How To Remove This HTML Comment by W3 Total Cache?

[andrea_r]

Makes sense to me, and I DO see a difference. ;)

[chipbennett]

Well, I just saw that the plugin developer has registered, so I'll step back and let him answer the OP's question regarding how to disable. As long as his original question gets answered, then, as far as I'm concerned, mission accomplished.

[w3edge]

W3 Total Cache is a project oriented around optimizing the performance of WordPress in to-date unprecedented ways. Judging by the profile of the typical users, I will now make clear in case it is not, that the plugin does not demand payment in any fashion. Users are free to modify it as they see fit and there is no malicious intent in any of it's functionality/features.

The plugin does insert an HTML comment which contains: statistics, debug, informational details about the project. But none of that information is visible without users taking action to see it (it does not appear in browsers without consent, nor is it observed by search engines). In contrast, WordPress' itself includes a theme with their distribution that a visible anchor (link) to themselves (that search engines can follow). Instead W3TC has an HTML comment (and not a link), so a user must take 2 steps to find out more, (view source and copy / paste). My goal was to provide such noticeable performance that users would want to know more. This precedent was set by other caching plugins, not me.

Support of the project is optional. Support options are free. If you select one of the free support options the HTML comment disappears. The functionality of the plugin remains unchanged irrespective of whether or not support options are used.

As indicated above in the thread, the source code can be edited to remove/modify the comment as you wish.

[Ryan]

(If not, I question whether this plugin violates repository Guideline #4, as HTML source is indisputably "public-facing".)

I highly doubt that rule was intended to mean adding credits to the source code.

"public-facing" = what the site visitor will see

Technically you may be correct in a way, but I'm sure that won't be the intention of that rule.

[Ryan]

Why would you want to delete it?

Performance. Less code = faster page loads.

[chipbennett]

Performance. Less code = faster page loads.

Could be performance.

Could be that he views it as a blatant ad, of which he doesn't approve.*

Could be asthetics of his HTML output.

Could be anything, really.



* And let's be honest; that's what it is: a blatant ad.

Why else would someone put "This site's performance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Dramatically improve the speed and reliability of your blog! Learn more about our WordPress Plugins: http://www.w3-edge.com/wordpress-plugins/" unless they meant for that text to be read by actual human beings - and that those intended human beings be site visitors (as opposed to the site owner, who would rarely look at the HTML output)?

I don't see how, in practice, this is any different from a plugin putting something in the rendered output, since both are intended to be seen (and followed) by site visitors.

But, I'm apparently in the minority on this one (and seen by some as "whining" for asking how Guideline #4 doesn't also apply to HTML comments), and I see no benefit from furthering this line of questioning. So I won't.

[andreasnrb]

Hehe you are not alone Chip. I think I'm gonna start doing trac stuff stuff so I can bitch about stuff without being hit with the "does not contribute code" hammer ;).

[yoast]

Can we please stop this bullshit? This is a COMMENT. If we're going to whine, please, let's whine about WP-Cumulus, which adds not one but two LINKS right to every page it is added on, and it's still on the repository. I'm quite sure I can find more plugins doing stuff like that if I try.

Yes I'm afraid our community is getting so big this stuff needs to be regulated. But, please, keep in mind that w3edge, myself and a lot of other people do NOT make money from our plugins. Give us our HTML comments, and enjoy our plugins, or, if you don't like these comments choose from the following: edit them out, or don't use our plugins.

If you do that though, do keep in mind that WordPress itself:
- adds a generator tag to the <head> section;
- prefills the blogroll;
- adds a (IMHO well-deserved) link to the footer of the default themes it ships with.

If you want to have a discussion about this, do it with the WordPress core team, don't mess around with the small things we plugin authors have left.

[markjaquith]

A URL in an HTML comment is not a link. It's not visible to visitors, and is ignored by search engines. Our intention was not to prevent plugin authors from imparting information about their plugin, but to prevent plugin authors from abusing blogs for SEO spamming purposes.

I define SEO spam as the automatic insertion of a non-editorial, non-user-chosen link.

It's an effort to get the benefits of an editorial link (namely: Google juice) without the actual editorial approval. Google can and has demoted sites for this. Thus, plugins inserting these links could effect real harm on a site.

I see no harm in HTML comments. Really, I find them incredibly appropriate, and discrete. The people who look at source code are geeks. The people who want to know which cool plugins are doing things on a site, are geeks! The info they want is in the place they look. No one else sees it.

Finally, a broader point: our goal for the repository isn't to make every plugin do things exactly the way we'd like. The rules we have are for the general welfare of the repository. If people are motivated to write plugins just to stuff SEO spam links everywhere, it's going to have a bad effect on the repository (we saw it happening, which is why the community decided on that rule). You may not like that the plugin doesn't provide a clearly labeled "click here to disable all HTML comment output," but the lack of an option that you desire does not make for a restriction on the core freedoms provided by the GPL. Without having a clear and overwhelmingly negative effect on the repository, it's not the sort of thing that would ever make it into the restrictions.

[Jeffro]

Edwin if you have the chance, can you reply on whether your question was answered or not. Things got a bit off track right off the get go.