By Jeffro on January 24, 2012
This is just a friendly reminder that the WPTavern watering hole also known as the forum, is still open for business. I have kept the forums maintained over the past few weeks and last night, I updated everything to the current version as well as cleaned up a couple of different spots. While the forum is not as active as it was two years ago, there are still new members registering to the forum and every now and then, a good discussion will pop up. If you are looking for a place to hang out and talk WordPress without the fear of being shunned into oblivion, this is the place to do it. I highly encourage you to browse through the archive of the forum as a number of interesting conversations have taken place over the past two years. The archive is a little bit like a WordPress museum.
Registration is free as are the drinks. If you take this opportunity to register, be sure to answer the anti spam question during registration which asks, “Why would you like to join this forum?“. I’m looking for a short response that doesn’t look like spam. Once you register, consider leaving a message in the Tavern chat box located near the top of the forum. Or, introduce yourself to the community via the Forum Lobby.
If you’re already a member of the forum, stop by and check-in. Let us know what you’ve been up to.
Posted in From The Forum | Tagged community, forum, tavern |
By Jeffro on January 24, 2012
Daniel Immke has published his own primer on using native user interface elements for the administration of plugins. By following his basic primer, you’ll be on your way to creating a plugin that looks and functions as if it were a part of the core of WordPress which is what plugin developers should be aiming for. WooCommerce is an excellent example of the various UI elements that are built within WordPress that plugin authors should be taking advantage of. ∞
Posted in Plugins | Tagged admin, interface, Plugins, users |
By Jeffro on January 23, 2012
Knowing that a lot of people use DreamHost for their WordPress powered websites, it’s a bit unsettling to see that suspicious activity was detected within one of their databases and thus, passwords have been reset across FTP/Shell and VPS customer accounts. If you use DreamHost and have not been able to log-in recently, this may explain why.
Posted in News | Tagged dreamhost, security, webhost |
By Jeffro on January 23, 2012
It started off with a link and turned into something disgusting. KevinJohn Gallagher explained the various reasons for why his company decided not to pursue using WordPress anymore for their clients and I linked to that article because I thought it raised some points that were good for discussion. After I linked to the article on WPTavern as well as Twitter, his article made the front page of HackerNews. ReadWrite/Web also linked to the article with their own thoughts. One of the reactions to his article that I witnessed was that a lot of people agreed with Kevin and the points he made. However, a number of people disagreed with him and in fact, disagreed so passionately that KevinJohn stated within the comments of my article that he had received death threats as well as had DDoS attacks performed to his website.
Sadly in the last 7 days I’ve had 3 ddos attacks, 14 threats (4 “credible”) against myself or my family, multiple requests to have me removed from speaking at WordPress events to which I’m already signed up and personally sponsor, and 31 people roll-back their purchase for Open Source Scotland because I’m involved. All because my staff, not me, but the good folks I work with every day, don’t want want to use WordPress anymore. I’m being punished by this community, for doing the right thing: listening to my colleagues and my clients.
On the one hand, this is ridiculous behaviour. There is no reason what so ever to give someone death threats because their company has decided not to use WordPress anymore. Mark Jaquith was strongly opposed to the harassment Kevin was receiving and even Jane Wells offered to help out KevinJohn.
On the other hand, crazy people exist within the realm of reality and they can not be controlled. Most of the conversation that occurred as the result of Kevin’s article were from sane individuals that make up the WordPress community. It’s unfortunate what Keven had to go through because of that post but I strongly disagree that it’s a reflection of how the actual WordPress community is like. There are pricks and jerks within the WordPress community, no doubt about that. But, in my experience the nicer people far outweigh the jerks.
I’m a big fan of WordPress but I’m not going to cry myself to sleep if someone tells me they are ditching the software for something else. It’s common sense to use the best tool for the job instead of forcing a square peg into a round hole. It’s important to listen to the reasons why people switch from WordPress or desert the software but it’s not something anyone should lose sleep over. It’s definitely not worth threatening someone’s life. It’s an opportunity to learn and figure out how the software can be improved. This is the type of attitude we should have towards folks like KevinJohn Gallagher or others that publish their discontent for WordPress. We shouldn’t be slapping people around with an elitist, cult like hand that twitches every time someone criticizes the software. We are better than that. Let’s prove it.
Posted in WordPress | Tagged community, kevinjohn, wordpress |
By Jeffro on January 20, 2012
The conference that was supposed to bring together heavyweights within the open source world to Scotland has been cancelled. KevinJohn Gallagher listed a number of reasons as to the cancellation of the conference with one of them being the unfortunate circumstance of a number of people requesting refunds for their tickets after Kevin published an article explaining why his company would no longer be using WordPress. He promises to refund everyone’s tickets in full but you’ll have to give him some time as it involves multiple parties. ∞
Posted in Meetups | Tagged conference, meetups, opensource, scotland |
By Jeffro on January 20, 2012
Pretty cool video from WordCamp Norway 2012 where participants answered the simple question of why they love WordPress. The video features some familiar faces such as Ronald Huereca, Ryan Hellyer, Magnus Jepson, Isaac Keyet, and Scott Basgaard. Scott looks like a giant when standing next to Ryan Hellyer.
Posted in WordPress | Tagged norway, Video, wordcamp |
By Jeffro on January 19, 2012
I was contacted the other day by one of the organizing team members of WordCamp Phoenix to let me know that they have released a press release that contains all the information you need if you plan on attending the event. I should attend this event based on the fact that it’s being held in a city that’s the same as my last name. The press release is as follows:
WordCamp Phoenix Returns to Chandler as
One of the Nation’s Largest WordPress Education Events
Chandler, Ariz. — There’s a good chance your favorite blog, website or online store is powered by WordPress, the free online DIY website software that has put web publishing power in the hands of anyone with a keyboard and Internet access. February 24th-26th, more than 650 small business owners, non-profit agencies, realtors, photographers, designers, journalists and even kids will swarm downtown Chandler to learn easy website publishing and development at the 2012 WordCamp Phoenix.
The non-profit event brings together WordPress enthusiasts from around the globe to share best practices and strategies for a wide variety of businesses. Headlining speakers include Lisa Sabin (@lisasabinwilson), author of WordPress for Dummies, Sean Herron (@seanherron), Technology Strategist at NASA Headquarters and Jane Wells (@janeforshort), Head of User Experience at WordPress.com. Users of all skill levels and backgrounds are encouraged to attend.
“It’s an amazing mix of folks at all ability levels,” said Dallin Harris, one of the event’s organizers. “I’ve watched small business owners go from zero net knowledge in the 101 class to publishing their own business website by the end of the conference.”
Not just for novices, WordCamp Phoenix has become the valley’s must-attend networking and continuing education event for professional web developers. A series of panel discussions and workshops aim to cultivate a creative community among design, web development and communication professions.
Several of last year’s popular activities will return, including FREE Friday workshops and an after party hosted on the beautiful grounds of Chandler’s new City Hall. Other highlights include:
• Saturday classes and talks geared toward specific industries such as publishing & media, eCommerce, visual arts, education, government, nonprofit and real estate
• Developers’ Day and WordPress for Kids hosted at Gangplank on Sunday
• And for networking fun, a Friday evening bar crawl and ice cream social
Tickets are $35 and are available at 2012.phoenix.wordcamp.org/attend/register/. Ticket
Ticket holders get access to more than 30 sessions, classes and networking events across 3 days. As an added bonus, event sponor WP Engine will supply each attendee with free lifetime website hosting.
The Friday workshops are open to the public at no cost. For updates on speakers and scheduling, visit 2012.phoenix.wordcamp.org.
WordCamp Phoenix 2012
Friday, February 24 – Sunday, February 26
Chandler Center for the Arts | 250 N. Arizona Ave., Chandler, AZ 85225
http://2012.phoenix.wordcamp.org | Facebook.com/PhxWordCamp | twitter.com/phxwordcamp
Posted in Meetups | Tagged 2012, phoenix, wordcamp |
By Jeffro on January 18, 2012
In-depth article by Siobahn McKeown that breaks down how commercial plugin developers are monetizing their efforts through the WordPress.org plugin respository. The article covers the guidelines that plugin authors should follow, examples of successful plugins as well as plugins that didn’t meet the guidelines, and various ideas plugin authors can try. One of the things I learned through that article is the existence of a detailed plugin guidelines page which didn’t exist before. It’s about time something like this was created as it answers questions up-front instead of leaving a ton of uncertainty up to the plugin author. ∞
Posted in Plugins | Tagged commercial, guidelines, Plugins |
By Jeffro on January 18, 2012
If you’re using the self installed version of WordPress and looking to participate in the internet blackout day today, check out the SOPA Blackout Plugin. This plugin contains flexibility so that you don’t have to turn your entire website into a black hole. Instead, you get to set blackout dates as well as a myriad of other options to configure when and who sees your blackout message. One of the nice things about this particular plugin is that when it’s deactivated, all of its settings will be removed.
Posted in Plugins | Tagged blackout, piracy, plugin, sopa |
By Jeffro on January 17, 2012
Ian Stewart of Themeshaper.com wants to know, what do you really need in a WordPress starter theme? It’s an interesting question to ask these days because of the wide assortment of not only starter themes, but theme frameworks that are available. Two years ago, theme developers were using themes that they created themselves. While that still occurs today, many are using themes such as Genesis to build out websites. ∞
Posted in Themes | Tagged frameworks, starter, Themes |
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