Welcome to the first edition of the WordPress Tavern Friday Happy Hour. Each Friday, this post will provide a summary of what is going on within the WordPress Tavern Community.

From The Forum:

CForms 2 Removed From The Repository – Earlier this week, the popular CForms 2 Plugin was removed from the plugin repository due to it violating the WordPress Plugin Repository guidelines. The good news is, the plugin will continue to be developed under a fully compatible license but it won’t be hosted on the plugin repository.

Using WordPress As A Full Fledged CMS – I started a forum thread for everyone to post not only their ideas, but actual websites in use where WordPress is being used as a full blown content management site. I’m looking for a list of plugins and techniques in order to make this happen.

What I Would Like To Hear At A WordCamp – Jacob Santos describes what it is he would like to hear at a WordCamp. I also chimed in with what I’d like to hear as well. If you’re looking at starting a WordCamp event, check out this thread for topic information.

Why Do You Use WordPress – We all have a story as to why we use WordPress. This thread is a culmination of those. Please join in the conversation and share your story as to why you use WordPress.

Are You A Theme Hopper? – Kit asked this question in the forum and its become apparent that there are many theme hoppers. It’s sort of like a can of Pringles! Once you pop, you can’t stop!

Of course there is much more happening in the forum then what I mentioned in. Have a seat in the Tavern and join the conversation.

Welcoming Party:

I’d like to thank the following new members for joining WordPress Tavern forum. (These are their usernames)

James, Lorelle, greenshady, katemag, ptahdunbar, Brad, improvingtheweb, aaronwaggs, donnacha, jond, stefanvervoort, GaMerZ, robwhiteus, Techkitten, M.J., margaretroach, Many, Dan Schulz, andrew, PaulCunningham, kdmurray, Jacob Santos, Ted, JGR

Other News And Tidbits:

The first article on WordPress Tavern to be submitted to StumbleUpon is: Matt Mullenweg Talks To USA Today. Thanks to whomever submitted the article, that was awfully nice of you!

If you’re not following WordPress Tavern on Twitter, I highly encourage you to do so. You can follow the account by visiting the @WPTavern Twitter page and clicking the follow button. I use the Twitter account now only to notify followers of new updates, but also hot topics in the forum, WordPress tidbits I discover and I also tap into the wealth of knowledge that you folks have to discover new themes and plugins.

Over the course of this weekend or early next week, I’ll be installing something called OIO Publisher. This is a WordPress plugin that will help me manage the sale of display advertising here on the site. So don’t be shocked to see 125X125 images starting next week.

Later this evening, I will be addressing an issue that has popped up in the forum regarding advertising. The forum guidelines state:

3. Advertisements are not allowed. Generally speaking, posts made specifically for the promotion of a website, product or service are considered advertising or, at least, posts made that unnecessarily send people to a website that you are in some way affiliated with. It does not matter if it is a commercial website, a personal website, a non profit website, etc. I do authorize and/or sell advertisements on a case-by-case basis. If you are interested in utilizing this option, please contact me via THIS CONTACT PAGE.

I have decided that plugin or theme developers who start a new forum thread to talk about a plugin or theme they have recently developed/released is considered advertising. If someone else creates a thread other than the developer, it is not considered advertising. However, I will also be modifying the guidelines to point out that developers should not private message other members of the forum to post information regarding their plugin or theme developments. Doing so will put your account at risk of being suspended or worst case scenario, banned. If there is ever a demand from plugin/theme authors to have a place on the forum to advertise their developments, I may create a forum specifically for that purpose as part of a monetization strategy. But until then, please abide by these guidelines.

Starting next week, WordPress Weekly will be produced under the WPTavern site. Also, I will have a new co-host producing the show with me. Who that is, I’ll tell you next week. Also, the poll which is featured on the front page within the sidebar on the right hand side of the site will be changed each week in conjunction with the podcast. Consider it, a listener poll. I will announce the results and the following weeks question at some point during each episode of WordPress Weekly.

Last but not least, this site will be considered launched in public beta starting next week. So starting next week, I’d love it if you would do a small write up regarding the site and the community forum. If anyone encounters bugs or errors, please contact me via the Contact page accessible via the Contact link at the top of the blog.

Conclusion:

That wraps up the first installment of the Friday Happy Hour. Come back next week for yet another overview as to what is happening around the Tavern. Remember, the drinks are always on the house!