to Jetpack will bring that news in front of a serious number of WordPress.org users. This is a big step for Automattic, since up to now their reach has been mostly within the walls of WordPress.com. Now Jetpack is not only available for anyone to use, but it will come preinstalled with one-click installs of WordPress with a number of hosting providers.</p></blockquote>
<p><a href="http://jetpack.com/2011/03/09/blast-off/">Jetpack&#8217;s goal</a> was to provide many of the useful features on WordPress.com to self-hosted users and while it does that, the business portion of the plugin can&#8217;t be ignored. Automattic owned services VideoPress and VaultPress are presented to millions of users who may otherwise not have known about them.</p>
<p>Today, Jetpack contains only two modules that require a paid subscription, VideoPress and VaultPress. So while it would be easy to increase Jetpack&#8217;s revenue generating capabilities by cramming it with commercial services and paid add-ons, Automattic has not done so.</p>
<p>At the end of the post, Imel asks a question that couldn&#8217;t be answered at the time, &#8220;In a large sense, what does Jetpack mean to the world of WordPress?&#8221; Fast forward five years later, we know that it&#8217;s a key component that&#8217;s helping <a href="http://wptavern.com/how-important-is-jetpack-on-wordpress-road-to-50-market-share">WordPress move towards 50% market share</a>.</p>
<h2>Jetpack Pride</h2>
<p>The five year mark is a great milestone for any plugin and a great time to reflect. In Jetpack&#8217;s five year existence, Matt Mullenweg, WordPress co-founder, says what he&#8217;s most proud of, &#8220;I’m most proud of the fact that people who start using WordPress and Jetpack at the same time are more likely to be using WordPress a month later. It brings us closer to WordPress’ over-arching goal of democratizing publishing, giving users the ability to have the best of both worlds: open source and cloud.&#8221; Mullenweg said.</p>
<h2>Share Your Jetpack Story</h2>
<p>The Jetpack team is looking for feedback on how it&#8217;s saved you time, help you build websites faster, helped optimize your sites, etc. You can share your story by publishing it in the comments of this post or by using the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23JetpackTurns5&src=typd"><strong>#JetpackTurns5</strong></a> hashtag on Twitter. One of my favorite stories so far is from Cécile Rainon who discovered WordPress through Jetpack and now works for Automattic.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Discovered WordPress through this plugin and I'm now a proud Automattician! <a href="https://t.co/r0yCKYzqmI">https://t.co/r0yCKYzqmI</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/jetpack">@jetpack</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/jetpackturns5?src=hash">#jetpackturns5</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Cécile (@cecile_rainon) <a href="https://twitter.com/cecile_rainon/status/707594514433753088">March 9, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<p>We use a number of modules to provide basic functionality such as contact forms, custom CSS, Likes, Protect, and more. In fact, every module except for five are activated on the Tavern. Using one plugin that handles a lot of the functionality we use on a daily basis is easier to maintain than using a number of separate plugins.</p>
<p>Happy birthday, Jetpack and here&#8217;s to five more!</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 09 Mar 2016 22:02:11 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jeff Chandler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:24;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:21:"Matt: Jetpack Turns 5";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:22:"https://ma.tt/?p=46331";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:38:"https://ma.tt/2016/03/jetpack-turns-5/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:761:"<p>Today the <a href="http://jetpack.com/2016/03/09/5-years-in-jetpack-is-soaring-higher-than-ever/">Jetpack plugin turns five years old</a>. Who woulda thunk it? It&#8217;s one of the most popular plugins in WP history, and sites that include it as part of their WordPress install are more likely to to have engaged and active users &#8212; we&#8217;ve even seen it reduce churn on major web hosts. While there&#8217;s been a lot that&#8217;s happened in the Jetpack plugin so far, what&#8217;s around the corner has me even more excited. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/72x72/1f600.png" alt="?" class="wp-smiley" /> <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/72x72/1f680.png" alt="?" class="wp-smiley" /> P.S. Check out that new domain.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 09 Mar 2016 14:27:35 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:25;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:62:"WPTavern: WordPress 4.5 Adds Inline Editing to the Links Modal";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52174";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:72:"http://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-5-adds-inline-editing-to-the-links-modal";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1777:"<p>Today Andrew Ozz, one of the maintainers on <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/components/" target="_blank">WordPress&#8217; core Editor component</a>, announced some <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2016/03/08/link-modal-wplink-changes-in-wordpress-4-5/" target="_blank">major improvements coming to the links modal</a> in the 4.5 release. Currently, when adding a link to text in the visual editor, a modal launches where you can paste in the URL, add link text, and set the target to open in a new window. The modal also expands to let you search for and link to existing content.</p>
<p>The TinyMCE link modal in WordPress 4.5 will allow for inline editing. It can actually detect when a user is entering a URL or attempting to search for one. The search uses jQuery UI Autocomplete, making it fast and easy to search through existing content. The gears icon launches the full modal with advanced options to set the target and title attribute.</p>
<p><a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/links-modal.gif" rel="attachment wp-att-52178"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52178" src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/links-modal.gif?resize=838%2C496" alt="links-modal" /></a></p>
<p>The links modal improvements are the result of WordPress core contributor Ella Iseulde Van Dorpe&#8217;s work on a <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/33301" target="_blank">ticket</a> opened to make this UI similar to the way Google Docs handles links. The experience of linking in the visual editor is now tighter and much more elegant and intuitive. This is one of the many small, yet impactful ways that WordPress is improving with each incremental release.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 09 Mar 2016 00:34:47 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:26;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:72:"WPTavern: New Feature Plugin for WordPress Adds Emoji Reactions to Posts";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52097";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:82:"http://wptavern.com/new-feature-plugin-for-wordpress-adds-emoji-reactions-to-posts";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5822:"<a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/emoji.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-52168"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/emoji.jpg?resize=1024%2C576" alt="photo credit: Emoji - (license)" class="size-full wp-image-52168" /></a>photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/59525227@N08/25617662995">Emoji</a> &#8211; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">(license)</a>
<p><a href="http://pento.net/" target="_blank">Gary Pendergast</a> is looking to bring WordPress users a new way of giving feedback on posts that goes beyond simple text-based comments. A core committer and emoji aficionado, Pendergast spearheaded the effort to add <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/emoji/" target="_blank">emoji support</a> to WordPress and is now working on an <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2016/03/07/reactions/" target="_blank">emoji reactions feature plugin</a>.</p>
<p>The plugin is being developed to offer reactions that are similar to those available in Slack and Facebook.</p>
<p>&#8220;It works much the same way as a Like button, but provides a wider range of reactions so readers can give more nuanced feedback without needing to go to the effort of leaving a comment,&#8221; Pendergast said. &#8220;This also allows readers to provide the same level of interaction in situations where a &#8216;Like&#8217; is an inappropriate message to send, as Eric Meyer describes in his post about <a href="http://meyerweb.com/eric/thoughts/2014/12/24/inadvertent-algorithmic-cruelty/" target="_blank">Inadvertent Algorithmic Cruelty</a>.&#8221;</p>
<p>The <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/react/" target="_blank">Reactions plugin</a> is available on WordPress.org as a proof-of-concept with basic features:</p>
<ul>
<li>Allows for reactions to posts</li>
<li>REST API endpoints for storing and retrieving reactions</li>
<li>An exceedingly ugly emoji selector</li>
</ul>
<p>The plugin is under active development but those who want to get involved testing it early can log bugs on the project&#8217;s <a href="https://github.com/pento/react/issues" target="_blank">GitHub issues queue</a>. Reactions requires the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/rest-api/" target="_blank">WP REST API</a> plugin. Once both are installed, you&#8217;ll see an emoji reactions button beneath the post content.</p>
<p><a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/reactions.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52147"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/reactions.png?resize=1025%2C642" alt="reactions" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52147" /></a></p>
<p>Clicking on the button will expand a panel of emoji reactions. The emoji picker UI is very basic but Pendergast is still investigating different options for display.</p>
<p><a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/reactions-expanded.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52161"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/reactions-expanded.png?resize=1025%2C639" alt="reactions-expanded" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52161" /></a></p>
<p>The post on the make/core blog immediately drew heated criticism and opposition. One of the more restrained reactions from <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2016/03/07/reactions/#comment-29449" target="_blank">@chatmandesign</a> praises the idea for personal blogs but discourages its development beyond a plugin:</p>
<blockquote><p>I have to agree with what rapidly seems to be becoming the general consensus: Great idea for a plugin – if I ever setup my own personal blog, I might even use it – but I can’t imagine why this would be considered for Core. I would end up having to disable it on nearly every website I build, which are primarily business websites where this sort of goofy element would simply be inappropriate.</p></blockquote>
<p>Others commented that while it may not be a good candidate for core, having a canonical plugin for handling emoji reactions could be beneficial for the community.</p>
<p>Pendergast responded to critics by reiterating the casual exploratory nature of the project.</p>
<p>&#8220;Right now, it isn’t being considered for Core – it’s being explored as a possible feature in the future,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The idea still has to prove itself in terms of usefulness, usability, and general appeal. In terms of how close this is to landing in Core, it’s about the same as a new ticket being opened on Trac.&#8221;</p>
<p>Thanks in large part to mobile devices, emoji are now inescapable staples of modern communication for digitally connected people. Even so, the question of bringing emoji reactions into WordPress core may prove to be a deeply polarizing issue.</p>
<p>In one camp you have emoji fanatics who would go so far as to create a 25,000+ character <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/16/alice-in-wonderland-emoji_n_7066576.html" target="_blank">emoji translation of Alice in Wonderland</a>. On the other side are equally impassioned emoji haters who think the characters are unimaginative and that using emoji <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/18/adults-emoji-grow-up-emoticons-teenagers" target="_blank">perpetuates &#8220;linguistic incompetence&#8221;</a>.</p>
<p>If the Reactions feature plugin makes it to the core proposal stage, the WordPress community will be in for some interesting debates. If you want to get in on the fun of emoji reactions and lend a hand to the project, you can join the #feature-reactions channel in Slack. Development of the plugin will continue on <a href="https://github.com/pento/react" target="_blank">GitHub</a> and will be periodically pushed to WordPress.org.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 08 Mar 2016 21:56:15 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:27;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:80:"WPTavern: Automattic Releases WordPress Plugin for Facebook’s Instant Articles";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52069";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:87:"http://wptavern.com/automattic-releases-wordpress-plugin-for-facebooks-instant-articles";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5930:"<p><a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/facebook-instant-articles-wordpress.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-52114"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/facebook-instant-articles-wordpress.jpg?resize=1025%2C577" alt="facebook-instant-articles-wordpress" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52114" /></a></p>
<p>Today the WordPress.com VIP team <a href="https://vip.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/new-wordpress-plugin-for-facebook-instant-articles/" target="_blank">released</a> a plugin for Facebook&#8217;s <a href="https://instantarticles.fb.com/" target="_blank">Instant Articles</a>, which will be <a href="http://media.fb.com/2016/02/17/opening-up-instant-articles/" target="_blank">open to any publisher</a> starting April 12, 2016. Automattic partnered with Facebook and VIP-Featured-Partner agency <a href="https://en.dekode.no/?noredirect=en_US" target="_blank">Dekode</a> to produce a plugin that outputs a compliant feed of posts wrapped in the required markup for Facebook.</p>
<p>Instant Articles for WordPress is now <a href="https://vip.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/new-wordpress-plugin-for-facebook-instant-articles/" target="_blank">available on GitHub</a> and is also coming soon to the WordPress plugin directory.</p>
<p>Publishers must go through a review process to ensure that their posts are properly formatted and compliant before being allowed to push content via Instant Articles. Once approved, articles will load nearly instantly on mobile devices. According to Facebook, the speed is as much as 10 times faster than the standard mobile web.</p>
<p>&#8220;We had heard from a lot of WordPress publishers that they were eager to try out the Instant Articles program — based on the speed and user experience optimized for Facebook&#8217;s audience,&#8221; VP of Platform Services at Automattic Paul Maiorana said. &#8220;It&#8217;s still quite early, but we wanted to move quickly to ensure that WordPress and WordPress.com VIP publishers can take advantage of Instant Articles as soon as it opens up to everyone. And we were excited to work with Facebook to help make that happen.&#8221;</p>
<p>Facebook is working to create the best news feed on the web. More content delivered instantly means more advertising revenue for the social network. Publishers that make their content available via Instant Articles also have the opportunity to earn advertising revenue. If publishers sell their own ads, they get to keep 100% of the revenue. If they opt to use the Facebook Audience Network, they keep 70%.</p>
<p>Automattic&#8217;s open source Instant Articles plugin does not have built-in options for serving ads. According to Maiorana, further customization will be left up to the publishers.</p>
<p>&#8220;The new plugin is meant to be a starting point for publishers, from which they can customize design, advertising options, and which articles they choose to syndicate,&#8221; Maiorana said.</p>
<p>Instant Articles is not yet available to WordPress.com users, but Maiorana said that it&#8217;s something they will explore in the future.</p>
<h3>Instant Articles Is Geared Towards News Publishers</h3>
<p>You may be wondering if your brand or business should use the new plugin and start pursuing the approval process with Facebook. The current implementation of Instant Articles is not for everyone. A Facebook spokesperson told <a href="https://contently.com/strategist/2016/02/17/facebook-will-likely-open-instant-articles-to-brands-publishers-grandma/#footnote-1" target="_blank">Contently</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>In April, Instant Articles will be open to any publishers that wish to join, but it is primarily designed for news publishers. While other types of publishers will have the option to create Instant Articles, in many cases there are other formats on Facebook that will better serve their needs.</p></blockquote>
<p>Facebook&#8217;s algorithm is likely to prioritize Instant Articles, as faster-loading articles are shared more often.</p>
<p>However, publishing to Instant Articles requires no small amount of technical skill, especially if you&#8217;re not already on a platform like WordPress that offers support via a plugin. Even with the help of Automattic&#8217;s plugin you still need to make a number of customizations to add branding and advertising while the underlying APIs are still in flux.</p>
<p>Publishers will need to decide how much control of their content they are willing to give up to Facebook in exchange for articles that load instantly. Funneling readers to Instant Articles hosted on Facebook has the potential to undermine direct mobile traffic. Facebook is also <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/04/technology/online-censorship-facebook-twitter/" target="_blank">notorious for its censorship</a>. What will Automattic&#8217;s response be to its partner if Facebook decides to censor WordPress publishers on its network? Maiorana wouldn&#8217;t directly answer this question.</p>
<p>&#8220;Our goal at WordPress.com VIP is to help publishers have the tools and the freedom to make their own decisions — and to move quickly in experimenting across platforms,&#8221; Maiorana said. &#8220;This is another new way for them to do that.&#8221;</p>
<p>New mobile publishing channels like Instant Articles and <a href="http://wptavern.com/automattic-adds-amp-support-to-wordpress-com-releases-plugin-for-self-hosted-sites" target="_blank">Google&#8217;s AMP project</a> require developer resources for publishers to get on board. Both of these tech giants are clawing for content distribution. They each have their own unique requirements that publishers will have to meet to in order to have their content found and prioritized. Each publisher will have to decide whether the improved speed, exposure, and/or ad revenue will be enough to make these efforts worthwhile.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 07 Mar 2016 21:30:58 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:28;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:57:"WPTavern: The Inaugural WPCampus Set For July 15-16, 2016";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52130";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:66:"http://wptavern.com/the-inaugural-wpcampus-set-for-july-15-16-2016";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1550:"<p><a href="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/WPCampusFeaturedImage.png" rel="attachment wp-att-48353"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-48353" src="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/WPCampusFeaturedImage.png?resize=811%2C161" alt="WPCampus Featured Image" /></a><a href="https://2016.wpcampus.org/">WPCampus</a>, a WordPress event geared towards non-profits and higher education, will take place on July 15-16, 2016 in Sarasota, FL at the <a href="https://2016.wpcampus.org/location/">University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee</a> campus. The team is looking for <a href="https://2016.wpcampus.org/speakers/">speakers</a> and <a href="https://2016.wpcampus.org/sponsors/">sponsors</a>. Speakers who are accepted will receive free admission and swag.</p>
<p>Organizers are open to stories as they relate to WordPress and education. According to the site, the intended audience will include faculty, students, developers, site designers, devops/sysadmins, content developers, instructional designers, marketing and admissions people, and institutional leaders. The team is most interested in case studies, conceptual discussions, best practices, and works-in-progress.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re interested in speaking at the first WPCampus, <a href="https://2016.wpcampus.org/speakers/">speaker submissions</a> close at midnight EST on March 21, 2016. WPCampus is not affiliated or endorsed by the WordPress Foundation and is its own community run entity.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 07 Mar 2016 20:44:27 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jeff Chandler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:29;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:80:"WPTavern: Custom Content Type Manager Plugin Update Creates a Security Nightmare";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52117";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:90:"http://wptavern.com/custom-content-type-manager-plugin-update-creates-a-security-nightmare";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4563:"<p><a href="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CustomContentTypeManagerPluginHeader.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52125"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52125" src="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CustomContentTypeManagerPluginHeader.png?resize=758%2C237" alt="Custom Content Type Manager Plugin Header" /></a>Over the years, we&#8217;ve told users that the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/">WordPress plugin directory</a> is the safest place to download and install plugins from. This is due in large part to <a href="http://wptavern.com/behind-the-scenes-in-the-wordpress-plugin-directory-with-mika-epstein">the dedication of volunteers</a> who act as gatekeepers and review plugins before they&#8217;re added to the directory. Plugin updates, however don&#8217;t receive the same scrutiny as there&#8217;s too many of them.</p>
<p>Sucuri Security representative Denis Sinegubko, <a href="https://blog.sucuri.net/2016/03/when-wordpress-plugin-goes-bad.html">published an in-depth post</a> that explains how an update to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/custom-content-type-manager/">Custom Content Type Manager</a> plugin, which is active on more than 10k sites, turned into a security nightmare for some users. Custom Content Type Manager enables users to create custom fields for dropdowns, images, and more.</p>
<p>According to Sinegubko, a user by the name of Wooranker was added as a maintainer on February 5th. Wooranker is also listed as a contributor to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/postie/">Postie plugin</a> but <a href="https://blog.sucuri.net/2016/03/when-wordpress-plugin-goes-bad.html#comment-2552555345">according to its author</a>, Wooranker does not and will not have access to change the source code. On February 19th, Wooranker <a href="https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/1354314/custom-content-type-manager">pushed out an update</a> that included the CCTM_Communicator.php file and inserted new code into the plugin’s index.php file.</p>
<p>On March 1st, MartinCDS <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/topic/vulnerability-on-auto-updatephp">created a thread</a> in the plugin&#8217;s support forums and reported the following:</p>
<blockquote><p>I recently updated a few of my sites and since then my site was hacked. According to my log files the code was injected via custom-content-type-manager/auto-update.php. I navigated there and there is a form input. Please fix this in the next update. I don&#8217;t see a reason for an automatic update anyways- this is a known vulnerability by hackers.</p></blockquote>
<p>Other users also reported that their sites had been hacked due to the auto-update.php file. This file allowed the attacker to upload a c.php file into the plugin directory. The c.php file was used to create a more sophisticated attack shell named wp-options.php in the site&#8217;s root directory. The c.php file was deleted once wp-options.php was created, making it harder to detect.</p>
<h2>Custom Content Type Manager is Fixed</h2>
<p>Samuel &#8216;Otto&#8217; Wood, who helps maintain WordPress.org, <a href="https://blog.sucuri.net/2016/03/when-wordpress-plugin-goes-bad.html#comment-2553534185">left a comment on the article</a> acknowledging that the plugin has been fixed on the directory:</p>
<blockquote><p>The plugin has been updated to 0.9.8.9, which is a copy of 0.9.8.6 (the last good version). This will remove the malicious code from the plugin, but not any code that was added to sites in the meantime. Please follow through with the Mitigation steps given by Denis in the post.</p></blockquote>
<p>To learn how the attack works, insight into who Wooranker may be, and to see a list of mitigation steps, I encourage you to <a href="https://blog.sucuri.net/2016/03/when-wordpress-plugin-goes-bad.html">read the post</a>.</p>
<h2>A Concerning Reminder</h2>
<p>I feel bad for those who updated their plugins from a trusted source only to make their sites vulnerable to attack. Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent situations like these from occurring unless every line of code for each update is scrutinized by a security professional, but that doesn&#8217;t scale.</p>
<p>This doesn&#8217;t detract the trust I have for the WordPress plugin directory but users need to realize that what happened with Custom Content Type Manager can happen to other plugins as well. Your best defense is to use security scanning software of your choice that keeps track of file changes and to make routine backups.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 07 Mar 2016 19:49:27 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jeff Chandler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:30;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:27:"Matt: Irish Times Interview";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:22:"https://ma.tt/?p=46328";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:44:"https://ma.tt/2016/03/irish-times-interview/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:208:"<p>An interview <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/matt-mullenweg-how-wordpress-got-the-whole-world-blogging-1.2558828">I did with the Irish Times when I was in Dublin is now live</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 07 Mar 2016 19:32:45 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:31;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:62:"WPTavern: Magnus: A Bold New Photoblogging Theme for WordPress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52061";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:71:"http://wptavern.com/magnus-a-bold-new-photoblogging-theme-for-wordpress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3831:"<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/magnus/" target="_blank">Magnus</a> is a beautiful new photoblogging theme that landed in the WordPress Theme Directory last week. It was created by <a href="http://hugobaeta.com/" target="_blank">Hugo Baeta</a>, whose work you may have seen in the <a href="https://wordpress.com/design-handbook/" target="_blank">WordPress.com design handbook</a> and last year&#8217;s <a href="http://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-2-introduces-subtle-refinements-to-the-default-admin-color-scheme" target="_blank">subtle refinements to the default admin color scheme</a>. Magnus is Baeta&#8217;s first theme to be approved for the official directory.</p>
<p>The theme puts the spotlight on your photographs with full-width featured images for posts. If the homepage is set to display posts, the most recent post&#8217;s title and featured image will show at the top of the page.</p>
<p><a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/magnus-home-menu.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52076"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/magnus-home-menu.png?resize=1025%2C573" alt="magnus-home-menu" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52076" /></a></p>
<p>Baeta applied a unique pulse effect to the full-width images using CSS3 keyframes animation with the scale property. The resulting effect almost makes it appear as though you are traveling through the image. The theme also includes several other subtle, tasteful CSS animations for menus, toggling, and page transitions.</p>
<p>If the homepage is set to display posts, they will tile uniformly under the most recent one with titles and featured images.</p>
<p><a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/magnus.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52073"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/magnus.png?resize=1025%2C1408" alt="magnus" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52073" /></a></p>
<p>Baeta&#8217;s careful attention to typography is evident in the highly readable single post design.  Magnus uses a combination of Google fonts &#8211; Karla for paragraph text and Montserrat for headers.</p>
<p><a href="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/single-post.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52074"><img src="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/single-post.png?resize=1025%2C666" alt="single-post" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52074" /></a></p>
<p>The theme includes one widgetized area, a sidebar that can be toggled into view from the right side of the screen. The sidebar slides smoothly into view and is semi-transparent, which makes for a less jarring experience than other similar sidebar implementations.</p>
<p><a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/magnus-sidebar.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52072"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/magnus-sidebar.png?resize=1025%2C510" alt="magnus-sidebar" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52072" /></a></p>
<p>Left, right, and centered overhanging pull quotes can be easily created by aligning blockquotes to either side or the center.</p>
<p>One thing I appreciate about this theme is that it makes almost all of the design decisions and allows very few design-related customizer options. You can change the header image and the header text color, but that&#8217;s it. The design is all about showcasing your images.</p>
<p>If you need your content to make a big impact, <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/magnus/" target="_blank">Magnus</a> is solid option that doesn&#8217;t require configuring a long list of options. You can <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/magnus/" target="_blank">download it for free from WordPress.org</a> or via your admin themes browser.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 07 Mar 2016 16:16:39 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:32;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:59:"WPTavern: WPWeekly Episode 224 – Preview of WordPress 4.5";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:44:"http://wptavern.com?p=52049&preview_id=52049";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:65:"http://wptavern.com/wpweekly-episode-224-preview-of-wordpress-4-5";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2586:"<p>In our first episode in more than a month, <a href="http://marcuscouch.com/">Marcus Couch</a> and I discuss the latest WordPress news, including a preview of WordPress 4.5. I share my experience taking a month off away from WordPress and the lessons learned in doing so. This show is a little rough around the edges but we&#8217;ll be back to our normal selves starting next week.</p>
<h2>Stories Discussed:</h2>
<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2016/02/wordpress-4-5-beta-1/">WordPress 4.5 Beta 1 Released</a><br />
<a href="http://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-5-to-introduce-native-support-for-a-theme-logo">WordPress 4.5 to Introduce Native Support for a Theme Logo</a><br />
<a href="http://wptavern.com/poetica-acquired-by-conde-nast-open-source-wordpress-plugin-will-be-discontinued">Poetica Acquired by Condé Nast, Open Source WordPress Plugin Will Be Discontinued</a><br />
<a href="http://wptavern.com/stripe-payment-gateway-for-woocommerce-is-now-available-for-free">Stripe Payment Gateway for WooCommerce Is Now Available for Free</a><br />
<a href="http://wptavern.com/automattic-adds-amp-support-to-wordpress-com-releases-plugin-for-self-hosted-sites">Automattic Adds AMP Support to WordPress.com, Releases Plugin for Self-Hosted Sites</a></p>
<h2>Plugins Picked By Marcus:</h2>
<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/migrate-ninja-forms-to-gravity-forms/">Migrate Ninja Forms to Gravity Forms</a> is a plugin that does exactly what it&#8217;s name implies. It migrates content from Ninja Forms to Gravity Forms.</p>
<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/amp-analytics/">AMP Analytics</a> extends Google&#8217;s AMP to allow you to add analytics to your Accelerated Mobile Pages.</p>
<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/pl-platform/">PageLines Platform 5</a> is a complete drag-and-drop editing system. It works with any standard WordPress theme.</p>
<h2>WPWeekly Meta:</h2>
<p><strong>Next Episode:</strong> Wednesday, March 9th 9:30 P.M. Eastern</p>
<p><strong>Subscribe To WPWeekly Via Itunes: </strong><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wordpress-weekly/id694849738" target="_blank">Click here to subscribe</a></p>
<p><strong>Subscribe To WPWeekly Via RSS: </strong><a href="http://www.wptavern.com/feed/podcast" target="_blank">Click here to subscribe</a></p>
<p><strong>Subscribe To WPWeekly Via Stitcher Radio: </strong><a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/wordpress-weekly-podcast?refid=stpr" target="_blank">Click here to subscribe</a></p>
<p><strong>Listen To Episode #224:</strong><br />
</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 04 Mar 2016 20:29:47 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jeff Chandler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:33;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:43:"WPTavern: In Case You Missed It – Issue 3";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=51929";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:49:"http://wptavern.com/in-case-you-missed-it-issue-3";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:7794:"<a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/ICYMIFeaturedImage.png" rel="attachment wp-att-50955"><img class="size-full wp-image-50955" src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/ICYMIFeaturedImage.png?resize=676%2C292" alt="In Case You Missed It Featured Image" /></a>photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/112901923@N07/16153818039">Night Moves</a> &#8211; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">(license)</a>
<p>There&#8217;s a lot of great WordPress content published in the community but not all of it is featured on the Tavern. This post is part of a new series where I share an assortment of items related to WordPress that caught my eye but didn&#8217;t make it into a full post.</p>
<h2>Automattic Stands with Apple</h2>
<p>In light of the recent court order issued against Apple in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/18/technology/apple-timothy-cook-fbi-san-bernardino.html?_r=0">San Bernardino case</a>, Automattic has <a href="https://transparency.automattic.com/2016/03/03/automattic-and-wordpress-com-stand-with-apple-to-support-digital-security/">taken a stand</a> with Apple by joining other influential technology companies in filing an amicus brief in support of Apple’s legal challenge.</p>
<p>The court order requires Apple to write code that acts as a backdoor and weakens security on iPhones. Automattic&#8217;s transparency blog explains why they&#8217;re siding with Apple:</p>
<blockquote><p>Like Apple, we respect the rule of law, and honor the valid government orders we receive to furnish data in connection with criminal investigations. But deliberately weakening information security, as Apple has been asked to do here, is a step too far that makes everyone less safe.</p>
<p>Undermining security measures – even in situations where there appear to be good intentions – will inevitably have unintended consequences for regular people.</p>
<p>We stand with Apple in both condemning terrorism and defending the privacy and security of our users. If Automattic was faced with a government order like the one issued in San Bernadino, we, like Apple, would do everything within the law to challenge it. That’s why we’re joining with a sizable group of leading tech companies today to support Apple in this case.</p></blockquote>
<p>If you&#8217;d like to learn more about why the court order is a terrible idea, check out the <a href="https://cloudup.com/iZG9vzAV3U3">full legal brief</a> submitted by Automattic to the United States District Court.</p>
<h2>The Ethics of Sharing GPL Code</h2>
<p>Tom McFarlin shares his thoughts on working with clients, educating people, and <a href="https://tommcfarlin.com/sharing-gpl-code/">sharing GPL code</a> from client projects. If you&#8217;re a consultant, how do you convince clients to give you permission to release code they pay for and you write to the public under the GPL?</p>
<p>After reading the post, <a href="https://tommcfarlin.com/sharing-gpl-code/#comment-881900">check out this comment</a> left by Darrinb.</p>
<h2>Gravity Forms Becomes 2nd Gold Partner</h2>
<p>Around this time last year, Scott Kingsley Clark <a href="http://wptavern.com/pods-lead-developer-scott-kingsley-clark-launches-friends-of-pods-funding-campaign">launched a new sponsorship program</a> called Friends of Pods. The funding is used to decrease private development of Pods and focus more on Pods core, related plugins, and integrations. Gravity Forms, the popular form creation plugin created by Rocketgenius is the <a href="http://pods.io/2016/03/04/announcing-our-2nd-gold-partner-gravity-forms/">second gold partner</a> in the program.</p>
<p>In addition to the partnership news, the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/pods-gravity-forms/">Pods Gravity Forms add-on</a> is now available on the WordPress plugin directory.</p>
<h2>ActiveDen is No More</h2>
<p><a href="http://activeden.net/">ActiveDen</a>, a site where people could sell Flash assets and was the first site in the Envato Marketplace has officially closed its doors. The company <a href="http://inside.envato.com/farewell-activeden/">shut it down</a> in order to focus on things that have more impact.</p>
<a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ActiveDenShutsDown.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52052"><img class="size-full wp-image-52052" src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ActiveDenShutsDown.png?resize=812%2C303" alt="ActiveDen Shuts Down" /></a>ActiveDen Shuts Down
<p>To learn more about the history of ActiveDen, I encourage you to watch this 45 minute video featuring Collis Ta&#8217;eed where he talks about the first six months of Envato.</p>
<div class="embed-wrap"></div>
<h2>SIDEKICK Partners With ThemeForest</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sidekick.pro/updates/sidekick-teams-themeforest/">SIDEKICK announced</a> it is in a trial partnership with 19 ThemeForest authors. The partnership enables customers to view interactive tutorials from within the WordPress dashboard. According to the announcement, the test aims to alleviate some support pain for authors.</p>
<h2>Calypso&#8217;s Contributor Code of Conduct</h2>
<p>Codes of Conduct are not limited to events. Many open source projects have implemented them as a way to provide a base line of expectations from those who participate in the project. WordPress core contributor, Ryan Boren, shared a link to <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/wp-calypso/blob/master/CODE-OF-CONDUCT.md">Calypso&#8217;s Code of Conduct</a> on Github which explains the expectations project maintainers have of contributors.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Open source contribution is onboarding flow 4 the future of work in a software eaten world. It has codes of conduct. <a href="https://t.co/isXa7S1WTh">https://t.co/isXa7S1WTh</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Ryan Boren (@rboren) <a href="https://twitter.com/rboren/status/705228769192079360">March 3, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<h2>Coen Jacobs on Bundling Libraries in WordPress</h2>
<p>Coen Jacobs <a href="http://coenjacobs.me/2016/03/02/bundling-libraries-is-not-overhead-its-a-best-practice/">explains why</a> bundling libraries is not overhead but a best practice. It&#8217;s another post in a series from Jacobs on the issue of handling dependencies in WordPress.</p>
<h2>WordImpress and Media Temple Partnership</h2>
<p>The WordImpress team <a href="https://wordimpress.com/announcing-wordimpres-media-temple-community-consultants/">announced on its site</a> that it has partnered with Media Temple as WordPress Community Consultants. In exchange for information about customer needs, Media Temple is enabling the team to sponsor, attend, and speak at more WordCamps this year.</p>
<h2>Happy Birthday Wapuu!</h2>
<p>In what is a traditional part of this series, I end each issue featuring a Wapuu design. For those who don&#8217;t know, Wapuu is the <a href="http://wapuu.jp/2015/12/12/wapuu-origins/">unofficial mascot</a> of the WordPress project.</p>
<p>In honor of <a href="http://wapuu.jp/2016/02/18/happy-birthday-wapuu/">Wapuu&#8217;s recent birthday</a> which is February 19th, I present Birthday Wapuu. I hope you&#8217;ll join me in wishing Wapuu a happy birthday!</p>
<a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/BirthdayWapuu.png" rel="attachment wp-att-52054"><img class="size-full wp-image-52054" src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/BirthdayWapuu.png?resize=900%2C1000" alt="Happy Birthday Wapuu" /></a>Happy Birthday Wapuu
<p>That&#8217;s it for issue three. If you recently discovered a cool resource or post related to WordPress, please share it with us in the comments.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 04 Mar 2016 20:12:49 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jeff Chandler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:34;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:53:"Akismet: Akismet WordPress Plugin 3.1.8 Now Available";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"http://blog.akismet.com/?p=1905";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:80:"http://blog.akismet.com/2016/03/04/akismet-wordpress-plugin-3-1-8-now-available/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1089:"<p>Version 3.1.8 of <a href="http://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/">the Akismet plugin for WordPress</a> is now available.</p>
<p>This update improves compatibility with plugins that rewrite admin URLs. It also reduces the amount of space Akismet uses in the database and reduces the size of the Akismet API requests. A fix is also included for a bug that could have caused comment moderation emails to be sent for some comments that were caught as spam.</p>
<p>To upgrade, visit the Updates page of your WordPress dashboard and follow the instructions. If you need to download the plugin zip file directly, links to all versions are available in <a href="http://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/">the WordPress plugins directory</a>.</p><br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/akismet.wordpress.com/1905/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/akismet.wordpress.com/1905/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?host=blog.akismet.com&blog=116920&post=1905&subd=akismet&ref=&feed=1" width="1" height="1" />";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 04 Mar 2016 17:00:25 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:17:"Christopher Finke";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:35;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:70:"WPTavern: Joshua Strebel Interviews Alex King 10 Days Before His Death";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=52027";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:80:"http://wptavern.com/joshua-strebel-interviews-alex-king-10-days-before-his-death";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1577:"<p>In September of 2015, Joshua Strebel, founder of Pagely, <a href="http://pressnomics.com/2015/09/four-speakers-added-to-pn4/">announced that Alex King</a> would be one of the speakers at Pressnomics 4, an annual conference devoted to the business aspects of WordPress. Unfortunately, days after the announcement, <a href="http://wptavern.com/alex-king-founder-of-crowd-favorite-passes-away">King passed away</a> from colon cancer.</p>
<p>Due to health reasons, King would not have been able to attend the event in person. Instead, Strebel flew to King&#8217;s house and <a href="http://pressnomics.com/2016/03/our-interview-with-alex-king/">recorded a 40 minute bedside interview</a>. In the interview, which is edited beautifully, the duo discuss King&#8217;s career, lessons learned managing Crowd Favorite, and if Automattic is the empire, who fills the role of Darth Vader.</p>
<div class="embed-wrap"></div>
<p>Jeff Matson who writes and maintains documentation for <a href="http://www.rocketgenius.com/">Rocketgenius</a> and who&#8217;s attending the event, describes the crowd&#8217;s reaction after watching the interview, &#8220;Insightful and full of emotion, where a standing ovation was not only warranted, but mandatory. The crowd&#8217;s reaction truly showed how loved and respected Alex King was.&#8221;</p>
<p>As I watched the interview, it was difficult not to cry. King passed away 10 days after it was recorded and even then, he had a sense of humor. King is survived by his wife Heather and his daughter Caitlin.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 03 Mar 2016 22:21:50 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jeff Chandler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:36;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:94:"WPTavern: Roots Team Releases wp-password-bcrypt Plugin to Improve WordPress Password Security";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=51913";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:104:"http://wptavern.com/roots-team-releases-wp-password-bcrypt-plugin-to-improve-wordpress-password-security";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5264:"<a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/passwords.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-52033"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/passwords.jpg?resize=1024%2C436" alt="photo credit: Linux password file - (license)" class="size-full wp-image-52033" /></a>photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/132889348@N07/20538585283">Linux password file</a> &#8211; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">(license)</a>
<p>This week the <a href="https://roots.io/" target="_blank">Roots</a> development team released <a href="https://github.com/roots/wp-password-bcrypt" target="_blank">wp-password-bcrypt</a>, a plugin that uses <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bcrypt" target="_blank">bcrypt</a> instead of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MD5" target="_blank">MD5</a> password hashing. MD5&#8217;s known and exploited weaknesses have rendered it &#8220;cryptographically broken and unsuitable for further use,&#8221; according to the CMU Software Engineering Institute.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://roots.io/improving-wordpress-password-security/" target="_blank">post</a> announcing the plugin, Scott Walkinshaw explained why WordPress&#8217; default MD5 hashing function + salting is insecure:</p>
<blockquote><p>MD5 is considered &#8220;broken&#8221; due to its collision vulnerability, but it’s broken more fundamentally for passwords: it’s too cheap and fast to calculate a hash.</p></blockquote>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bcrypt" target="_blank">bcrypt</a>, on the other hand, is much slower than MD5, making it more expensive to calculate. This stronger method of password hashing is built into PHP 5.5, but WordPress maintains 5.2.4 as its minimum required version. This precludes WordPress from using the newer password_hash function.</p>
<p>Walkinshaw cites a four year old <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/21022" target="_blank">ticket</a> which proposes a way for WordPress to allow plugin developers to more easily change from the salted MD5 method of hashing to the more secure bcrypt. James McKay left a sobering <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/21022#comment:8" target="_blank">comment</a> on that ticket, advocating that WordPress core move to make bcrypt the default for environments that support it:</p>
<blockquote><p>bcrypt needs to be made the default, out of the box option on all systems that support it. The idea that WordPress admins should have to go hunting for a plugin or tweak configuration options to do this scares me, simply because most of them won&#8217;t unless (a) they are well versed in web security, (b) they know that WordPress uses a weak alternative by default, and (c) they consider it to be an issue worth worrying about.</p>
<p>People often underestimate the seriousness of MD5 and the SHA-* algorithms being &#8220;less secure.&#8221; They aren&#8217;t just less secure: thanks to developments in password cracking in the past few years using GPU- and FPGA- based software, they are <a href="https://codahale.com/how-to-safely-store-a-password/" target="_blank">totally useless</a>. Programs such as oclHashCat even have an option specifically to crack passwords in WordPress databases &#8212; and the rate at which they can do so is terrifying. If you&#8217;re not making a strong password hashing algorithm the default, out of the box option, you&#8217;re exposing your users to unacceptable and unnecessary risk.</p></blockquote>
<p>Unfortunately, action on the ticket has been held up due to a UX issue. Discussion on the ticket continues, but contributors have not yet settled on a path for improvement.</p>
<p>&#8220;So what is holding up the switch?&#8221; Walkinshaw said. &#8220;Bureaucracy and the unwillingness to make it happen. The consensus of the ticket is that it’s actually a UX problem. At this point, there is no technical reason why this can’t be done.&#8221;</p>
<p>In the meantime, if you want to implement secure bcrypt hashed passwords, you can use the <a href="https://github.com/roots/wp-password-bcrypt" target="_blank">wp-password-bcrypt</a> plugin from the Roots team. It will protect against database compromises. If your WP database fell into the wrong hands, attackers would have a much more difficult time attempting to brute force a bcrypted password versus a MD5-based password.</p>
<p>The plugin re-hashes user passwords with bcrypt when users log in. If a user never logs in, the password remains hashed with MD5. It can also be uninstalled without negative consequences. There are no settings &#8211; it simply works in the background.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve purposely tried to keep the plugin as simple as possible so there are no surprises,&#8221; Walkinshaw said. &#8220;Obviously we recommend people test out the plugin first, and hopefully put it on a staging site first.&#8221;</p>
<p>The plugin can be installed by automatically autoloading it with Composer or by manually copying wp-password-bcrypt.php into your mu-plugins folder. It will also soon be added to Roots&#8217; <a href="https://roots.io/bedrock/" target="_blank">Bedrock</a> project boilerplate to provide a more secure default.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 03 Mar 2016 21:37:23 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:37;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:96:"WPTavern: WordPress Meetup Groups in Belfast and Dublin are Planning WordCamps for 2016 and 2017";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=51824";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:106:"http://wptavern.com/wordpress-meetup-groups-in-belfast-and-dublin-are-planning-wordcamps-for-2016-and-2017";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4919:"<p><a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/wordcamp-belfast.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-52003"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/wordcamp-belfast.jpg?resize=712%2C291" alt="wordcamp-belfast" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52003" /></a></p>
<p>The inaugural <a href="https://twitter.com/WCBelfast" target="_blank">WordCamp Belfast</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/WordCampDublin" target="_blank">WordCamp Dublin</a> are now in the early stages of planning. Members of the WordPress Northern Ireland meetup group are collaborating with the Dublin meetup to organize an event in Belfast in September 2016 and one in Dublin in April 2017. The dates have not yet been set in stone but organizers are looking at venues and are gathering all the details and costs to begin work on a budget.</p>
<p>&#8220;Ever since first setting up the WordPress Meetup group in January 2014, a WordCamp was always something that we wanted to see – when the time was right,&#8221; organizer Mark Smallman said. &#8220;Having had the meetup group running successfully for two years, and having been in communication with the Dublin group, we decided the time was right to explore the possibility of running a WordCamp.&#8221;</p>
<p>John Walsh, co-organizer of the Dublin WordPress Meetup Group, has applied to be the lead organizer of WordCamp Dublin 2017.</p>
<p>&#8220;The goal is to combine our resources and work together to achieve the common goal of bringing WordCamp to Dublin and to Belfast on an annual basis,&#8221; Walsh said. &#8220;Separately, we have a certain capability but by working together we can accomplish a lot more.&#8221;</p>
<p>Since neither of the two groups has previously hosted or planned a WordCamp, Smallman said that it&#8217;s a steep learning curve for all of them.</p>
<p>&#8220;It helps to have as many and as varied a range of skills as possible on-board to help us get to the summit,&#8221; Smallman said. &#8220;We hope that once we have #WCBelfast in full swing, some of the same organizing team members can either offer assistance to WordCamp Dublin or take on roles directly within their organizing team. This should help both WordCamps in terms of planning for the future.&#8221;</p>
<p>Smallman said that if both WordCamps are a success, the teams will look at the possibility of alternating between Belfast and Dublin in future years.</p>
<p>&#8220;Having a team that is spread over the two areas will also help to widen the net of possible speakers, sponsors and attendees for both WordCamps, hopefully helping to make both a success,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And who knows, possibly both will become regular events on the WordCamp calendar.&#8221;</p>
<h3>The Wapuu of the North: Growing the Community Spirit in Belfast</h3>
<p>Smallman and the organizing team hope the two WordCamps will help to validate and grow the unique WordPress communities on both sides of the border.</p>
<p>&#8220;Belfast and Northern Ireland have a wide range of very skilled people in the I.T. sector,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But up until recently it was lacking when it comes to community spirit within the sector. Slowly, we have seen groups within the area grow and now we have thriving Blogging and PHP groups as well as many others.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/belfast_wapuu.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-52005"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/belfast_wapuu.jpg?resize=300%2C300" alt="belfast_wapuu" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-52005" /></a>As an expression of community spirit, the Belfast organizing team has already created a wapuu mascot for the event.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Wapuu of the North was generously created by Peter of <a href="http://1440design.com/wordpress/branding-wordcamp-belfast/" target="_blank">1440 Design</a> in Belfast,&#8221; Smallman said. &#8220;Peter works along side <a href="https://twitter.com/se_nelson" target="_blank">Sam Nelson</a> who is on our organizing team. Sam also created our #WCBelfast badge.</p>
<p>&#8220;We chatted and bounced a few ideas around for a theme for the WordCamp,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Game of Thrones was a very obvious choice, and one that none of us could think of a better fit. Northern Ireland has no fewer than a dozen filming locations for the show. We all thought that we could not choose anyone better than the Wapuu of the North to deliver the message that the White Walkers (developers) were on their way!&#8221;</p>
<p>Smallman said the team is excited about the venue they&#8217;ve selected for hosting Northern Ireland&#8217;s very first WordCamp.</p>
<p>&#8220;With all being well, we really are planning something very special for our first WordCamp,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We cannot wait to get moving onto the next stage.&#8221;</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 03 Mar 2016 10:00:24 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:38;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:87:"WPTavern: BuddyPress 2.5.0 Released, Features Customizable Emails and Support for Emoji";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=51957";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:96:"http://wptavern.com/buddypress-2-5-0-released-features-customizable-emails-and-support-for-emoji";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2990:"<p>BuddyPress 2.5.0 &#8220;Medici&#8221; was <a href="https://buddypress.org/2016/03/buddypress-2-5-0/" target="_blank">released</a> today, named for <a href="http://www.medici57.com/" target="_blank">Medici on 57th</a>, a Chicago restaurant famous among BP contributors for its &#8220;Garbage Pizza.&#8221; The new <a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/emails/" target="_blank">BP Email API</a> is the highlight of the release. It allows users to edit BuddyPress emails in the admin and change their appearance in the customizer.</p>
<p><a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/bp-emails-feature.png" rel="attachment wp-att-51979"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/bp-emails-feature.png?resize=1016%2C528" alt="bp-emails-feature" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-51979" /></a></p>
<p>The placeholder text in curly braces, which is replaced with data in the emails, is called a &#8220;token.&#8221; All <a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/emails/email-tokens/" target="_blank">available email tokens</a> are listed in the codex. Since BP emails are simply a custom post type, plugin developers can easily hook into BuddyPress&#8217; email system and <a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/emails/custom-emails/" target="_blank">create new emails</a> that will be triggered by a specified action.</p>
<p>This release also introduces long-awaited support for emoji, which can now be used in activity updates, messages, and group descriptions.</p>
<p><a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/bp-emoji.png" rel="attachment wp-att-51988"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/bp-emoji.png?resize=844%2C387" alt="bp-emoji" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-51988" /></a></p>
<p>Other highlights of BuddyPress 2.5 include:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Post Type Comments Tracking</strong> &#8211; Custom post types show in the activity stream and now, with the BuddyPress &#8220;Site Tracking&#8221; component enabled, replies to CPT-generated activity items will be synchronized with comments on the corresponding post.</li>
<li><strong>Twenty Twelve Companion Stylesheet</strong> &#8211; BuddyPress now has basic styles that will make it fit in seamlessly when activated with the Twenty Twelve theme.</li>
<li><strong>Autolink Settings for Profile Fields</strong> &#8211; BuddyPress profile fields can be autolinked to a search of the members directory using the field value as a search term. This release offers as new setting to enable or disable the autolinking on a per-field basis.</li>
</ul>
<p>34 volunteer contributors worked together to close 95 tickets for the <a href="https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/milestone/2.5" target="_blank">2.5 milestone</a>. For a full list of all the improvements and fixes, check out the <a href="https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/milestone/2.5" target="_blank">official 2.5.0 changelog</a>.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 03 Mar 2016 00:12:16 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:39;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:88:"WPTavern: TGM Plugin Activation Library Contributors Work Toward Feature Plugin Proposal";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=51715";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:98:"http://wptavern.com/tgm-plugin-activation-library-contributors-work-toward-feature-plugin-proposal";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6907:"<a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/paper.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-51974"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/paper.jpg?resize=960%2C516" alt="photo credit: Startup Stock Photos" class="size-full wp-image-51974" /></a>photo credit: <a href="https://stocksnap.io/photo/AL0V4Q84GP">Startup Stock Photos</a>
<p>The team behind the <a href="http://tgmpluginactivation.com/" target="_blank">TGM Plugin Activation Library</a> (TGMPA) is working to propose it as a feature plugin for WordPress. Last July contributors on the project <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2015/07/10/feature-plugin-chat-on-july-14/#comment-26310" target="_blank">opened the discussion</a> on a post calling for feature plugins, and the upcoming 3.0 version is being developed with this path in mind.</p>
<p>Developers use TGMPA to manage dependencies between plugins and themes, as an alternative to bundling a heap of plugin-type functionality into one extension. It walks users through the process of installing plugin dependencies that are required or recommended by the developer. The library is used by 6% of WordPress.org themes as well as a large number of commercial products hosted on CodeCanyon and Themeforest.</p>
<p>TGMPA will require a substantial rewrite in order to make it ready for consideration as a feature plugin. It also needs to be multisite compatible, address a number of usability issues, and be trimmed of extra features to become leaner and more core friendly.</p>
<p>The team behind the project has a <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1dGb8s2poPWbCGPBPLn5sDDxSulNRYit7vF_-rsk5V6M/viewform?c=0&w=1" target="_blank">survey</a> open to solicit opinions from the community regarding the implementation of these changes. A few sample considerations from the survey include:</p>
<ul>
<li>What method should the plugin use to supply dependency information to multisite independently of whether a theme or plugin is active?</li>
<li>How should the plugin deal with themes and plugins which haven&#8217;t yet upgraded to the newer version of TGMPA?</li>
<li>Should the plugin support plugin download sources other than wordpress.org?</li>
</ul>
<p>&#8220;To me it feels like we need more core team support for it to be properly considered for feature plugin status, so some lobbying behind the scenes is in order,&#8221; TGMPA lead developer <a href="https://twitter.com/jrf_nl" target="_blank">Juliette Reinders Folmer</a> told the Tavern. &#8220;The survey is also part of this as that will give us hard data to use in the discussions.&#8221;</p>
<h3>The Future of TGMPA Is a More Modular Architecture</h3>
<p>Folmer said that regardless of whether TGMPA is approved to become a feature plugin, future development will continue with core in mind.</p>
<p>&#8220;Development for v3 will be a lot more modular,&#8221; Folmer said. &#8220;TGMPA currently is effectively one file with four classes. That makes it easy to include it in themes and plugins (one file), but not as easy to maintain. As v3 will contain some big changes, this seems like a good point in time to change the structure of TGMPA as well.&#8221;</p>
<p>With a more modular approach in place, Folmer said that the team plans to split the package into a number of different repositories for development purposes. She has tentatively identified features that would be offered in the core module, and everything else would be supported via add-on modules, i.e.:</p>
<ul>
<li>support for bundled plugins</li>
<li>support for non-wp.org download urls</li>
<li>support for recommended plugins</li>
</ul>
<p>TGMPA would also introduce two wrappers &#8211; each would function as a layer that will load all the available modules:</p>
<ul>
<li>one for continued support for including TGMPA in plugins and themes</li>
<li>one for TGMPA as a feature plugin</li>
</ul>
<p>&#8220;So no matter what will be decided concerning whether TGMPA will be allowed to become a feature plugin, support for the features of TGMPA as is (but better) will be continued,&#8221; Folmer said.</p>
<p>&#8220;With the modular development, it won&#8217;t be as easy anymore to download &#8216;TGMPA&#8217; from GitHub, as you&#8217;d need to download all the different modules (or use composer / use git submodules),&#8221; she said. &#8220;I envision the <a href="http://wptavern.com/tgm-plugin-activation-team-releases-custom-generator" target="_blank">Custom TGMPA Generator</a> to be the way forward for downloading TGMPA as a complete package in that respect.&#8221;</p>
<h3>Can TGMPA Gain Enough Support from Core Developers to Become a Feature Plugin?</h3>
<p>Folmer said that the WordPress core developers she has spoken with are divided on whether on whether its current approach makes it a good candidate for a feature plugin.</p>
<p>During <a href="https://github.com/TGMPA/TGM-Plugin-Activation/issues/447" target="_blank">preliminary discussions on GitHub</a>, WordPress core committer <a href="http://pento.net/" target="_blank">Gary Pendergast</a> expressed reservations about requiring too much user interaction during the process.</p>
<p>&#8220;The primary goal of plugin dependencies should be that it&#8217;s invisible to the user,&#8221; Pendergast said. &#8220;If there&#8217;s ever a point where the user is asked to make a decision, then it&#8217;s not ready for core.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve had a quick read through the TGMPA code,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s solving the problem it needed to solve (providing a drop-in library for themes and plugins), but I think we&#8217;d need to tie it much more tightly into core for it to be a feature plugin.&#8221;</p>
<p>Folmer hopes to address user experience concerns with refinements to the plugin based on feedback from the survey, which will be open until the end of March.</p>
<p>&#8220;So far, most responses have been from developers using TGMPA,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Even though the survey is quite technical, we would very much also like to hear from more end-users.&#8221;</p>
<p>With the recent confusion over WordPress.org&#8217;s previously unwritten rule <a href="http://wptavern.com/the-wordpress-plugin-directory-will-no-longer-accept-frameworks" target="_blank">banning framework plugins from the official directory</a>, the challenge of managing inter-plugin dependencies is under the spotlight again. The TGM Plugin Activation library isn&#8217;t the only possible solution to this problem, but it does have a motivated contributor base that is willing to take up the challenge of solving this problem via a feature plugin. If you want to be part of shaping the roadmap for version 3, make sure to <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1dGb8s2poPWbCGPBPLn5sDDxSulNRYit7vF_-rsk5V6M/viewform?c=0&w=1" target="_blank">fill out the survey</a> before April 1.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 02 Mar 2016 20:16:06 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:40;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:73:"WPTavern: The WordPress Plugin Directory Will No Longer Accept Frameworks";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=51927";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:83:"http://wptavern.com/the-wordpress-plugin-directory-will-no-longer-accept-frameworks";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5925:"<a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/sockets.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-51946"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/sockets.jpg?resize=960%2C476" alt="photo credit: Jaroslaw Puszczyński" class="size-full wp-image-51946" /></a>photo credit: <a href="https://stocksnap.io/photo/M07SV6AMBD">Jaroslaw Puszczyński</a>
<p>Today the WordPress plugin review team issued a reminder for what they said is a long-standing, unwritten rule: frameworks are not allowed in the official directory. In a post tiled &#8220;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2016/03/01/please-do-not-submit-frameworks/" target="_blank">Please do not submit frameworks</a>,&#8221; Mika Epstein outlined the reason behind the rule:</p>
<blockquote><p>At this time, we are not accepting frameworks as we don’t feel frameworks, boilerplates, and libraries are appropriate for the Plugins Directory. We require that plugins be useful in and of themselves (even if only being a portal to an external service). And while there are many benefits to frameworks and libraries, without plugin dependency support in core or the directory, it becomes another level of hassle for users.</p></blockquote>
<p>Until WordPress core adopts a way to support plugin dependencies, the plugin review team recommends that frameworks and libraries be packaged with each plugin in a way that doesn&#8217;t conflict with other plugins/frameworks/libraries.</p>
<p>The issue was most recently addressed with the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/cmb2/" target="_blank">CMB2</a> plugin, which Epstein said was <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2016/02/25/re-thinking-tags-in-the-plugin-directory/#comment-42655" target="_blank">mistakenly approved months ago.</a> CMB2 is essentially a library that makes it easy for developers to build metaboxes, custom fields, and forms. It is exactly the kind of plugin that the previously unwritten rule is meant to block from being available in the official directory. Epstein further clarified the reasons why:</p>
<blockquote><p>The issue is as follows: Having a framework as a plugin is a poor experience for the user. Not the developer. The user. The user understands “I have an add-on for WooCommerce, I probably need Woo.” They do not always understand “I have plugin Slider Joe. Why do I need Advanced Custom Fields?” In addition, by having a library as a plugin, the onus of version compatibility is now on the person least likely to understand it: the user.</p>
<p>The plugin repository is not, currently, a library or framework repository. It’s not meant like the NPM package manager, or even Composer as a way to define what a plugin ‘needs’ in the same ways for a developer to build a project. The plugin repository is, plain and simple, meant for plugins that users will find useful. Plugins that add functionality to WordPress in a directly inter-actable way.
</p></blockquote>
<p>The confusion lies in the fact that this particular rule has been applied inconsistently for years and has many notable exceptions, including <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/redux-framework/" target="_blank">Redux Framework</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/cmb2/" target="_blank">CMB2</a>, and arguably plugins like <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/piklist/" target="_blank">Piklist</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/titan-framework/" target="_blank">Titan Framework</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/kirki/" target="_blank">Kirki</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/options-framework/" target="_blank">Options Framework</a>, and many more. These are the types of plugins that don&#8217;t really do anything out of the box but are meant for developers to use for building things.</p>
<p>According to Epstein, a few of these plugins have been &#8220;grandfathered in&#8221; due to oversights in the plugin review process, but the rule stands for new submissions.</p>
<p>&#8220;CMB2 and Redux Framework are grandfathered in,&#8221; she <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2016/02/25/re-thinking-tags-in-the-plugin-directory/#comment-42655" target="_blank">said</a>. &#8220;We don’t let any more in, since a lot of plugins include them inside AS plugins. It’s a mess. Also CMB2 shouldn’t have been approved, which is a different mess altogether. Frameworks are not supposed to be in the repo at this time. Period.&#8221;</p>
<p>Another commenter on the most recent post, who recently had his <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/advanced-term-fields/" target="_blank">Advanced Term Fields</a> plugin approved, asked, <strong>&#8220;Are you saying the best way to handle this scenario is to include the parent framework in each child plugin, as opposed to alerting the user that &#8216;This plugin requires XXX plugin in order to function properly?'&#8221;</strong></p>
<p>Epstein confirmed that this is in fact what the team is suggesting:</p>
<blockquote><p>Currently, yes. That would have been the best way. Since your plugin is approved, though, it’s unfair of us to yank the rug out from under you. While you don’t have a great many users, we recognize when the gaff is us.</p></blockquote>
<p>The plugin review team has a difficult job and is working with limited volunteer resources. However, the inconsistent application of unwritten rules has led to what appears to be an arbitrary set of guidelines. One thing that would make life easier for both reviewers and plugin developers is if WordPress core adopted a way to manage inter-plugin dependencies. <a href="http://tgmpluginactivation.com/" target="_blank">The TGM Plugin Activation</a> team is <a href="https://github.com/TGMPA/TGM-Plugin-Activation/issues/447" target="_blank">working on a proposal for a feature plugin</a>, which we&#8217;ll examine in depth in an upcoming post.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 02 Mar 2016 00:49:30 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:41;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:92:"WPTavern: Poetica Acquired by Condé Nast, Open Source WordPress Plugin Will Be Discontinued";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=51903";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:100:"http://wptavern.com/poetica-acquired-by-conde-nast-open-source-wordpress-plugin-will-be-discontinued";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3293:"<p><a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/poetica.png" rel="attachment wp-att-51905"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/poetica.png?resize=1025%2C520" alt="poetica" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-51905" /></a></p>
<p>Poetica <a href="https://blog.poetica.com/2016/03/01/our-next-chapter/" target="_blank">announced</a> today that its team and technology have been acquired by Condé Nast. The technology provided realtime &#8220;Google-docs style collaboration&#8221; in the WordPress post editor as well as a non-WordPress editor available via the public <a href="https://poetica.com/" target="_blank">Poetica.com</a> service. As of June 1, 2016, the service will be shut down.</p>
<p>The Poetica team will continue to develop the technology as part of <a href="http://learn.copilot.conde.io/" target="_blank">Copilot</a>, Condé Nast’s proprietary publishing platform.</p>
<p>According to CTO and co-founder Blaine Cook, <a href="https://twitter.com/blaine/status/704738953321013253" target="_blank">development on the open source plugin will be discontinued</a>, as the plugin is dependent on the Poetica service. Those who have been using the plugin will have no choice but to find an alternative.</p>
<p>WordPress isn&#8217;t well-equipped for content collaboration. In fact, thanks to its fancy <a href="https://codex.wordpress.org/Post_Locking" target="_blank">post locking</a> feature, WordPress is streamlined to enable the opposite of a collaborative editorial workflow. It&#8217;s designed for one user to work on a post while locking all other users out.</p>
<p><a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/post-locking.png" rel="attachment wp-att-9350"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/post-locking.png?resize=715%2C231" alt="post-locking" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-9350" /></a></p>
<p>Additionally, after a post is published, no further collaboration can be made, as the only way to make edits is to push changes immediately to the live copy.</p>
<p>Poetica was one of the few tools that provided a way for editorial teams to write together, allowing multiple WordPress users to view and edit content at the same time. The plugin tracked changes and allowed users to make suggested edits that could be accepted or rejected.</p>
<p>Although Poetica provided a much-needed collaboration tool for WordPress, its founders said they were unable to create a profitable business model around the software:</p>
<blockquote><p>Up until now, though, we’ve been a small five-person team. We’ve tackled the dual problems of creating a humane, intuitive, and collaborative way to interact with text, on any device and any content platform; and the parallel challenge of creating a viable business model. Unfortunately, these goals were often at odds with each-other, competing for our limited time and attention.</p></blockquote>
<p>After Poetica.com is shut down, it will destroy any drafts and user data from the site, as Condé Nast has only acquired the software and not the user data. Users will soon be notified via email about how to download a full archive of their drafts ahead of the June 1st shutdown.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 01 Mar 2016 19:38:13 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:42;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:85:"WPTavern: aXe: An Open Source JavaScript Library for Automating Accessibility Testing";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=51876";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:94:"http://wptavern.com/axe-an-open-source-javascript-library-for-automating-accessibility-testing";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4883:"<p><a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/axe-logo.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-51880"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/axe-logo.jpg?resize=780%2C366" alt="axe-logo" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-51880" /></a></p>
<p>In June 2015 <a href="http://www.deque.com/" target="_blank">Deque</a>, an accessibility consultancy, open sourced <a href="https://github.com/dequelabs/axe-core" target="_blank">aXe</a>, its accessibility rules engine for automated web UI testing. aXe is a compact JavaScript library (~100 KB) that executes automated accessibility tests inside your testing framework or browser. Deque outlined a number of advantages that the aXe library has over previous approaches to automated testing of HTML-based user interfaces:</p>
<ul>
<li>It works on all modern browsers</li>
<li>It supports in-memory fixtures, static fixtures, integration tests and iframes of infinite depth</li>
<li>It has zero false positives (bugs notwithstanding)</li>
<li>It is open source</li>
<li>It is actively supported by a major accessibility vendor</li>
<li>It is designed to work with whatever tools, frameworks, libraries and environments you have today</li>
<li>It is designed to be integrated into your existing functional/acceptance automated tests</li>
<li>It automatically determines which rules to run based on the evaluation context</li>
<li>It is highly configurable</li>
</ul>
<p>aXe integrates with Karma, QUnit, Jasmine, Mocha, PhantomJS, and many others &#8211; basically any testing framework that supports JavaScript execution.</p>
<h3>aXe Extension Adds Accessibility Testing to Chrome Developer Tools</h3>
<p>If you&#8217;re not using automated testing tools in your projects, the Chrome developer tools extension is the easiest gateway to performing accessibility tests directly in the browser as you&#8217;re viewing or building a website or application.</p>
<p>aXe is available as a <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/axe/lhdoppojpmngadmnindnejefpokejbdd" target="_blank">free extension from the Chrome web store</a>. (Alternatively, it&#8217;s also available as an <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/axe-devtools/?src=search&utm_campaign=aXe%20The%20Accessibility%20Engine&utm_content=aXe%20for%20Firefox&utm_medium=Hyperlink&utm_source=Website" target="_blank">add-on for Firefox</a>.) Once you click &#8220;Add to Chrome,&#8221; aXe will be available under its own tab in Chrome DevTools panel. It automatically ferrets out accessibility defects and offers details for each violation.</p>
<p><a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/axe-on-wordpressorg.png" rel="attachment wp-att-51879"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/axe-on-wordpressorg.png?resize=1025%2C583" alt="axe-on-wordpressorg" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-51879" /></a></p>
<p>The creators of aXe were invited to contribute the open source library to the <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/2015/draft-charter-3" target="_blank">W3C WAI Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group</a>, as the group works to develop a normative set of rules for evaluating <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/" target="_blank">WCAG 2.0</a> conformance.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re working on improving WordPress&#8217; accessibility, the aXe extension can even help perform some of the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/accessibility/handbook/testing/how-to-test-for-accessibility/" target="_blank">tests recommended by the Accessibility team</a>. You can log issues by <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/reporting-bugs/" target="_blank">creating a ticket on WordPress Trac</a> or testing patches for existing tickets.</p>
<p>In 2014 the Accessibility team <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/accessibility/2014/05/02/automated-accessibility-testing/" target="_blank">discussed adding automated accessibility testing to WordPress</a>, with Quail.js as one of the frontrunners. The team is just now <a href="http://wptavern.com/your-chance-to-give-feedback-on-wordpress-accessibility-coding-standards" target="_blank">adding accessibility code standards to the WordPress core handbook</a>. The next step would be firming up a list of requirements for an automated testing tool. aXe might be a new possibility to consider, as it is open source and focused on helping websites meet WCAG 2.0 requirements.</p>
<p>Deque&#8217;s mission with aXe is to bring equality to the digital world. They are working to make automated accessibility testing more mainstream with professional web developers. If accessibility is a priority for your work, <a href="https://github.com/dequelabs/axe-core" target="_blank">aXe</a> is a lightweight library you may want to consider for automated testing on own projects.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 01 Mar 2016 01:11:51 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:43;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:74:"WPTavern: Stripe Payment Gateway for WooCommerce Is Now Available for Free";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=51757";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:84:"http://wptavern.com/stripe-payment-gateway-for-woocommerce-is-now-available-for-free";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2694:"<p>Last week WooCommerce announced on Twitter that its <a href="https://www.woothemes.com/products/stripe/" target="_blank">Stripe payment gateway</a> is now a free product. Prior to this decision, it was priced at $79 for a single license, $99 for up to five sites, and $199 for up to 25 sites.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Exciting product announcement from <a href="https://twitter.com/stripe">@stripe</a> (which is also now free for WooCommerce, woo!) <a href="https://t.co/kQet52WMbn">https://t.co/kQet52WMbn</a> <a href="https://t.co/PzCRoyrgWG">pic.twitter.com/PzCRoyrgWG</a></p>
<p>&mdash; WooCommerce (@WooCommerce) <a href="https://twitter.com/WooCommerce/status/702809439271821312">February 25, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<p>The news coincides with the debut of Stripe&#8217;s new <a href="https://stripe.com/atlas" target="_blank">Atlas</a> product, which allows foreign companies to incorporate as a U.S. company in Delaware, set up a U.S. bank account, and accept payments with Stripe. Atlas was created to help entrepreneurs start global businesses no matter where they are located in the world.</p>
<p>Automattic had a similar aim of lowering the barrier to entry for WooCommerce when it made the Stripe payment gateway available for free.</p>
<p>&#8220;Receiving payments is integral to running an online store,&#8221; WooCommerce Product Team Lead Matty Cohen said. &#8220;Publishing the WooCommerce Stripe integration for free is one way we are helping merchants to get their stores set up quicker, and to easily receive credit card payments through their stores.</p>
<p>&#8220;One of our focuses is to lower the barrier to entry and to assist WooCommerce stores in becoming successful,&#8221; Cohen said. &#8220;We are excited to be partners in making payment processing globally available for WooCommerce merchants.&#8221;</p>
<p>Over the past two years, Stripe has been working to expand its services beyond the handful of countries it initially supported in the US and Europe. Although Stripe is increasingly popular, it cannot yet be considered a global option for accepting payments. It&#8217;s currently in <a href="https://support.stripe.com/questions/what-countries-does-stripe-support" target="_blank">private beta</a> for businesses in Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, Singapore, and Switzerland.</p>
<p>Products like Atlas, in combination with the free gateway available from WooCommerce, should serve to bring Stripe availability to more locations around the world. WooCommerce representatives would not comment on whether Automattic is planning on offering more payment gateweys for free.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 29 Feb 2016 19:27:12 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:44;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:98:"WPTavern: Mandrill to Discontinue Free Tier for Transactional Emails, Developers Seek Alternatives";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=51826";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:107:"http://wptavern.com/mandrill-to-discontinue-free-tier-for-transactional-emails-developers-seek-alternatives";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3123:"<a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/paper-plane.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-51834"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/paper-plane.jpg?resize=1024%2C444" alt="photo credit: Paper Plane - (license)" class="size-full wp-image-51834" /></a>photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/8176740@N05/5703519506">Paper Plane</a> &#8211; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>
<p>This week Mandrill announced that it will be <a href="http://blog.mailchimp.com/important-changes-to-mandrill/" target="_blank">discontinuing its free tier for transactional emails</a>. As of March 16th, new Mandrill users will create their accounts through MailChimp and existing users will be required to merge their accounts with a MailChimp account where they will be charged <a href="http://blog.mandrill.com/important-changes-to-mandrill.html" target="_blank">$20+/mo</a> for transactional emails. The deadline for merging accounts is April 27th.</p>
<p>MailChimp is choosing to focus on delivering &#8220;personalized transactional&#8221; emails that require more design. For those who want to continue delivering utility type emails, the company recommends <a href="https://aws.amazon.com/ses/" target="_blank">Amazon SES</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>Transactional emails, like password reminders and the myriad email notifications you get after making changes to online accounts, are dead simple. Utilitarian providers like Amazon SES excel at this. Their innovation is mostly focused on increasing efficiency and reducing costs.</p></blockquote>
<p>Many WordPress developers depend on Mandrill for sending wp_mail() emails in order to ensure delivery and take this load off the server. After MailChimp&#8217;s announcement, many are scrambling to find an alternative.</p>
<p>Amazon SES allows users to send 62,000 messages per month to any recipient, as long as you call it from an Amazon EC2 instance. If you already have one set up, this is one of the best options.</p>
<p><a href="https://hmn.md/" target="_blank">Human Made</a> created an open source <a href="https://github.com/humanmade/aws-ses-wp-mail" target="_blank">plugin</a> that makes it easy to change to Amazon SES. Setting it up is as simple as adding a few constants to your wp-config.php file and then verifying your sending domain for SES.</p>
<p>Of course, Amazon SES isn&#8217;t the only option. Remkus de Vries wrote a post on <a href="https://remkusdevries.com/transactional-email-alternatives-for-mandrillapp/" target="_blank">transactional email alternatives to Mandrill</a>, which includes <a href="https://www.mailgun.com/" target="_blank">MailGun</a> (10,000 emails free every month), <a href="https://sendgrid.com/" target="_blank">SendGrid</a> (up to 12,000 emails  free per month), <a href="https://www.sendinblue.com/" target="_blank">SendIn Blue</a> (up to 9,000 emails/month, 300 emails/day free), and several others. Many of these email services also have corresponding plugins available in the WordPress Plugin Directory.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 26 Feb 2016 21:15:26 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:45;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:73:"WPTavern: Austin WordPress Meetup to Host Charity Hackathon April 8, 2016";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=51762";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:82:"http://wptavern.com/austin-wordpress-meetup-to-host-charity-hackathon-april-8-2016";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4645:"<a href="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/collaboration.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-51819"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/collaboration.jpg?resize=960%2C479" alt="photo credit: Startup Stock Photos" class="size-full wp-image-51819" /></a>photo credit: <a href="https://stocksnap.io/photo/69TMH4ITIE">Startup Stock Photos</a>
<p>After leading the do_action( ‘wordpress-charity-hackathon’ ); event in <a href="http://wptavern.com/wordpress-cape-town-to-host-charity-hackathon-in-august" target="_blank">2014</a> and <a href="http://wptavern.com/wordpress-cape-town-to-host-2nd-annual-charity-hackathon-in-june" target="_blank">2015</a> in Cape Town, South Africa, Hugh Lashbrooke is bringing the event to Texas with the help of Austin local David Cole. The Austin WordPress Meetup Group will be <a href="http://www.meetup.com/austinwordpress/events/228432694/" target="_blank">hosting the hackathon on April 8th</a>, which will coincide with <a href="https://wooconf.com/" target="_blank">WooConf</a>.</p>
<p>Participants will spend the day building new WordPress-powered websites for 10 local non-profit organizations. At the end of the day, the following charities will have a new (or revamped) online presence with free hosting:</p>
<ul>
<li>North Austin Community Media (aka KXPE-LP)</li>
<li>The Blood Center of Central Texas</li>
<li>Refugee Services of Texas</li>
<li>PelotonU</li>
<li>Circle of Health International</li>
<li>Black Fret</li>
<li>AIDS Services of Austin</li>
<li>Texas PACE Authority</li>
<li>Day With Daddy</li>
<li>Austin Kids First</li>
</ul>
<p>&#8220;What we&#8217;re looking for are 5-6 people to sign up for each build team and with 10 build teams that means we&#8217;re looking for 50-60 people to get involved and help to give back to the non-profits in the Austin area,&#8221; Lashbrooke said. &#8220;It&#8217;s important to note that the build teams are not just developers &#8211; we&#8217;re looking for project managers, social media managers, designers and content creators as well as developers.&#8221;</p>
<p>The hackathon will be held at the tail end of WooConf and Lashbrooke said he hopes to attract a few WooConf attendees.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to make a more direct push to get WooConf attendees to be a part of the event, but right now the sign-up form is open to absolutely anyone,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>As part of the WordPress Community team&#8217;s new initiative to <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2016/01/25/full-day-events/" target="_blank">standardize certain specialized full day events</a>, the do_action charity hackathon is now fully backed by the WordPress Foundation.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Foundation will be on hand to offer support (logistically and financially) where necessary, just like with regular meetup events,&#8221; Lashbrooke said. &#8220;I will also be putting together documentation on how we organize this kind of event, which will be published on WordPress.org so that other communities can replicate the event type in their area.&#8221;</p>
<p>When looking for non-profits to include, Lashbrooke said they don&#8217;t only look for organizations without websites. They also look for those that need their online presence improved or otherwise entirely rebuilt.</p>
<p>&#8220;That may mean their website works fine, but it doesn&#8217;t really cater to their needs (accepting donations, selling goods, encouraging volunteers, etc.), so then on the day we can refresh things for them and make it all work in the way that they need it to,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Last year the Cape Town participants helped create websites for the <a href="http://www.adultswithautism.org.za/" target="_blank">Academy for Adults with Autism</a>, <a href="http://www.carecareers.co.za/" target="_blank">Care Career Connection</a>, the <a href="http://www.psoriasis.org.za/" target="_blank">South African Psoriasis Association</a>, and several others.</p>
<p>&#8220;It really does feel great &#8211; the non-profit representatives are there on the day as well, and seeing their reaction to the results of the hard work from their teams is always hugely satisfying,&#8221; Lashbrooke said. &#8220;Ultimately, what we&#8217;re doing is empowering non-profits to get on with the work that they do best without their online presence being a hinderance to their work.&#8221;</p>
<p>If you live in Austin or will be attending WooConf and want to be part of the hackathon, you can sign up via the <a href="http://goo.gl/forms/2hjEXfSH0q" target="_blank">volunteer form</a>.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 26 Feb 2016 18:16:52 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:46;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:62:"WPTavern: The WordPress Plugin Directory Is Getting a Makeover";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=51789";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:72:"http://wptavern.com/the-wordpress-plugin-directory-is-getting-a-makeover";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2720:"<a href="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/hammer-nails.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-51795"><img src="http://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/hammer-nails.jpg?resize=960%2C419" alt="photo credit: Patryk Dziejma" class="size-full wp-image-51795" /></a>photo credit: <a href="https://stocksnap.io/photo/POQ7B631M3">Patryk Dziejma</a>
<p>In February 2015, the <a href="http://wptavern.com/wordpress-theme-directory-launches-new-design" target="_blank">WordPress Theme Directory launched a new design</a>. Konstantin Obenland worked with Samuel “Otto” Wood and the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/" target="_blank">WordPress meta team</a> to update the design and move the directory off of bbPress. Today Obenland <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2016/02/25/plugin-directory-v3/" target="_blank">announced</a> that the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/" target="_blank">Plugin Directory</a> will be getting a similar treatment.</p>
<p>Version 3 of the Plugin Directory will focus heavily on improving the search interface, including prioritizing translated plugins for international users. Another major goal of the redesign is to streamline the plugin submission and review process. The new directory will be powered by WordPress, instead of bbPress, which will make it easier for plugin developers and reviewers to manage plugins, tags/categories, and committers.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/plugin-directory-version-3/" target="_blank">project overview</a>, plugins will be saved in a custom post type, offering reviewers a more efficient workflow that makes use of post statuses with capability controlled permissions. This will also make it possible to run automated checks on plugins, which should reduce the number of <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2016/02/03/plugin-review-inconsistencies/#comment-42561" target="_blank">inconsistencies in the review process</a>.</p>
<p>The meta team plans to hit milestones every two weeks in order to ship version 3 by June 26, 2016. Obenland is aiming for getting a minimal viable product off the ground by March 1st, which would includes the plugin CPT, readme.txt parsing, and a basic display on the frontend. A full overview of the project and the tickets that will need to be addressed is available on the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/plugin-directory-version-3/" target="_blank">make.wordpress.org/meta P2</a>. New contributors are welcome to jump in on <a href="https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=!closed&component=Plugin+Directory" target="_blank">Meta Trac</a> and in the #meta Slack channel.</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 25 Feb 2016 22:41:48 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:47;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:68:"WPTavern: WordPress 4.5 to Introduce Native Support for a Theme Logo";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=51767";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:78:"http://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-5-to-introduce-native-support-for-a-theme-logo";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4944:"<p>In October 2014, <a href="http://wptavern.com/jetpack-3-2-released-introduces-new-site-logo-feature-for-theme-developers" target="_blank">Jetpack 3.2 introduced a new site logo feature</a> for theme developers. As Jetpack is widely used, it provided a way for theme developers to easily build in logo support, thereby increasing data portability across themes.</p>
<p>After discussion in yesterday&#8217;s core development meeting, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2016/02/24/theme-logo-support/" target="_blank">WordPress 4.5 is now set to introduce theme support for a site logo</a> using code that was ported over from Jetpack&#8217;s implementation. Themes will be able to declare support via: <code>add_theme_support( 'site-logo', size )</code>, which will add the site logo upload to the customizer.</p>
<a href="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/site-logo.png" rel="attachment wp-att-51779"><img src="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/site-logo.png?resize=1025%2C748" alt="Image credit: Ryan Boren" class="size-full wp-image-51779" /></a>Image credit: <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/flow/2016/02/19/customize-site-logo-and-icon-33755-5-diff-iphone-6/">Ryan Boren</a>
<p>According to release lead Mike Schroder, WordPress 4.5 will ship with a new version of <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/twentysixteen/" target="_blank">Twenty Sixteen</a> that will support a site logo as an example implementation for theme developers.</p>
<h3>Adding a Site Logo was Not Intuitive for Users During Testing</h3>
<p>In the corresponding <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/33755" target="_blank">ticket</a>, a few WordPress contributors were concerned about users experiencing confusion between the &#8220;Site Icon&#8221; and &#8220;Site Logo&#8221; features. Tammie Lister conducted <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/flow/2016/02/20/site-logo-and-icon-user-testing/" target="_blank">two users tests</a>, which she posted on the make.wordpress.org/flow blog.</p>
<p>The first user landed on Appearance > Header and said, &#8220;I&#8217;m not really sure if this is the logo where I should be adding this.&#8221; She goes back to the admin, returns again to the header setting, and then finally lands on the customizer. She mistakenly added a site icon thinking it was the logo. Eventually, she found the correct setting and added the logo.</p>
<p>The second tester first landed on the Tools menu and then navigated to Appearance, got lost in the theme browser, and then landed on Customize. She thought she was on the wrong screen and went back. She navigated to Settings, Users, and several other screens in the process of trying to find the right place to upload the logo. Eventually she found it with the explicit instructions included in the testing round for those who are having trouble.</p>
<p>Both test users struggled to find this feature. Based on these tests, it does not appear that adding a site logo is very intuitive for users who are not working in WordPress every day. Watching the test users struggle through the admin in search of this setting is rather painful.</p>
<p>&#8220;Discoverability of the feature isn&#8217;t great,&#8221; Lister <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/33755#comment:77" target="_blank">reported</a> when summarizing the results of her testing. &#8220;Perhaps this is ok as a theme feature. Perhaps we need to ensure publicity of this feature and documentation. Once people find it and use it the actual process makes sense.&#8221;</p>
<p>Two Jetpack support personnel joined the conversation to report that the site logo feature has been well tested while used in the plugin and that they receive very few questions about it.</p>
<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t recall a single case where a user was confused about how to use the Site Logo, nor a single instance where a user confused it with the Site Icon,&#8221; Kathryn Presner said.</p>
<p>Several contributors involved in the conversation commented that the feature seemed rushed. Given that nearly every modern website has a logo, this feature is one that is likely to be widely used with theme support. Theme authors will be the ones to add support for a site logo and field questions about how to use it. Based on the user tests, however, a brand new WordPress user with a vanilla site running Twenty Sixteen may be in for a bit of a hunt when trying to upload a logo.</p>
<p>Schroder pulled the trigger yesterday to include the feature in the upcoming release and it is now available in the first beta <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2016/02/wordpress-4-5-beta-1/" target="_blank">released last night</a>. If you want to help test, the easiest way is to use the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/" target="_blank">WordPress Beta Tester</a> plugin and select “bleeding edge nightlies.&#8221;</p>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 25 Feb 2016 18:11:11 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:48;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:93:"WPTavern: Automattic Adds AMP Support to WordPress.com, Releases Plugin for Self-Hosted Sites";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://wptavern.com/?p=51722";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:102:"http://wptavern.com/automattic-adds-amp-support-to-wordpress-com-releases-plugin-for-self-hosted-sites";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6300:"<p><a href="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/amp-wpcom-screenshots2.png" rel="attachment wp-att-51747"><img src="http://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/amp-wpcom-screenshots2.png?resize=1025%2C372" alt="amp-wpcom-screenshots2" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-51747" /></a></p>
<p>Today WordPress.com <a href="https://en.blog.wordpress.com/2016/02/24/amp-for-wordpress-dot-com/" target="_blank">announced</a> support for <a href="https://www.ampproject.org/" target="_blank">Accelerated Mobile Pages</a> (AMP), Google&#8217;s open source project to improve the experience of the mobile web for publishers. When visitors arrive to a WordPress.com site via a mobile search, posts will load faster than ever before.</p>
<p>Each post is dynamically generated according to the AMP spec, with /amp/ added to the end of the URL for the mobile version. They&#8217;re also cached in Google&#8217;s cloud infrastructure to reduce loading time. The performance gains are staggering. In early tests, Pinterest&#8217;s engineering team found that <strong>&#8220;<a href="https://engineering.pinterest.com/blog/building-faster-mobile-web-experience-amp" target="_blank">AMP pages load four times faster and use eight times less data than traditional mobile-optimized pages</a>.&#8221;</strong></p>
<p>What makes AMP pages load so quickly? Google has a <a href="https://www.ampproject.org/docs/get_started/technical_overview.html" target="_blank">strict set of optimizations</a> that are employed to improve mobile loading:</p>
<ul>
<li>Allow only asynchronous scripts</li>
<li>Size all resources statically</li>
<li>Don’t let extension mechanisms block rendering</li>
<li>Keep all third-party JavaScript out of the critical path</li>
<li>All CSS must be inline and size-bound</li>
<li>Font triggering must be efficient</li>
<li>Minimize style recalculations</li>
<li>Only run GPU-accelerated animations</li>
<li>Prioritize resource loading</li>
<li>Load pages in an instant</li>
</ul>
<p>To see just how fast AMP is, check out the Google search demo at <a href="https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2015/10/introducing-accelerated-mobile-pages.html" target="_blank">g.co/amp</a>.</p>
<p>Automattic also released a <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/amp/" target="_blank">plugin</a> that allows self-hosted WordPress users to take advantage of the mobile performance improvements offered by AMP. The plugin has been tested since October and is currently active on 8,000 installs. For most users, it&#8217;s as easy as installing the plugin and activating it. The default styles are fairly generic but developers can refer to the <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/amp-wp/blob/master/readme.md" target="_blank">documentation on GitHub</a> to further customize AMP styles.</p>
<p>The Jetpack team is working on getting its publishing-related modules ready for AMP compatibility. In order to take advantage of AMP performance increases, users have to compromise on JS-powered features like Sharing Buttons and Likes.</p>
<p>&#8220;It’s definitely something on our roadmap, and we’re working on the details and timeline at the moment,&#8221; Jetpack team lead Sam Hotchkiss told the Tavern.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.niemanlab.org/2016/02/diving-all-in-or-dipping-a-toe-how-publishers-are-approaching-googles-accelerated-mobile-pages-initiative/" target="_blank">NiemanLab&#8217;s survey of newsrooms</a>, publishers that are not running on WordPress are struggling to get on board with AMP, due to the fact that it requires developer resources to implement. This is especially difficult for those that impose JavaScript-based paywalls, as AMP heavily restricts JavaScript.</p>
<p>AMP allows for paywalls, subscription content, and ads, but for many publishers these will have to be rebuilt to be distributed according to the AMP specifications. At this time, AMP <a href="https://github.com/ampproject/amphtml/blob/325878c6bde7a4bd40d67e8c81b9e599af1039d7/ads/integration-guide.md" target="_blank">does not support “interstitials,”</a> the pop-up ads that obscure content and annoy readers.</p>
<p>Publishers can opt not to support AMP, but the kicker is that Google may show preference to results that are configured to deliver AMP-powerd posts, simply by virtue of the fact that it already factors page speed into results. The <a href="https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2015/10/introducing-accelerated-mobile-pages.html" target="_blank">AMP demo</a> shows a carousel of AMP-powered posts under Top Stories, but it&#8217;s not yet clear whether this will be the actual implementation.</p>
<h3>AMP is a Big Win for the Open Web</h3>
<p>Google is firing back at <a href="https://instantarticles.fb.com/" target="_blank">Facebook’s Instant Articles</a> with the official launch of AMP today. Facebook&#8217;s attempt to speed up mobile viewing is platform-specific and only available within its app. AMP, on the other hand, works anywhere online and is controlled and customized by the publisher.</p>
<p>In October 2015, WordPress.com was one of the first publishers to partner with Google on this initiative to speed up the mobile web. Paul Maiorana, VP of Platform Services at Automattic, <a href="https://vip.wordpress.com/2015/10/07/mobile-web/" target="_blank">announced the company&#8217;s involvement in the project on the VIP blog</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>We believe that open source is one of the most powerful ideas of our generation. We strongly and actively support a free, open internet. We’re very happy to support an open source initiative like AMP, which brings publishers and technology companies together to make a better mobile experience for everyone.</p></blockquote>
<p>The mobile web is currently a zombie wasteland of bloated, sluggish pages &#8211; many sites are unbearable to browse and users quickly abandon slow-loading pages. The AMP project helps publishers deliver a leaner version of posts. It makes mobile browsing faster for everyone, not just those using a few select apps. As such, it is a victory for the open web.</p>
<p>For more background on the project with comments from WordPress.com&#8217;s Paul Maiorana, check out video below:</p>
<div class="embed-wrap"></div>
<div id="epoch-width-sniffer"></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 24 Feb 2016 22:27:35 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:49;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:42:"Matt: Ten Thousand Hours with Reid Hoffman";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:22:"https://ma.tt/?p=46223";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:59:"https://ma.tt/2016/02/ten-thousand-hours-with-reid-hoffman/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:287:"<p><a href="http://casnocha.com/">Ben Casnocha</a> is an interesting and innovative character in his own right, and <a href="http://casnocha.com/reid-hoffman-lessons">it&#8217;s worth reading his essay slash short book on the years he spent as the right hand man of Reid Hoffman</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 24 Feb 2016 16:17:44 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}s:4:"type";i:128;s:7:"headers";a:10:{s:6:"server";s:5:"nginx";s:4:"date";s:29:"Thu, 17 Mar 2016 12:56:49 GMT";s:12:"content-type";s:8:"text/xml";s:14:"content-length";s:6:"236718";s:10:"connection";s:5:"close";s:4:"vary";s:15:"Accept-Encoding";s:13:"last-modified";s:29:"Thu, 17 Mar 2016 12:30:15 GMT";s:15:"x-frame-options";s:10:"SAMEORIGIN";s:4:"x-nc";s:11:"HIT lax 249";s:13:"accept-ranges";s:5:"bytes";}s:5:"build";s:14:"20130911040210";}