WP to change default theme annually

[Ryan]

From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tina-d..._b_415050.html

Mullenweg said WordPress plans to change its default theme once a year, just to keep things fresh.

[hallsofmontezuma]

Am I the only one who didn't know that The Huffington Post releases tech articles?
Still, I'm excited to see what Matt comes up with for the new default theme. This is certainly long overdue.

[Ryan]

I'm kinda relieved that there is an intention to release new default themes regularly. If it's something I like, then that would be fine, but if it's something I don't like it would be annoying if it stayed long term.

[hallsofmontezuma]

I agree. What do you think about even bundling a few "default" themes. Instead of Classic and Default, there could just be several community/Automattic/Matt/whatever maintained themes that are basic but decent.

[Ryan]

I'm not sure I see much point in that since you can install themes via the admin panel now anyway.

[hallsofmontezuma]

Mostly I just hate seeing it over the web on the affiliate sites. :)

[Len]

Having more than one default theme may not make sense to seasoned users but is an interesting approach to show newbies the power of the software. Say 3 themes:

1. basic blog theme
2. a mag-style or CMS-style theme
3. a framework

[Ryan]

I think a better approach would be to have something like WordPress QI available for download on the same page as the regular zip. And having WordPress QI give the user an option to download for a selection of themes on install and those being downloaded auto-magically from the repository. To assure security is kept, the options would need to be limited to a small selection. This keeps the core download small and unbloated, while giving the newer users (who would more likely to use WordPress QI) the extra theme options. A few plugins could be throw in there as options too probably.

[Jeffro]

Based on everything I've read, Kubrick is sticking around, so is the other theme. The default theme will just bump up the total of bundled themes to 3. I really don't want to see WordPress shipping something like 5 themes with the software. A bit ridiculous based on the reason Ryan gave with the repository.

[Len]

Wow, I hadn't heard of WordPress QI before. Learn something new everyday. ;)