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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:69:"WPTavern: VersionPress 4.0 Tentatively Scheduled to Ship in September";s: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:58:"https://wptavern.com?p=69948&preview=true&preview_id=69948";s: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:"https://wptavern.com/versionpress-4-0-tentatively-scheduled-to-ship-in-september";s: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:2320:"<p>Nealy a year ago, <a href="https://wptavern.com/versionpress-3-0-adds-new-search-feature-bulk-undo-and-commit-tracking-per-environment">VersionPress 3.0 was released</a>. This version added new search capabilities, bulk undo, and a number of bug fixes. It was the first release since it became a <a href="https://wptavern.com/versionpress-transitions-into-a-free-open-source-project">free, open source project</a>.</p>
<p>In a post on the <a href="https://blog.versionpress.net/2017/05/versionpress-4-0-update/">project&#8217;s development blog</a>, Borek Bernard, co-founder of VersionPress, describes what the team is focusing on for 4.0 which includes a tentative release schedule.</p>
<p>VersionPress 4.0 beta is planned to ship in June with 4.0-final scheduled to ship in September. In addition, the team will be labeling the project as a Developer Preview to better indicate its production-readiness.</p>
<p>&#8220;With every major release, you rightfully ask about the status of the project when it comes to production-readiness,&#8221; Bernard said. &#8220;The answer is &#8216;your mileage may vary&#8217; but we feel we should better indicate that it’s only really intended for developers, currently. Therefore, we’ll be adding the ‘Developer Preview’ label for the project as a whole.&#8221;</p>
<p>VersionPress 4.0 beta 1 will support Jetpack and WooCommerce via <a href="https://github.com/versionpress/versionpress/blob/master/docs/Plugin-Support.md">plugin definitions</a>. Updates to internal data structures, compatibility fixes with WordPress 4.7, and other improvements are also slated to be in 4.0.</p>
<p>Bernard also provides an outline of what to expect from the project in the near future. The team hopes to release Version 5.0 later this year or early next year with definitions for the most popular plugins. It will also be the first version rolled out on the project&#8217;s upcoming platform. Version 6.0 is expected a year after that.</p>
<p>To contribute to VersionPress, you can get in touch with the founders through <a href="https://gitter.im/versionpress/versionpress">Gitter</a> or visit the <a href="https://github.com/versionpress/versionpress/projects/2">project&#8217;s Github page</a> where pull requests are welcomed.</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, 11 May 2017 00:34:27 +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: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:53:"Akismet: Akismet WordPress Plugin 3.3.2 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=1940";s: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:67:"https://blog.akismet.com/2017/05/10/akismet-wordpress-plugin-3-3-2/";s: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:869:"<p>Version 3.3.2 of <a href="http://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/">the Akismet plugin for WordPress</a> is now available. This update fixes a bug that was preventing some JavaScript from executing in wp-admin in some older browsers.</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/1940/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/akismet.wordpress.com/1940/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?host=blog.akismet.com&blog=116920&post=1940&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:"Wed, 10 May 2017 17:19:23 +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: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: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:121:"HeroPress: There is No Shortcut to Success – सफलता का कोई शॉर्टकट नहीं है";s: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:56:"https://heropress.com/?post_type=heropress-essays&p=1813";s: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://heropress.com/essays/no-shortcut-success/";s: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:13563:"<img width="960" height="480" src="http://20094-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/051017-1024x512.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Pull Quote: WordPress gave me a chance in my life to prove that I could do something different." /><p><a href="http://heropress.com/feed/#hindi">वर्डप्रेसने मुझे मेरे ज़िंदगी में कुछ अलग करने का मौक़ा दिया।</a></p>
<p>Udaipur is known as the city of lakes, is one of the beautiful city in Rajasthan and that is where I come from. Since the beginning, I have been close to Udaipur. With the studies and growing up here, the thought of leaving this beautiful city have never occurred to me. Everything I have achieved in life could never have been possible without the support of my parents.</p>
<p>The 6 months after the graduation have been the most troublesome. At the time it felt as if finding a job was a big challenge, but I never gave up. There is a saying that “No work is big or small. It’s not the stature of work that matters, but what you learn from working that counts” and that is when I started to look for a job out of my field of expertise. My life had a new turn and me, fortunately, got a job at KPO and that was a new beginning of my life.</p>
<h3>How I got into WordPress</h3>
<p>Before joining into IdeaBox I don&#8217;t know much about WordPress. Before knowing about WordPress my identity was just a beginner. By keep working on WordPress I got so much involvement in that. WordPress gave me a chance in my life to prove that I could do something different and I felt like I have the skills and potential and I could do something. I got my confidence back. I always try to learn something new in WordPress.</p>
<p>I do theme development in WordPress. I have learned so much from WordPress. I can proudly say I am the part of WordPress community. One thing I got a chance to learn is in life, there is no shortcut for success. Whatever person get in life is only because of the hard work.</p>
<p>I have completed 3 years in WordPress and I love to be a part of it. I love WordPress and it has the wonderful community. In my free time, I do WordPress translations. I try to contribute in every possible way by giving support, translating and any other things.</p>
<h3>First Speaking Experience at WordCamp</h3>
<p>WordCamp Udaipur got organized recently. In that, I was the organizer and speaker. It was the amazing experience which I never felt before. After WordCamp only I get to know that how big community it is. When I become the speaker of the WordPress is the most memorable and the greatest experience of my life. I will never forget this moment in my life.</p>
<p>One thing is I was part of the organizing team and my first session. I was totally nervous. The session went so well and all nervousness went away in happiness. Because I realized that talking in front of these many people is not an easy task. So, I was very Happy. If I get a chance to perform In WordPress community, I will do my contribution in any way.</p>
<h3>Thank you note</h3>
<p>Thanks to WordPress for changing my life and I want to especially thank my parents for supporting and believe me always.</p>
<hr />
<h1 id="hindi">सफलता का कोई शॉर्टकट नहीं है</h1>
<p>उदयपुर को झीलों के शहर के रूप में भी जाना जाता है, यह राजस्थान के खूबसूरत शहर में से एक है और यही वह जगह है जहाँ से मैं हूं। शुरुआत से ही मैं उदयपुर में रहने और पढ़ाई के साथ और यहां पले बड़े होने की वजह से इस खूबसूरत शहर को छोड़ने का विचार मुझे कभी नहीं आया। जीवन में जो कुछ भी हासिल किया है, वह मेरे माता-पिता के समर्थन के बिना कभी संभव नहीं हो सकता था।</p>
<p>पढ़ाई पूरी होने के ६ महीने बाद तक सबसे ज्यादा परेशानी रही। समय के साथ ऐसा महसूस हुआ जैसे काम ढूंढना काम करने से ज्यादा कठिन था, लेकिन मैंने अपना मनोबल टूटने नहीं दिया और धैर्य से काम लिया। जैसा कि कहा जाता है &#8220;कोई काम बड़ा या छोटा नहीं है, किसी काम को करने से जो आप सीखते है वह मायने रखता है&#8221; और तब मैंने अपने विशेषज्ञता के क्षेत्र से हटकर नौकरी खोजना शुरू कर दिया। मेरी जिंदगी का एक नया मोड़ था और मुझे सौभाग्य से केपीओ में नौकरी मिली और यही वह जगह थी जहां मेरे जीवन की एक नई शुरुआत शुरू हुई।</p>
<h3>कैसे मैंने WordPress को जाना</h3>
<p>आइडियाबॉक्स में शामिल होने से पहले मुझे वर्डप्रेस के बारे में अधिक जानकारी नहीं थी। वर्डप्रेस के बारे में जानने से पहले मेरी पहचान सिर्फ एक प्रवर्तक के रूप में थी। वर्डप्रेस पर काम करते रहने से, मेरी इसमें सहभागिता बढ़ती गयी। वर्डप्रेस ने मुझे अपने जीवन में एक मौका दिया है ताकि साबित हो कि मैं कुछ अलग कर सकती हूं और मुझे लगा कि मेरे पास कौशल और क्षमता है और मैं कुछ कर सकती हूं। मुझे अपना आत्मविश्वास वापस मिल गया। मैं हमेशा वर्डप्रेस में कुछ नया सीखने की कोशिश करती हूं।</p>
<p>मैं वर्डप्रेस में थीम डेवलपमेंट करती हूं। मैंने वर्डप्रेस में बहुत कुछ सीखा है। मैं गर्व से कह सकता हूं कि मैं वर्डप्रेस समुदाय का हिस्सा हूं। एक बात मुझे जीवन में जानने को मिली है कि सफलता के लिए कोई शॉर्टकट नहीं है। जो कुछ भी जीवन में मिलता है, कड़ी मेहनत के कारण ही मिलता है।</p>
<p>मैंने वर्डप्रेस में 3 साल पूरे किए हैं और मैं इसका हिस्सा बनकर बेहद खुश हूं। मुझे वर्डप्रेस पसंद है और इसमें अद्भुत समुदाय है मेरे खाली समय में मैं वर्डप्रेस अनुवाद करती हूं। मैं वर्डप्रेस में समर्थन, अनुवाद और अन्य चीजें देने के हर संभव तरीके से योगदान करने की कोशिश करती हूं।</p>
<h3>WordCamp में पहली बार वक्ता बनने का अनुभव</h3>
<p>Wordcamp उदयपुर हाल ही में आयोजित किया गया। उसमें मैं आयोजक और स्पीकर थी यह अद्भुत अनुभव था जिसे मैंने पहले कभी महसूस नहीं किया था। वर्डकैंप में मुझे पता है कि यह कितना बड़ा समुदाय है। यह मेरे जीवन का सबसे यादगार और सबसे बड़ा अनुभव है। मैं इसे एक क्षण के लिए भी नहीं भूलूंगी।</p>
<p>एक बात यह है कि मैं आयोजक टीम का हिस्सा थी और मेरा पहला सेशन। मैं पूरी तरह नर्वस थी। सेशन बहुत अच्छा गया और सभी घबराहट खुशी में बदल गई। क्योंकि मुझे एहसास हुआ कि इतने लोगों के सामने बात करना आसान बात नहीं थी। इसलिए मैं बहुत खुश थी। यदि मुझे वर्डप्रेस समुदाय में प्रदर्शन करने का मौका मिलता है तो मैं किसी भी तरह से योगदान करुँगी।</p>
<h3>धन्यवाद पत्र</h3>
<p>वर्डप्रेस के लिए धन्यवाद जिसने मुझे खुद को साबित करने का मौका दिया और मैं अपने माता-पिता के लिए विशेष रूप से धन्यवाद करना चाहती हूं कि उन्होंने हमेशा मुझ पर विश्वास किया और मुझे प्रोत्साहित किया।</p>
<div class="rtsocial-container rtsocial-container-align-right rtsocial-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal-button"><a title="Tweet: There is No Shortcut to Success &#8211; सफलता का कोई शॉर्टकट नहीं है" class="rtsocial-twitter-button" href="https://twitter.com/share?text=There%20is%20No%20Shortcut%20to%20Success%20%2D%20%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%AB%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BE%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%88%20%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%89%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9F%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%9F%20%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%82%20%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%88&via=heropress&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fessays%2Fno-shortcut-success%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal fb-light"><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal-button"><a title="Like: There is No Shortcut to Success &#8211; सफलता का कोई शॉर्टकट नहीं है" class="rtsocial-fb-button rtsocial-fb-like-light" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fessays%2Fno-shortcut-success%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-linkedin-button" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fessays%2Fno-shortcut-success%2F&title=There+is+No+Shortcut+to+Success+%26%238211%3B+%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%AB%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BE+%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE+%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%88+%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%89%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9F%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%9F+%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%82+%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%88" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Share: There is No Shortcut to Success &#8211; सफलता का कोई शॉर्टकट नहीं है"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-pinterest-button" href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://heropress.com/essays/no-shortcut-success/&media=https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/051017-150x150.jpg&description=There is No Shortcut to Success - सफलता का कोई शॉर्टकट नहीं है" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Pin: There is No Shortcut to Success &#8211; सफलता का कोई शॉर्टकट नहीं है"></a></div></div><a rel="nofollow" class="perma-link" href="https://heropress.com/essays/no-shortcut-success/" title="There is No Shortcut to Success &#8211; सफलता का कोई शॉर्टकट नहीं है"></a></div><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com/essays/no-shortcut-success/">There is No Shortcut to Success &#8211; सफलता का कोई शॉर्टकट नहीं है</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</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, 10 May 2017 12:00:53 +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:10:"Nidhi Jain";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:80:"WPTavern: bbPress 2.6 Beta 3 Likely as Team Focuses on Solid Data Migration Path";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69367";s: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:91:"https://wptavern.com/bbpress-2-6-beta-3-likely-as-team-focuses-on-solid-data-migration-path";s: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:3387:"<p>For the past few months, users have been testing <a href="https://bbpress.org/forums/topic/bbpress-2-6-beta/">bbPress 2.6 Beta 2</a>. bbPress 2.6 will be the first major version update since 2014 and will include the following features:</p>
<ul>
<li>Per-forum moderators</li>
<li>Improved favorites and subscriptions management</li>
<li>Improved BuddyPress integration</li>
<li>Performance improvements</li>
<li>User experience improvements to meta-boxes and admin-area tools</li>
<li>Tighter integration with the WordPress Dashboard</li>
<li>Template tweaks and clean-up</li>
</ul>
<p>In an <a href="https://bbpress.org/forums/topic/bbpress-2-6-beta/page/3/#post-183637">interview published last week</a>, John James Jacoby, bbPress lead developer, shared insight into bbPress 2.6&#8217;s development. According to Jacoby, there will likely be a third beta as the team continues to work on a solid data migration path from 2.5 to 2.6.</p>
<p>&#8220;In the process of working on 2.6, some interesting things sort of happened all at the same time,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It kind of goes back to the old bbPress problem where WordPress.org is running 2.5 and is also running a hybrid of 2.6 to take advantage of performance improvements.&#8221;</p>
<p>Throughout the process of migrating WordPress.org from bbPress 2.5 to 2.6, the development team was able to resolve a number of bottlenecks associated with <a href="https://wptavern.com/mattnote-from-wordcamp-san-francisco">turning bbPress into a plugin</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;With every beta comes more feedback and the closer we get to release, the more feedback that comes in,&#8221; he said. &#8220;As we upgrade WordPress.org and receive more feedback, we fix more things.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;With a small team, there&#8217;s no dedicated resources on the project which is the same problem that existed in 2014 when I did my <a href="https://wptavern.com/john-james-jacoby-launches-indiegogo-campaign-to-fund-buddypress-bbpress-and-glotpress-development">Indiegogo campaign</a>. I&#8217;m really trying to spend a lot of time working on it but I&#8217;m also spending a lot of time on the security team, contributing to WordPress core, Multisite, and other projects. bbPress is my focus for as much as I can afford it to be.</p>
<p>&#8220;bbPress 2.6 will ship, I promise, and it will be a better bbPress than it has ever been.&#8221;</p>
<p>Jacoby confirmed that there will likely be a third beta released sometime in the near future. Those who have upgraded to bbPress 2.6 Beta 2 are <a href="https://bbpress.org/forums/topic/bbpress-2-6-beta/page/3/#post-183637">reporting substantial performance improvements</a>.</p>
<p>If you use bbPress 2.5 and want to upgrade to 2.6 Beta 2, Jacoby encourages users to create a full backup of the site&#8217;s database as the upgrade migrates data for subscriptions and favorites. These changes are not easily reverted should you choose to downgrade back to 2.5.</p>
<p>For your convenience, I&#8217;ve clipped the portion from the full interview that includes our conversation about bbPress and BuddyPress that you can listen too below.</p>
<a href="https://wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/John-James-Jacoby-Gives-bbPress-2.6-Update.mp3">https://wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/John-James-Jacoby-Gives-bbPress-2.6-Update.mp3</a>
<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, 09 May 2017 20:19:23 +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:"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: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:92:"WPTavern: New WordPress Plugin Blocks Spam User Registrations Using Stop Forum Spam Database";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69810";s: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:"https://wptavern.com/new-wordpress-plugin-blocks-spam-user-registrations-using-stop-forum-spam-database";s: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:3435:"<p>When it comes to spam, comments are one of the first things that comes to mind. However, spam user registrations can be just as prolific on sites with open registration. Leland Fiegel, founder of <a href="https://themetry.com/">Themetry</a>, has developed a new plugin called <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/stop-signup-spam/">Stop Signup Spam</a> that prevents users from registering an account if their email or IP address is on the <a href="http://stopforumspam.com/">Stop Forum Spam</a> database.</p>
<p>Stop Forum Spam is a free service that records reports of spam registrations from blogs, forums, wikis, and more. Stop Signup Spam integrates with the WordPress registration form and Restrict Content Pro. Fiegel launched a new site over the weekend and despite not announcing it, it received a handful of spam registrations.</p>
<p>After Googling the registrants&#8217; email addresses, he discovered a number of them were reported on Stop Forum Spam&#8217;s site. &#8220;I had never heard of Stop Forum Spam before, but it is basically an Akismet equivalent for forum sign up spam,&#8221; Fiegel said. &#8220;I noticed they had a dead link to a WordPress plugin. I looked up the <a href="http://stopforumspam.com/usage">Stop Forum Spam API documentation</a> and built a basic one myself a couple of days ago. I submitted it to WordPress.org and it was approved within a day.&#8221;</p>
<p>When a user is blocked from registering, the following error is displayed: Cannot register. Please contact site administrator for assistance.</p>
<p>Although users can check the<a href="http://stopforumspam.com/search"> Stop Forum Spam database</a> to see if their email or IP address is blocked, the error message doesn&#8217;t inform them that Stop Forum Spam is what blocked their registration.</p>
<p>&#8220;I wanted to keep the error message vague so users wouldn&#8217;t lash out at site administrators for accusing them of being &#8216;spammers&#8217; but clear enough that the site administrator would know it was a false positive when it was reported to them,&#8221; Fiegel said.</p>
<p>In the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/stop-signup-spam/">plugin&#8217;s description</a>, Fiegel is clear about <a href="https://www.stopforumspam.com/privacy">what data</a> is sent to the service. Each time a user attempts to register an account, an API call that contains the user&#8217;s email and IP address is sent to Stop Forum Spam and checked against its database. Although the plugin uses the service&#8217;s API, it does not require users to register for an API key. This allows the plugin to function upon activation without having to configure anything. Registrants that are incorrectly blocked as spammers can <a href="http://stopforumspam.com/removal">submit a request</a> to have their IP or email address removed from the database.</p>
<p>Fiegel has no plans to integrate support for other forms but is open to <a href="https://github.com/lelandf/stop-signup-spam">pull requests</a> from those who would like to contribute integration support of their own. I did not test this plugin on an active site, but Fiegel says it has dramatically cut down on the number of spam registrations on his new site. If user spam registration is an issue you&#8217;re dealing with, consider giving <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/stop-signup-spam/">Stop Signup Spam</a> a try.</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, 08 May 2017 22:39:25 +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: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: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:27:"Matt: Everything is Hitched";s: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=47310";s: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/2017/05/everything-is-hitched/";s: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:184:"<p><img /></p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>&#8212; John Muir</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, 08 May 2017 18:29:20 +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: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:65:"BuddyPress: Largest Turkish Recipe Site Spiced Up with BuddyPress";s: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:32:"https://buddypress.org/?p=265777";s: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:85:"https://buddypress.org/2017/05/largest-turkish-recipe-site-spiced-up-with-buddypress/";s: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:9626:"<div><em>This a guest post by Mustafa Uysal (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/m_uysl">m_uysl</a>). He is from Turkey and works as a full-stack developer at <a href="http://www.nefisyemektarifleri.com/">NefisYemekTarifleri.com</a>.</em></div>
<p>Peer reviewed by <a class="bp-suggestions-mention" href="https://buddypress.org/members/boonebgorges/" rel="nofollow">@boonebgorges</a></p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-265785" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2017/05/nefis-yemek-tarifleri-1024x805.jpg" alt="nefisyemektarifleri site" width="700" height="550" /></p>
<p><a href="http://www.nefisyemektarifleri.com/">NefisYemekTarifleri.com</a> is the largest Turkish recipe sharing platform in the world. It has more than 290,000 recipes that reach millions of users every single day. <a href="http://www.nefisyemektarifleri.com/">NefisYemekTarifleri</a> is a unique platform that uses WordPress and BuddyPress for all its applications &#8212; desktop, mobile web, Android, iOS, and AndroidTV.</p>
<p><strong>Current status:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>290k+ recipes, <code>~500</code> new recipes from different authors per day</li>
<li><code>~2.2M+</code> registered users with <code>~2.6M</code> xprofile_data, 24M+ usermeta</li>
<li><code>~4M</code> native apps download, <code>~1M</code> active usage</li>
<li><code>~100TB</code> CDN BW usage per month</li>
<li>3M+ BuddyPress activities and <code>~4M+</code> notifications</li>
<li>300k+ search requests per day</li>
</ul>
<p>We use <a href="https://uysalmustafa.com/2016/04/12/how-to-scale-10m-search-request-with-elasticpress/">ElasticPress to handle 10M+ requests</a>. To scale this platform, we use various tools which we <a href="https://stackshare.io/nefisyemektarifleri-com/nefisyemektarifleri">share at Stackshare</a>. We share some of our stats on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=nytstats&src=typd">#nytstats</a>.</p>
<h2>BuddyPress for a Growing User Base</h2>
<p>NefisYemekTarifleri.com is turning 10 years old this August and has been using BuddyPress for the last 5 years. According to my boss, “BuddyPress has helped a lot to increase our user base.”</p>
<p>Our platform is community-driven, i.e., all the recipes come from our users. The membership and number of recipes submitted have increased dramatically since we started using BuddyPress. The users feel more welcome because they have their &#8220;own space&#8221; where they can easily add their avatars, cover images, post their recipes, and share other social media links. BuddyPress has enabled users to engage more with other registered members as well as invite new users to the site. Our editorial team spends a majority of their time editing user recipe submissions.</p>
<p>Currently, we are using all BuddyPress core components except Friends and Groups. Thankfully, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/r-a-y">r-a-y</a>‘s <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress-followers/">BuddyPress Followers</a> plugin is a great replacement to the built-in Friends component.</p>
<h2>Customized BuddyPress Features</h2>
<h3>Notifications</h3>
<p>Our notification system is quite different from the standard BuddyPress notifications. It supports push and web push notifications and works async over the message queue.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-265786" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2017/05/nyt-notification-1024x512.jpg" alt="Site notifications schema" width="700" height="350" /></p>
<p>There are a lot of activities which can trigger notifications. There were and are many instances when we send notifications to tens of thousands users every day. For example, when one author with thousands of &#8220;followers&#8221; publishes a new recipe, it took a long time to send a simple notification like, “Hi there! Jane Doe published a new recipe, take a look!” Consider when we have 10 authors with many followers publishing new recipes at the same time.</p>
<p>In the early days, we created a custom `nyt_bp_add_notification` script which called BuddyPress’ own notification that added a function for bulk messaging. We found out that it was causing lags on our slave MySQL servers because the impact on the disk IO was dramatic. Our solution was a new custom script, `nyt_bp_add_bulk_notification`, which inserts data directly to database (as a bulk SQL query). By the way, we highly recommend Percona’s <a href="https://www.percona.com/doc/percona-monitoring-and-management/index.html">PMM</a> for catching performance hogs.</p>
<p>At the end of 2016, we migrated from parse.com to our <a href="https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server">self hosted parse</a> for push notifications. After which, we used <a href="https://github.com/web-push-libs/web-push-php">web-push-php</a> for the web push notifications.</p>
<h3>Cover Image</h3>
<p>We decided to replace the built-in cover image feature and create our own Facebook-inspired UI which was more user-friendly. The feedback has been quite positive from our members.</p>
<p><img src="https://uysalmustafa.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/cover-image.gif" width="981" height="398" alt="New cover image UI" class="alignnone size-large" /></p>
<p>Features of our new cover image UI:</p>
<ul>
<li>A user can directly upload a cover image by clicking on an icon on top of the cover image area.</li>
<li>The full-size image is saved behind the scenes.</li>
<li>Quick image resizing after the image upload has completed.</li>
<li>A user can change image position via drag-drop.</li>
<li>The full path and image coordinates are recorded as meta.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Messages</h3>
<p>The Messaging component is active but not fully open for the end users. We will make this available for everyone when we&#8217;ve completed our mobile app integration. This is how we are setting this up for our site:</p>
<ul>
<li>All messages have to be between two people, we canceled group messaging.</li>
<li>When someone you are not following sends a message, that message is marked as “pending”. You also &#8220;block&#8221; that person.</li>
<li>Fluent messaging: all conversations between two people use the same thread.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Workarounds/Hacks/Yikes!</h2>
<p><strong>Cache:</strong> We hated touching BuddyPress directly, but we had to hack core file to fix memory issues.  (We have submitted <a href="https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/attachment/ticket/7130/7130.diff">a patch </a>that reduces memory usage for <a href="https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/7130">BP#7130</a>)</p>
<p><strong>Messaging, reimagined</strong>: We made some necessary changes a bit in a hacky way on the messaging component. Changing messaging behavior was not easy and there are some edge cases we have to monitor and address.</p>
<p><strong>Limit notifications</strong>: Only allow 200 notifications per user, WordPress’ cron cleans up on a daily basis.</p>
<p><strong>API Endpoints</strong>: We had to be careful on managing API endpoints, addressing the mobile apps a bit differently than web, especially when you do caching inside the device.</p>
<p><strong>Long-running process</strong>: MQ workers are long-running PHP scripts and they caused memory problems on production after a while. We fixed this issue with <a href="https://github.com/10up/ElasticPress/blob/157e65b112d90bcc15e532dc33f86592805cdb13/bin/wp-cli.php#L795">stop_the_insanity</a>.</p>
<h2>In the Works</h2>
<p>Following are some of the features we have in queue:</p>
<ul>
<li>Upgrading BuddyPress, of course</li>
<li>Elasticsearch integration over ElasticPress. (We haven&#8217;t tried it yet but <a href="https://github.com/swissspidy">Pascal</a> already wrote <a href="https://github.com/swissspidy/wptalents/blob/feature/buddypress-integration/classes/core/ElasticPress.php">some code</a> we can start playing with.)</li>
<li>User suggestion to follow a member.</li>
<li>Activity improvements (currently, just acting like feed).</li>
<li>PHP 7.1 upgrade with dockerizing all the things. (Still using different versions of PHP)</li>
</ul>
<p>BuddyPress allows us to build one of the largest niche communities in the world. Fortunately for everyone, BuddyPress is being maintained by developers who are active contributors to WordPress core. Our thanks to all BuddyPress contributors, especially the BP core team.</p>
<div><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-265793" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2017/05/m_uysl.jpeg" alt="Mustafa Uysal" width="150" height="150" /> <em><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/m_uysl">Mustafa Uysal</a> of <a href="http://www.nefisyemektarifleri.com/">NefisYemekTarifleri.com</a> also runs his own company, <a href="http://skop.com.tr/">SKOP</a>. He&#8217;s a plugin developer who enjoys solving tough problems and making things faster and scalable. He’s also a workaholic and was interested in archery <a href="https://uysalmustafa.com/2015/10/14/im-an-archer/">once upon a time</a>. Mustafa is one of the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/?locale=tr_TR">WordPress Translation Editors</a> for the Turkish language.<br />
Links: <a href="https://twitter.com/m_uysl">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://github.com/mustafauysal">Github</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/m_uysl">WordPress.org</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/uysalmustafa/">Linkedin</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/m_uysl/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://uysalmustafa.com/">My Blog</a>, and <a href="http://www.nefisyemektarifleri.com/u/mustafauysal/hakkinda/">nefisyemektarifleri</a></em></div>
<p>&nbsp;</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, 08 May 2017 16:55:50 +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:8:"@mercime";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:11:"
	
	
	
	
	
";s: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:45:"HeroPress: TOMORROW is the last day to apply!";s: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:29:"https://heropress.com/?p=1792";s: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://heropress.com/tomorrow-last-day-apply/";s: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:2668:"<img width="960" height="639" src="http://20094-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ipad-uandr-1-1024x682.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Two hands holding an ipad so we can see the screen." /><p>Tomorrow is the last day to apply for the <a href="https://heropress.com/up-running-scholarship-heropress-wpshout/">The Up and Running Scholarship, from HeroPress and WPShout</a>! Once the entry time is closed then we&#8217;ll package up the submissions and send them to the judging panel.</p>
<p>NO SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED after 23:59:59 UTC 09 May.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;ve been waiting to apply, don&#8217;t wait any more!</p>
<div class="rtsocial-container rtsocial-container-align-right rtsocial-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal-button"><a title="Tweet: TOMORROW is the last day to apply!" class="rtsocial-twitter-button" href="https://twitter.com/share?text=TOMORROW%20is%20the%20last%20day%20to%20apply%21&via=heropress&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Ftomorrow-last-day-apply%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal fb-light"><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal-button"><a title="Like: TOMORROW is the last day to apply!" class="rtsocial-fb-button rtsocial-fb-like-light" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Ftomorrow-last-day-apply%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-linkedin-button" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Ftomorrow-last-day-apply%2F&title=TOMORROW+is+the+last+day+to+apply%21" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Share: TOMORROW is the last day to apply!"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-pinterest-button" href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://heropress.com/tomorrow-last-day-apply/&media=https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ipad-uandr-1-150x150.png&description=TOMORROW is the last day to apply!" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Pin: TOMORROW is the last day to apply!"></a></div></div><a rel="nofollow" class="perma-link" href="https://heropress.com/tomorrow-last-day-apply/" title="TOMORROW is the last day to apply!"></a></div><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com/tomorrow-last-day-apply/">TOMORROW is the last day to apply!</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</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, 08 May 2017 13:28:35 +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:"";}}}}}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:65:"WPTavern: Weglot Multilingual Plugin Closes $450K in Seed Funding";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69667";s: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:75:"https://wptavern.com/weglot-multilingual-plugin-closes-450k-in-seed-funding";s: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:3879:"<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/weglot.jpg?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://weglot.com/" target="_blank">Weglot</a>, a multilingual plugin which has been in the WordPress market for a little over a year, has <a href="http://blog.weglot.com/7k-21keuromonthly-6months-growth-e450k-fundraising/" target="_blank">closed $450K in seed funding from SIDE Capital</a>. Co-founder Rémy Berda reports that there are now more than 10,000 websites using Weglot and the company has passed 30K€ in monthly revenue.</p>
<p>Over the past six months Berda and his small team have been working to add improvements based on user feedback. Weglot will now detect a visitor&#8217;s language and automatically redirect to serve the translated page. Weglot users can also connect with <a href="https://www.textmaster.com/" target="_blank">Textmaster</a>&#8216;s marketplace to order professional translations through their accounts. The support burden has also increased from 10-20 emails per day to more than 80 per day, challenging the small team&#8217;s resources.</p>
<p>&#8220;Over the past few months, we started to be overworked by the amount of support or the number of features we wanted to add to the product,&#8221; Berda said. &#8220;We got a bit frustrated not to be able to improve the product as we wanted to through lack of time. So we understood that if we wanted to keep growing at a fast pace, we would need to scale up our two-person company and raising money was the perfect way to do it.&#8221;</p>
<p>After making the connection with SIDE Capital at the end of 2016, Weglot decided to partner with them to fund the further expansion if its support team. The team is currently comprised of two founders, one lead developer, one head of support, and one support agent. Approximately 1,500 of Weglot&#8217;s 10,000 users are on an active paid plan, but the remaining 85% of free users make up a significant portion of the support load. Berda said they are investing their resources in support, which serves both free and paid users, in order to maintain the same quality.</p>
<p>In tandem with improving the performance of the plugin and its support, Berda said the team is also developing other integrations to test Weglot&#8217;s service outside of the WordPress market.</p>
<p>Weglot is growing rapidly in the North American market. Although the Asian market is not represented on the plugin&#8217;s user breakdown below, Berda said it has more than doubled in the past two months.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have been seeing an accelerating growth in the Americas in the past 6 months,&#8221; Berda said. &#8220;We went from 5% of our clients to 25% now. Asia is still small but has been quickly growing in the past two months from 3% to 8%.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="https://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/weglot-users-countries-breakdown.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>One year after officially launching Weglot, Berda and his team have found that WordPress is a ripe market for entrepreneurs who are ready to move quickly and provide a high level of customer service. His advice to newcomers?</p>
<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re in the right place,&#8221; Berda said. &#8220;WordPress is a huge market with real needs, and it is often overlooked by many entrepreneurs. There is an active and strong community with &#8216;caring&#8217; values.  So WordPress is definitely a great place to build a business.&#8221; He recommends keeping to a brisk timeline:</p>
<p>&#8220;One month after you have the idea, you must have some people (1 to 10) testing a MVP,&#8221; Berda said. &#8220;One more month later, you must have your first paying customer to validate the needs. Finally, never neglect customer support. Done carefully, customer supports transforms into customer acquisition.&#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:"Fri, 05 May 2017 20:13:22 +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: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:51:"WPTavern: WordPress 4.8 Release Targeted for June 8";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69778";s: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:62:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-8-release-targeted-for-june-8";s: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:2349:"<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/gutenberg-editor.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>WordPress 4.8 kicked off in this week&#8217;s core developer meeting and the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/4-8/" target="_blank">schedule</a> for the upcoming release is now published. Beta 1 is scheduled for May 12 and the official release is targeted for June 8. This will be the first major release in 2017 and is focused on laying the foundation for the new <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg" target="_blank">Gutenberg</a> editor. The schedule identifies the features that contributors are aiming to ship in 4.8:</p>
<ul>
<li>TinyMCE inline element / link boundaries</li>
<li>New media widgets</li>
<li>WYSIWYG in text widget</li>
<li>WordCamp / meetup dashboard upgrade to the “news” section</li>
</ul>
<p>Several contributors expressed concern during the meeting about the compressed timeline, as both the beta and RC testing times have roughly half the time they have been given in the past. Also, the release&#8217;s close proximity to WordCamp Europe, which officially begins activities the following week, presented additional concerns about the added workload of a release within the May/June timeframe.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think people are thinking of this as a normal release, a train leaving the station that a bunch of stuff (multisite! meta!) has to get on to make it in,&#8221; 4.8 release lead Matt Mullenweg said. &#8220;I agree that needs a much longer timeframe.</p>
<p>&#8220;What is really going on is that we have a few simple, already working as plugin enhancements that add a few files, and we want to get those in the hands of users sooner rather than later. We already update TinyMCE all the time. Potential breakage or compatibility should be limited to things that interact with the text widget or the news dashboard module.&#8221;</p>
<p>After a brief discussion on the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2017/05/04/dev-chat-summary-may-3rd-4-8-week-1/" target="_blank">dev meeting notes</a>, the proposed schedule was confirmed. The feature project merge deadline is coming up on May 10, followed by Beta 1 two days later. Any enhancements that are not ready to proceed on this timeline will be put on hold for a future 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:"Fri, 05 May 2017 18:13:14 +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: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:102:"WPTavern: WPHugs: A Community Devoted to Educating, Discussing, and Raising Awareness of Mental Health";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69625";s: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:110:"https://wptavern.com/wphugs-a-community-devoted-to-educating-discussing-and-raising-awareness-of-mental-health";s: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:3983:"<p>In the past two years, there has been an increased effort in the WordPress community to raise awareness of mental health. <a href="http://wordpress.tv/2016/12/10/cory-miller-managing-your-iceberg/">Cory Miller</a>, <a href="https://videopress.com/v/n53MNL3C">Rich Robinkoff</a>, <a href="https://videopress.com/v/fBYZcOBz">Michele Butcher</a>, and <a href="https://wphugs.org/talks/">others</a> have presented on the subject at numerous WordCamps.</p>
<p>A common theme that surrounds mental health is the fear of discussing it openly. <a href="https://wphugs.org/">WPHugs.org</a>, a passion project by Leo Gopal, aims to provide a safe space for people to connect, educate, and raise awareness of mental health.</p>
<p>&#8220;I suffered many times in my life so far with extreme depression,&#8221; Gopal said. &#8220;One of the most difficult parts of dealing with extreme depression is the feeling that you can&#8217;t tell anyone about it. This can include your boss or colleagues who you spend most of your time with.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Until, at <a href="https://videopress.com/v/dhGqDhV5">WordCamp Cape Town 2016</a>, I stood in front of a conference room full of people and &#8216;confessed&#8217; that I am afflicted with depression. After the talk, many people came to me and called me &#8216;brave&#8217; to be so open, and many opened up and thanked me for helping them realize that they too are not alone.</p>
<p>&#8220;After my recovery from attempted suicide, it was the friends I had made in the WordPress Community that gave me the most support. I reached my darkest point, and I got there feeling alone. WPHugs hopes to be a torch that allows others to never get to such a space.&#8221;</p>
<p>WPHugs has a <a href="https://wphugs.org/wp-login.php?action=slack-invitation">Slack group</a> that&#8217;s free to join that provides an opportunity for like-minded people to discuss topics in real-time. While the conversations in the Slack channel are not private, Gopal is hopeful that the community will be built around trust and honesty.</p>
<p>&#8220;I suspect that there will be more direct messages than there will be channel messages, and that&#8217;s okay, the connections are being made, we are talking more,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>WPHugs is a not-for-profit passion project and although the site has <a href="https://wphugs.org/sponsorships/">sponsorship opportunities</a> available, Gopal is looking for companies and people who can contribute time and resources.</p>
<p>&#8220;If companies want to contribute licenses to their software to help expand, grow, reach more people, by all means it is completely welcome,&#8221; Gopal said. &#8220;Sponsor time or resources, whatever you can to make this project thrive and survive, because it&#8217;s important, it could save someone&#8217;s life.&#8221;</p>
<p>Gopal admits he&#8217;s not an authority on how to maintain good mental health but plans to crowdsource tips, tricks, and host conversations to help others. Heavily inspired by <a href="http://heropress.com/">HeroPress</a>, Gopal wants to publish weekly essays called Mental Health War Stories.</p>
<p>The most important message WPHugs wants to get across is that people who are suffering from mental illnesses are not alone.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s about making us aware of ourselves, taking care of our own mental health and how important it is for those around us. It&#8217;s also about being more empathetic for those around us who suffer in their own way and know that someone cares,&#8221; Gopal said.</p>
<p>&#8220;I went through a struggle discovering my mental illness and learning about it, and I did it alone. I don&#8217;t want that journey for others to be as solitary. I am a hugger.&#8221;</p>
<p>To share a mental health war story or to get involved with the project, you can get in touch with Gopal through the WPHugs <a href="https://wphugs.org/contact/">contact 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, 05 May 2017 02:39:41 +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: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:89:"WPTavern: WordPress Security Issue in Password Reset Emails to Be Fixed in Future Release";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69665";s: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:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-security-issue-in-password-reset-emails-to-be-fixed-in-future-release";s: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:4135:"<p>Security researcher Dawid Golunski of <a href="https://legalhackers.com/" target="_blank">Legal Hackers</a> has published the details of an <a href="https://exploitbox.io/vuln/WordPress-Exploit-4-7-Unauth-Password-Reset-0day-CVE-2017-8295.html" target="_blank">unauthorized password reset vulnerability</a> in WordPress core. Golunski demonstrated how, under certain circumstances, an attacker could intercept the password reset email and gain access to a user&#8217;s account.</p>
<p>His proof of concept takes advantage of WordPress using the SERVER_NAME variable to get the hostname of the server in order to create a From/Return-Path header of the outgoing password reset email.</p>
<blockquote><p>Major web servers such as Apache by default set the SERVER_NAME variable using the hostname supplied by the client (within the HTTP_HOST header):</p>
<p>https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/mod/core.html#usecanonicalname</p>
<p>Because SERVER_NAME can be modified, an attacker could set it to an arbitrary domain of his choice e.g:</p>
<p>attackers-mxserver.com</p>
<p>which would result in WordPress setting the $from_email to </p>
<p>wordpress@attackers-mxserver.com</p>
<p>and thus result in an outgoing email with From/Return-Path set to this malicious address.</p></blockquote>
<p>The results of this particular attack would depend on the server environment, the specific configuration of the mail server, and in some cases would require interaction from the user in question. Golunski&#8217;s <a href="https://exploitbox.io/vuln/WordPress-Exploit-4-7-Unauth-Password-Reset-0day-CVE-2017-8295.html" target="_blank">report</a> has a more specific breakdown of the possible methods that could be employed.</p>
<p>After reporting the issue to the WordPress security team in July 2016 and also via the HackerOne website, Golunski saw no progress on it and decided to release the vulnerability details to the public.</p>
<p>Although there is no official patch yet, WordPress Security Czar Aaron Campbell said the issue is not quite as severe as it may seem.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a lower priority issue, but we are aware of it and it is in our queue to address,&#8221; Campbell said. He explained the unique set of conditions that would be required in order for this to be a serious vulnerability.</p>
<p>&#8220;In order for the issue to have a security impact, a server needs to allow a user-supplied header to overwrite <code>$_SERVER['SERVER_NAME']</code>,&#8221; Campbell said. &#8220;We would consider that a poor server configuration (like leaving <code>display_errors</code> on on a production server), which is unfortunately outside our control.&#8221;</p>
<p>Campbell tested his personal Apache and nginx servers and none of them allowed for this. In addition to having a poorly configured server, Campbell said one of the following actions also needs to happen:</p>
<ul>
<li>a user needs to reply to a password reset email</li>
<li>an auto-reply needs to reply to the E-Mail and include the original</li>
<li>an E-Mail server has to be compromised or overloaded and the message returned to sender with content intact</li>
</ul>
<p>&#8220;If your server is susceptible and you don&#8217;t have the ability to fix the actual server configuration, you still don&#8217;t have to make changes to WordPress files to mitigate the issue,&#8221; Campbell said. &#8220;A little PHP like this in a plugin will set the from E-Mail to a static E-Mail address of your choice:&#8221;</p>
<p><code>add_filter( 'wp_mail_from', function( $from_email ) { return 'wordpress@mysite.com'; } );</code></p>
<p>Campbell said any changes WordPress makes to core will likely be done via a <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/25239" target="_blank">ticket</a> that is currently tracking the issue from a non-security perspective. He said a fix is mostly likely not going to be coming in the next security release, but the team is actively working on it. If they find a good mitigation for the issue, Campbell said they will share it once they have worked through all the potential ramifications.</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, 04 May 2017 22:41:32 +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:"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: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:71:"WPTavern: WordPress Community Team Considers New Retreat-Style WordCamp";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69642";s: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:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-community-team-considers-new-retreat-style-wordcamp";s: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:3741:"<a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/journey.jpg?ssl=1"><img /></a>photo credit: <a href="https://stocksnap.io/photo/2DEL42UQ7M">Jesse Bowser</a>
<p>The WordPress Community Team is <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2017/05/03/a-new-type-of-wordcamp/" target="_blank">debating the merits of a new type of WordCamp</a>, a hybrid event with the traditional WordCamp content in a retreat-style format. <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mahype/" target="_blank">Sven Wagener</a> and the <a href="https://www.meetup.com/WordPress-Meetup-Koln/" target="_blank">Köln meetup group</a> in Germany, which has more than 700 members, have proposed a new style of camp that would potentially be called &#8220;WordCamp in the Green&#8221; or &#8220;WordCamp Retreat.&#8221;</p>
<p>The event would be held outside of town at a venue where all attendees stay in the same hotel. In addition to the regular WordCamp sessions and Contributor Day, attendees have the opportunity to participate in local outdoor activities.</p>
<p>The WordPress Community Team is open to considering different formats for WordCamps that serve a specific niche. <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-for-publishers-to-be-held-in-denver-august-17-19" target="_blank">WordCamp for Publishers</a>, the first WordCamp focused around a specific topic, is a recent example of this flexibility.</p>
<p>The proposed format is very similar to the interest-based meetups that the <a href="https://wptavern.com/community-translation-and-wapuu-how-japan-is-shaping-wordpress-history" target="_blank">Japanese WordPress community</a> has been doing for years. Members spend time together in activities unrelated to WordPress, as opposed to simply focusing on improving technical skills, and as a result they become more connected with their local community. For example, the <a href="http://2014onsen.wbsendai.com/" target="_blank">Word温泉 (WordOnsen) meetup</a> includes members who enjoy hot springs. They gather in Fukushima where they stay at the same hotel, host WordPress sessions, and end with a party night. This format has successfully grown the Japanese meetup community to more than 50 local groups.</p>
<p>The Köln meetup group&#8217;s proposal for a WordCamp doesn&#8217;t stray too far from the traditional WordCamp program, as the only differences seem to be a more rural setting where everyone stays at the same venue. A more radical change would be an event where WordPress community members meet simply for networking and connecting with no planned educational component. These types of niche unofficial WordCamps have been happening for years outside of the WordPress-sanctioned events.</p>
<p>The WordPress Community Team is seeking feedback on the proposed &#8220;WordCamp Retreat,&#8221; as approval of the event would set a precedent.</p>
<p>&#8220;If we introduce a new type of WordCamp event like this, we want it to be something that works in many communities, scales effectively for larger (or smaller) groups, and is able to be reproduced by any organizers who wish to do so,&#8221; Commnity Team member Hugh Lashbrooke said.</p>
<p>The organizing team for the proposed WordCamp has already prepared a budget and is ready to move forward once given approval. Lashbrooke said the Community Team anticipates the new event types will have &#8220;a huge amount of interest from other communities around the world,&#8221; so they wanted to pitch it to the community for feedback.</p>
<p>If you have strong opinions on the topic, you can <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2017/05/03/a-new-type-of-wordcamp/" target="_blank">join the discussion on WordPress.org</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, 04 May 2017 02:05:07 +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: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:89:"WPTavern: WPWeekly Episode 271 – Recapping WordCamp Chicago 2017 With John James Jacoby";s: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:58:"https://wptavern.com?p=69622&preview=true&preview_id=69622";s: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:"https://wptavern.com/wpweekly-episode-271-recapping-wordcamp-chicago-2017-with-john-james-jacoby";s: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:2066:"<p>In this episode, I&#8217;m joined by <a href="https://jjj.blog/">John James Jacoby</a>. We recap WordCamp Chicago 2017 and learn about what he&#8217;s been up to as of late. Jacoby was recently elected as a trustee by the Village of East Troy, WI. We discussed what lessons he&#8217;s learned through open source software development that he&#8217;ll apply to his Trustee role.</p>
<p>We talk about how important mental health is and near the end of the show, he provides status updates on the bbPress and BuddyPress projects. Jacoby also weighed in on the stories making headlines in recent weeks.</p>
<h2>Stories Discussed:</h2>
<p><a href="https://wptavern.com/shopify-discontinues-its-official-plugin-for-wordpress">Shopify Discontinues Its Official Plugin for WordPress</a><br />
<a href="https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-us-2017-ramps-up-ticket-sales-organizers-plan-for-2500-attendees">WordCamp US 2017 Ramps Up Ticket Sales, Organizers Plan for 2,500 Attendees</a><br />
<a href="https://wptavern.com/automattic-to-close-san-francisco-office">Automattic to Close San Francisco Office</a><br />
<a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-8-will-end-support-for-internet-explorer-versions-8-9-and-10">WordPress 4.8 Will End Support for Internet Explorer Versions 8, 9, and 10</a></p>
<h2>WPWeekly Meta:</h2>
<p><strong>Next Episode:</strong> Wednesday, May 10th 3:00 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" rel="noopener noreferrer">Click here to subscribe</a></p>
<p><strong>Subscribe To WPWeekly Via RSS: </strong><a href="https://wptavern.com/feed/podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">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" rel="noopener noreferrer">Click here to subscribe</a></p>
<p><strong>Listen To Episode #271:</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, 04 May 2017 00:26:48 +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:"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: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:26:"Matt: Exploiting Democracy";s: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=47306";s: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:43:"https://ma.tt/2017/05/exploiting-democracy/";s: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:153:"<p>One of my favorite talks from TED last week was by Laura Galante. The most hackable device on the planet is your own mind:</p>
<p></p>
<p>&nbsp;</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, 03 May 2017 19:48:42 +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: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:60:"WPTavern: Jetpack 4.9 Introduces EU Cookie Law Banner Widget";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69520";s: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:"https://wptavern.com/jetpack-4-9-introduces-eu-cookie-law-banner-widget";s: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:2298:"<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/eu-cookie-law-banner-widget-jetpack.png?ssl=1"><img /></a><a href="https://jetpack.com/2017/05/02/jetpack-4-9-widgets-and-improvements/" target="_blank">Jetpack 4.9</a> gives self-hosted WordPress users access to some of the widgets that are available on WordPress.com. One of the most useful ones for European websites is the new EU Cookie Law Banner widget. The WordPress plugin directory has <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/search/eu+cookie+law/" target="_blank">dozens of plugins related to cookie consent</a>, but Jetpack users can now get this feature bundled with the popular plugin.</p>
<p>The widget launches a notice at the bottom of the screen where users can click to accept cookies. The widget banner text, color scheme, policy URL, and button text can be customized, and administrators can hide the banner based on different user behaviors.</p>
<p>The EU Cooke Law is an online privacy directive that was introduced in 2011 with the objective of allowing website visitors the right to refuse cookies that reduce their privacy. Sites that serve primarily EU audiences are required to comply. Companies in the U.S. and outside the EU with no legal EU presence are not likely to have any consequences for not complying, as the law is difficult to enforce outside the EU.</p>
<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/internet-defense-league-red-cat.png?ssl=1"><img /></a>Jetpack 4.9 also adds a new Flickr widget and one for the <a href="https://www.internetdefenseleague.org/" target="_blank">Internet Defense League</a>, an organization dedicated to defending internet freedom. The widget lets users select from three different badges to show support. Note that this widget does not sign the website up to broadcast specific campaigns. That feature is available in the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/cat-signal/" target="_blank">Internet Defense League Cat Signal</a> plugin.</p>
<p>This release also includes several minor fixes and improvements under the hood. Check out the full <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/jetpack/#developers" target="_blank">changelog</a> on WordPress.org to see everything included in version 4.9.</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, 03 May 2017 17:55:27 +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:"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:84:"WPTavern: Manage Multiple Social Media Accounts in WordPress With Social Media Suite";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69526";s: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:95:"https://wptavern.com/manage-multiple-social-media-accounts-in-wordpress-with-social-media-suite";s: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:2613:"<p>Managing social media accounts across multiple networks can be a cumbersome task. <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/social-web-suite/">Social Media Suite</a> by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinatodorovic/">Tina Todorovic</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/dejanmmarkovic">Dejan Markovic</a>, based in Toronto, Canada, aims to make managing those accounts a breeze.</p>
<p>At its core, Social Media Suite is a social media marketing management platform. To use it, you&#8217;ll first have to install the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/social-web-suite/">Social Media Suite connector Plugin</a> to connect your site to the service.</p>
<p>Once activated, click the Go to Control Panel button which loads Social Web Suite&#8217;s control panel where you can connect social media accounts.</p>
<p><img /></p>
<p>I highly recommend that you open the control panel in a new browser tab as opening it in the same browser tab makes it difficult to browse back to the WordPress backend.</p>
<p>Through Social Web Suite, users can publish or schedule Tweets and other messages across social networks such as Facebook. After connecting my Twitter account, I was able to publish a Tweet from the site&#8217;s interface.</p>
<img />Social Media Suite Twitter Interface
<p>Social Web Suite includes a number of sharing options. You can configure whether or not to share posts, pages, or both, how many times they can be shared, if the featured image is displayed, and if content is shared at the same time it&#8217;s published.</p>
<p>Other configuration options include, message formatting, hashtag support, which categories to include or exclude, and the ability to exclude specific pages or posts.<img /></p>
<p>To see how well messages are performing, Social Web Suite offers an analytics dashboard that displays a similar set of statistics provided by Twitter. This allows you to quickly see which messages are having the most impact.</p>
<img />Social Media Suite Analytics Dashboard
<p>As far as privacy is concerned, Social Media Suite stores marketing management content on its servers and will not ask users for their login information. The service is currently in Beta and is available by <a href="https://socialwebsuite.com/get-your-invitation/">invitation only</a>. I tested <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/social-web-suite/">Social Media Suite</a> on WordPress 4.7.4 and didn&#8217;t encounter any issues. If you&#8217;re looking for a service to manage your social media marketing strategy, consider giving Social Media Suite a try.</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, 03 May 2017 16:09:46 +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: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:36:"HeroPress: Notes From My Former Self";s: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:56:"https://heropress.com/?post_type=heropress-essays&p=1759";s: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:55:"https://heropress.com/essays/notes-from-my-former-self/";s: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:11029:"<img width="960" height="480" src="http://20094-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/050317-min-1-1024x512.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Pull Quote: Sleep more, worry less, rely on those around you, and just get on with doing what you do best." /><p>I’ve written and rewritten this essay so many times now I’ve forgotten what it originally looked like. In the beginning it was going to be the short(ish) story of my first year with WordPress and the lessons I’ve learned about myself. It always ends up being a long and boring story of a year of my life without ever getting to the purpose of why I want to share it. I’ve decided to over simplify it as much as possible, in order to get to the ‘why’. If you really want to read about my ‘WordPress Year 1’ you can probably put most of it together from reading my blog for 2016.</p>
<p>So in the spirit of TL;DR:</p>
<p>After an amazing first WordCamp experience at WordCamp Cape Town 2015 I chose the path of freelance WordPress developer. My current situation doesn&#8217;t lend itself to being employed full time and I decided (at the time possibly stupidly) that building WordPress websites was what I was going to do. It would be easy right?</p>
<blockquote><p>I had a developer license for the Divi theme and all I had to do was find small business clients to build websites for. What could possibly go wrong?</p></blockquote>
<p>I spent the first year banging my head against a quite a few walls, trying to expand my mind, my skills and my experience to reach a goal that, for me anyway, was wholly unobtainable. In the end I realised the what I needed to do was trust in myself and my experience, find a better system for obtaining work and focus on the areas that I was actually good at.</p>
<p>I also learned the importance of community.</p>
<p>What follows are the notes I would send to myself, were I able to send a time capsule back one year, to be read on January 1, 2016. Hopefully it helps someone else out there.</p>
<h3>The WordPress community is an amazing thing.</h3>
<p>I’ve often said that the reason everyone in the community is (mostly) so open and welcoming and helpful is that it was founded in the spirit of open source. Open source software at it’s core is about being free, open and available, the ability to question a specific solution and find answers to problems and being able to extend and adapt to new requirements. The WordPress community is that in spades. Sure, there are some aspects of it that can get brutal or nasty, sometimes some parts of the community feel unheard or ignored and when I read about things like that it makes me sad. In my experience it has been a positive part of my journey.</p>
<blockquote><p>From the local WordPress South Africa Slack team, to the two WordCamps in Cape Town and Johannesburg I attended this year, all the way to the international Slacks, forums and Facebook groups, almost everyone I’ve dealt with is positive and supportive.</p></blockquote>
<p>I’ve contacted CEOs and owners of premium WordPress business, asking them questions via Slack. Every time they answered. In what corporate culture does the owner or CEO of a company take time to answer some random developer question? I’ve met some amazing people, locally and internationally, in person and online, and they have all been the same. Friendly, helpful and willing to answer questions. I can honestly say that without the help and support of the WordPress community I would have been able to make it ‘on my own’ last year.</p>
<h3>Being a freelancer is more about finding your purpose and less about finding clients.</h3>
<p>I spent the majority of 2016 trying to force myself down a new path. One where I had little or no experience and where I was surrounded by giants. My gut told me that clients would be looking for websites. So building websites with WordPress became the logical step. However I am not a web designer, a content strategist or an SEO expert. In the words of Jeremy Clarkson, ‘How hard can it be?’. I soon learned how hard. While it is good to try and expand on your weaknesses, trying to earn an income this way is eventually going to kill you. The path to true work/life fulfilment lies at the intersection of that which you love, that which you are good at, that which the world needs and (most importantly) that which you can be paid for (the Japanese call it ‘Ikigai’, roughly translated as ‘a reason for being’).</p>
<blockquote><p>The biggest mistake I made was thinking that because of WordPress there would be no work for a PHP developer.</p></blockquote>
<p>I soon learned that the reality was that because of WordPress there was an abundance of work for a PHP developer, I was just looking at it the wrong way. Once I knew what my Ikigai was, finding the right platform and clients to match that became much, much easier.</p>
<h3>Never judge your experience based on someone else.</h3>
<p>I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not the most up to date of developers. I only recently really grasped the concepts of name spacing and I still don’t quite get the whole MySQL character set thing. And that is OK. Being a developer is more about solving a problem than the tools you use to do so. There isn’t one ‘right’ way to build a plugin. There are a few recommended ways, which often differ from each other in small but important ways but they are all ‘the right way’. The important thing is to pay attention to things like standards, simplicity and security. Everything else can be learned from others. The beauty of an open source project is that everyone is learning from the community. So whatever I don’t know I can learn from someone else. At the end of the day the community benefits and you benefit. (also, refer back to ‘The WordPress community is an amazing thing’).</p>
<h3>Look after yourself.</h3>
<p>These seem obvious, but I soon found myself in some very bad patterns. Sleep was the first to go. It is way too easy to end up working until 1 or 2am, ‘just to get this one thing finished’. That’s great if you can sleep in the next morning, but when you are guaranteed to be woken at around 7am by your 5 year old, it soon starts adding up.</p>
<blockquote><p>Once the sleep deprivation starts the bad food choices kick in.</p></blockquote>
<p>Coffee becomes more of a crutch than an enjoyment and meal time decision making is ruled more by what tastes nice than what is healthy. Eventually you end up getting sick for a week and you are so run down you get nothing done until you recover, meaning your earning potential lessens. So you start trying to work longer hours. It is a vicious cycle. The problem, however, is actually a bit deeper&#8230;.</p>
<h3>Your time is valuable.</h3>
<p>The quickest way to the downward sleep/life cycle is to devalue yourself and your time.</p>
<p>Learn to estimate better. Spend more (paid) time on researching the intricacies of a project to ensure you have thought about everything you can, then estimate accordingly. Otherwise you end up realising you missed something half way through, and you have to make a choice. Usually that choice is to suck up the time and add the feature. That is the wrong choice.</p>
<p>Your time is valuable. It is better to admit to a client that you missed something and that you will need to adjust the time line or quote than to try and kill yourself to make it based on your original estimates. Worse case the client says no and cancels the project. Learn and apply the knowledge to the next one. Better case they agree to give you more time but not more money. Well at least you aren’t going to kill yourself to get it done. Best case they understand everyone is human. I’ve rarely found clients who don’t get it.</p>
<h3>You are capable.</h3>
<p>Have you ever experienced this? &#8211; You have a project coming up. You&#8217;ve done all the ground work and made sure you&#8217;ve estimated to the best of your abilities, but suddenly you are gripped with fear/concern/worry that the actual project is going to be above your capabilities. So you keep putting it off and do other less important things, trying to build up the courage to tackle it. When you eventually sit down and start you realise it is well within your capabilities and had you started sooner you would probably be done already, instead of now where you are a bit behind and you&#8217;ll have to either work in some extra time to make that deadline or come up with some excuse as to why you missed it.</p>
<p>All. The. Damn. Time.</p>
<p>Stop it. You can do it. You’ve done it a 100 times before. Trust in your experience and yourself.</p>
<p>So in short, sleep more, worry less, rely on those around you and just get on with doing what you do best. It isn&#8217;t really much simpler than that. I’m still trying to figure out why I tried to make it more complicated than what it is, but perhaps that is another journey in the human psyche, for another day.</p>
<div class="rtsocial-container rtsocial-container-align-right rtsocial-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal-button"><a title="Tweet: Notes From My Former Self" class="rtsocial-twitter-button" href="https://twitter.com/share?text=Notes%20From%20My%20Former%20Self&via=heropress&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fessays%2Fnotes-from-my-former-self%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal fb-light"><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal-button"><a title="Like: Notes From My Former Self" class="rtsocial-fb-button rtsocial-fb-like-light" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fessays%2Fnotes-from-my-former-self%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-linkedin-button" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fessays%2Fnotes-from-my-former-self%2F&title=Notes+From+My+Former+Self" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Share: Notes From My Former Self"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-pinterest-button" href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://heropress.com/essays/notes-from-my-former-self/&media=https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/050317-min-1-150x150.jpg&description=Notes From My Former Self" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Pin: Notes From My Former Self"></a></div></div><a rel="nofollow" class="perma-link" href="https://heropress.com/essays/notes-from-my-former-self/" title="Notes From My Former Self"></a></div><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com/essays/notes-from-my-former-self/">Notes From My Former Self</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</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, 03 May 2017 11:00:42 +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:18:"Jonathan Bossenger";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:56:"Akismet: Limited Time 20% Discount off all Jetpack Plans";s: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=1931";s: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:63:"https://blog.akismet.com/2017/05/03/discount-off-jetpack-plans/";s: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:1119:"<p>As part of #SmallBusinessWeek, Jetpack and Akismet are offering a limited time 20% discount off all Jetpack&#8217;s <a href="https://jetpack.com/pricing/">paid plans</a> &#8212; all of which include the Akismet service as well as other security essentials like automated backups and priority support.</p>
<p>You can read more about why Akismet and Jetpack are the ideal WordPress plugins for small business websites over on the <a href="https://jetpack.com/2017/04/30/jetpack-the-ideal-small-business-plugin/">Jetpack blog</a>.</p>
<p>To take advantage of this offer, just use the code <span>SMALLBIZ</span> at checkout, and of course, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to <a href="https://jetpack.com/contact-support">contact us</a>.</p><br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/akismet.wordpress.com/1931/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/akismet.wordpress.com/1931/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?host=blog.akismet.com&blog=116920&post=1931&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:"Wed, 03 May 2017 08:26:47 +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:7:"Richard";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:84:"WPTavern: Seattle to Host WooConf 2017 in October, Conference to Focus on Developers";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69514";s: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:"https://wptavern.com/seattle-to-host-wooconf-2017-in-october-conference-to-focus-on-developers";s: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:4507:"<p><a href="https://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/wooconf.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://wooconf.com" target="_blank">WooConf</a>, the official WooCommerce developer&#8217;s conference, is returning for its third edition October 19-20, 2017. In line with previous years&#8217; events that were hosted in major U.S. tech hubs (San Francisco and Austin), WooConf 2017 will be held in Seattle. The organizing team, which is made up of almost a dozen people from around the world of WooCommerce, is planning for 500 attendees.</p>
<p>WooCommerce downloads have doubled from 12 million in 2016 to 24 million today. The plugin is active on more than 3 million websites and has a strong third-party plugin and theme ecosystem contributing to its growth.</p>
<p>This year&#8217;s speaker lineup will feature more than 30 sessions aimed at developers, along with hands-on workshops. Organizers announced the event with a note that this edition of WooConf will cater specifically to developers:</p>
<blockquote><p>Anyone who runs their business with WooCommerce will enjoy WooConf. However, we’re building out this year’s speaker list and workshops to appeal mainly to freelancers, agencies, WooExperts, and other developers working with WooCommerce on a daily basis.</p>
<p>This includes anyone writing code, designing websites, or working with clients as a project manager or business owner. It also includes those of you who design, customize, and write code for your own store (or lend your services to a friend now and then).</p></blockquote>
<p>Last year&#8217;s conference in Austin included content for both store owners and developers, and attendees were a mixture of experts and casual WooCommerce fans. The organizing team decided that the event could benefit from a more narrow focus.</p>
<p>&#8220;Basically, we realized that we need to focus on either developers or store owners,&#8221; WooConf co-organizer Patrick Rauland said. &#8220;The content at last year&#8217;s WooConf was great. But you can&#8217;t have two priorities.</p>
<p>&#8220;We want to have a conference that&#8217;s remarkable, meaning people talk about it. There are a lot of great WordPress events and a lot of great e-commerce events. We want people to talk about WooConf in both of those circles. And by focusing on one target we hope to achieve that.&#8221;</p>
<p>Speaker submissions are already open and the suggested topics reflect this year&#8217;s developer focus:</p>
<ul>
<li>Running an Agency / Client Relations – Scoping projects, fostering repeat business, keeping projects on track, finding and hiring developers, productizing client functionality and so on.</li>
<li>Extending WooCommerce – Using the REST API, JavaScript frameworks (React &#038; Backbone), case studies on customization, tips and tricks for customizing specific parts of WooCommerce (emails, checkout flow, product pages and so on) and accessibility.</li>
<li>Scaling – Anything from server-side, backend, frontend or case studies</li>
<li>eCommerce Fundamentals – Creating a cohesive experience (between multiple sites, apps, mobile sites, Amazon, etc), personalization, conversion rate optimization</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://wooconf.com/product/early-bird-ticket/" target="_blank">Early bird tickets</a> for WooConf are on sale for $499 until July 1 when the price will go up $200.</p>
<p>Organizers will also be hosting the Golden Ticket competition this year, which offers prospective attendees the chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to the event in Seattle, including travel, accommodation, and admission to the conference. Developers who want to be considered are asked to create a video showing how they use WooCommerce and post it to Instagram. The call for submissions will kick off later this month and the competition has historically been fairly stiff. In 2014, <a href="https://woocommerce.com/2014/08/case-study-o-v-e-r-clothing/" target="_blank">Sinisa from OVER Clothing</a> won out over 2,000 other entrants.</p>
<p>WooConf 2017 will take place at <a href="https://www.bellharbor.com/" target="_blank">Bell Harbor International Conference Center</a>, within walking distance of Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, and many hotels. For the thousands of WooCommerce developers and enthusiasts around the world who are not able to attend, a live streaming option will be available and recorded talks will be published after the event.</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, 03 May 2017 02:36:12 +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: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:53:"Akismet: Akismet WordPress Plugin 3.3.1 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=1928";s: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:67:"https://blog.akismet.com/2017/05/02/akismet-wordpress-plugin-3-3-1/";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:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1383:"<p>Version 3.3.1 of <a href="http://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/">the Akismet plugin for WordPress</a> is now available.</p>
<p>For a full list of the changes in this release, see the <a href="https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/akismet/trunk?action=stop_on_copy&mode=stop_on_copy&rev=1649900&stop_rev=1604754+&limit=100&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=">revision log</a>, but here are the highlights:</p>
<ul>
<li>A couple of bugs that could cause PHP warnings in the error log have been fixed.</li>
<li>Performance has been improved by preventing some comments-specific code from running on pages without comments.</li>
<li>Both the &#8220;Remove author URL&#8221; and link preview features now work after a comment is Quick Edited in wp-admin.</li>
</ul>
<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/1928/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/akismet.wordpress.com/1928/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?host=blog.akismet.com&blog=116920&post=1928&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:"Tue, 02 May 2017 19:15:34 +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: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:39:"Matt: Longreads and Original Journalism";s: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=47299";s: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:56:"https://ma.tt/2017/05/longreads-and-original-journalism/";s: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:809:"<p class="simple-headline"><a href="http://www.niemanlab.org/2017/05/amid-the-wreckage-of-fallen-startups-longreads-is-increasing-the-original-reporting-it-funds/">Amid the wreckage of fallen startups, Longreads is increasing the original reporting it funds</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="simple-headline">Longreads has raised about $250,000 from “thousands of members” since it added memberships in 2012. The suggested monthly amount is now $5 a month or $50 a year, though readers can choose to donate any amount, and Armstrong said that the company’s gotten some thousand-dollar donations. All of that money now goes to pay authors, and WordPress.com matches every $1 from a reader with an additional $3, which clearly makes it a lot easier for Longreads to do what it wants to do.</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:"Tue, 02 May 2017 04:52:32 +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: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: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:80:"WPTavern: WP Elevation is Focusing All Content on Mental Health for Month of May";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69499";s: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:91:"https://wptavern.com/wp-elevation-is-focusing-all-content-on-mental-health-for-month-of-may";s: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:4356:"<a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/tea.jpg?ssl=1"><img /></a>photo credit: <a href="https://stocksnap.io/photo/04E3HNGAKH">Jorge Garcia</a>
<p>May is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_Health_Awareness_Month" target="_blank">Mental Health Awareness Month</a> in the US, dedicated to educating people about mental health and illnesses since 1949. WP Elevation is joining the observance this year with a special emphasis on freelancers and the tech industry. The company, which provides education for WordPress consultants, will be <a href="http://www.wpelevation.com/wp-elevation-mental-health-month/" target="_blank">focusing all of its content on mental health topics</a>, including blogs, podcasts, newsletters, and livestreams.</p>
<p>The WP Elevation podcast will feature interviews with mental health experts on Thursdays throughout May:</p>
<ul>
<li>May 4: Ed Finkler from <a href="https://osmihelp.org/" target="_blank">Open Sourcing Mental Illness</a>, interviewed by Gin McInneny</li>
<li>May 11: Cory Miller from <a href="https://ithemes.com/" target="_blank">iThemes</a>, interviewed by Kristina Romero</li>
<li>May 18: Andrew Pearce from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AnxietyTaskforce/" target="_blank">Anxiety Free Living</a>, interviewed by Cath Hughes</li>
<li>May 25: Amy Felman – Psychologist and Podcast Presenter of <a href="http://weallwearitdifferently.com/" target="_blank">We All Wear it Differently</a>, interviewed by Mike Killen</li>
</ul>
<p>WP Elevation founder Troy Dean said various employees at the company have been affected by mental health issues and are often conscious of how digital life can keep people separated from each other.</p>
<p>&#8220;I have experienced anxiety and depression in the past &#8211; to the point where I couldn’t get out of bed some days,&#8221; Dean said. &#8220;I work very hard to manage my mental health these days through exercise, family life, and hobbies, as well as working hard in business which I find fulfilling. We will be sharing some of our personal stories on our blog during May.&#8221;</p>
<p>Focusing on mental health topics is a drastic change from WP Elevation&#8217;s normal business topics, but Dean said he hasn&#8217;t even thought about how it might affect the company&#8217;s revenue.</p>
<p>&#8220;We all believe that mental health issues are still weighed down with a certain stigma and we want to encourage people to be more open in having these conversations,&#8221; Dean said. &#8220;I actually don’t care whether it affects my revenue or not. Without good mental health, revenue is meaningless.&#8221;</p>
<p>Working within the WordPress community comes with its own set of unique mental health risks, as many people have their lives deeply embedded in online work. Those who work remotely or by themselves have a greater likelihood of feeling isolated and cut off from others.</p>
<p>&#8220;The digital life can keep us isolated for periods of time as we toil away on our projects in front of our computers,&#8221; Dean said. &#8220;I’ve met a lot of WordPress users over the years at WordCamps who have confided in me that the events are so important because they get to connect with their tribe. I think there is also a risk of online bullying that can make people feel inadequate or ostracized.&#8221;</p>
<p>WP Elevation will be supporting <a href="https://osmihelp.org/" target="_blank">Open Sourcing Mental Illness</a> (OSMI), a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting mental wellness and providing resources for those facing mental illness in the tech community. The company is <a href="https://osmihelp.org/donate" target="_blank">promoting OSMI&#8217;s fundraising campaign</a> throughout the month alongside raising awareness around mental health-related topics.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have no measurable goals for this initiative,&#8221; Dean said. &#8220;It is not part of our marketing plan or some larger scheme for us. We have these conversations on a regular basis internally and some of our members have indicated it would be a good idea to have them publicly, so that’s what this is all about. If we can help one person feel less isolated or find the courage to reach out and ask for help when they need it, I’ll consider it a success.&#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, 02 May 2017 03:59:25 +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: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:102:"WPTavern: 10up Releases WP Docker, an Open Source Docker Configuration for Local WordPress Development";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69468";s: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:112:"https://wptavern.com/10up-releases-wp-docker-an-open-source-docker-configuration-for-local-wordpress-development";s: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:3363:"<p><a href="https://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/docker-logo.jpg?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://10up.com/blog/2017/wp-docker/" target="_blank">WP Docker</a> is a new project from 10up that makes it easy to set up a local WordPress development environment with Docker. Last year 10up worked with <a href="https://www.joyent.com/" target="_blank">Joyent</a>, a cloud infrastructure company, to create a production-ready implementation of WordPress in Docker. After their experience with this project, 10up created WP Docker as a simple, open source development environment based on <a href="https://docs.docker.com/compose/" target="_blank">docker-compose</a>.</p>
<p>Docker is a virtualization technology that allows developers to work on websites and applications in isolated containers. It has many advantages over Vagrant, which takes up a lot more space with each virtual machine having its own operating system included. Docker runs off of a single Linux instance and the containers hold the application and its dependencies.</p>
<p>&#8220;While still viable, VVV, Vagrant, and Virtual Box/Hyper-V take up extreme disk space and are slow to provision, start up, and SSH into,&#8221; 10up Director of Engineering Taylor Lovett said. &#8220;Because of this, engineers tend to use one &#8216;mega&#8217; VVV install for all of their development websites. This workflow poses a number of problems: system service version and configuration &#8216;normalization&#8217; across all projects (i.e. PHP 7 on everything when some projects run PHP 5.6 in production), and legacy clutter (i.e. old websites and system packages undeleted).&#8221;</p>
<p>WP Docker is much more lightweight than VVV and starts up much faster. It comes packaged with Elasticsearch by default, so 10up&#8217;s <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/elasticpress/" target="_blank">ElasticPress</a> plugin works out-of-the-box. The environment includes the following technologies by default:</p>
<ul>
<li>PHP7</li>
<li>MariaDB</li>
<li>NGINX</li>
<li>Elasticsearch</li>
<li>Gearman</li>
<li>Memcached</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://github.com/Varying-Vagrant-Vagrants/VVV" target="_blank">VVV</a> was started by a former 10up employee, Jeremy Felt, and the company still uses the project for local development in many cases. Certain instances, however, may lend themselves more to using VVV as opposed to WP Docker. Lovett said those include projects that are highly dependent on specific versions of system packages, such as PHP 5.6 and Elasticsearch 5.1.</p>
<p>&#8220;WP Docker lends itself well to enterprise clients that want to version control an environment specifically for their web application to be distributed to developers,&#8221; Lovett said. &#8220;This is common for large clients with large development teams. WP Docker lets a team standardize on a local setup which decreases bugs and &#8216;I see this but you don&#8217;t&#8217; issues.&#8221;</p>
<p>Lovett said teams at 10up are still using VVV more often than WP Docker since it&#8217;s still quite new, but the company plans to let project requirements and team preferences drive adoption. The project is <a href="https://github.com/10up/wp-docker" target="_blank">available on GitHub</a> and has nearly 80 stars less than a week after its 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:"Mon, 01 May 2017 19:52:08 +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: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:61:"BuddyPress: Total Wellness Challenge: Fitness with BuddyPress";s: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:32:"https://buddypress.org/?p=265691";s: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:"https://buddypress.org/2017/05/total-wellness-challenge-fitness-with-buddypress/";s: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:9175:"<div><em>This a guest post by Tara Claeys (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/taraclaeys">taraclaeys</a>) of <a href="https://designtlc.com/">Design TLC, LLC</a>. When she&#8217;s not working, Tara enjoys cycling, running, watching movies and spending time with friends and family.</em></div>
<p>Peer reviewed by <a class="bp-suggestions-mention" href="https://buddypress.org/members/boonebgorges/" rel="nofollow">@boonebgorges</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://twcfit.com/"><img src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2017/05/twc.jpg" alt="Total Wellness Challenge site" width="1131" height="619" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-265694" /></a></p>
<h2>Background</h2>
<p>Ginny Wright started an outdoor boot camp fitness business, <a href="http://bodybyginny.com/">Body By Ginny</a>,  in Arlington, Virginia in 2003. The business grew and Ginny expanded into nutrition and wellness coaching. As a result, she began offering “Challenges” on printed sheets to her clients a few years later. They could track their daily wellness activities (nutrition, fitness, and mental health) on the sheet, giving themselves points for good behaviors and subtracting points for negative activities. This “game” became popular among her clients, just as online wellness communities started offering similar experiences on websites and apps.</p>
<p>Tara Claeys, a fitness client and friend, offered to help Ginny expand her existing WordPress site by adding a membership component, allow commenting to create interaction between members, and also include the ability for people to track their “Challenge Points” online using a Google Spreadsheet. This was the rudimentary beginning of the online program for her Challenges.</p>
<h2>Implementation</h2>
<p>In 2015, Ginny decided to brand her Challenges and decided to launch a separate website for this program, The <a href="https://twcfit.com/">Total Wellness Challenge</a> (TWC). Her goal was to expand the program beyond her fitness clients and to offer branded Challenges for corporate wellness programs. Tara worked with her to create a multisite installation with BuddyPress and  MemberPress that would have:</p>
<ul>
<li>Subsites for individual, private Challenges in corporate and other groups</li>
<li>Restricted access to Challenges for members only</li>
<li>Allow a “Reflections” commenting page for Challengers to interact with each other</li>
<li>Point Logging for 3 components of the Challenge
<ul>
<li>Limit submission to same day after 8pm until next day until 5pm. </li>
<li>Allow users to select one day to be a “Free” day where they would receive the maximum nutrition score, no matter what they ate</li>
<li>Add a “bonus” point automatically if a user logs 5 consecutive 12-point days</li>
<li>Show points for all Challengers on a Totals Page</li>
<li>Limits to only one entry per user per day</li>
<li>Each category (nutrition, fitness, lifestyle) has limit on max points per day </li>
<li>Ability for admin to edit user points on the back end</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Tara hired <a href="https://twitter.com/tomaransom?lang=en">Tom Ransom</a> of <a href="https://www.1bigidea.com/">One Big Idea</a> to help develop a custom plugin that would connect MemberPress with BuddyPress. They chose BuddyPress because is primed for multisite configuration, it worked well with MemberPress, and is very customizable. Plus, the BuddyPress Groups functionality was a good fit for the separate Challenges. For TWC, each Challenge is a unique BuddyPress Group, set up on the front end by the admin. </p>
<p>The TWC is a point-logging game at its core. Participants keep track of their activity throughout each day for about 4 weeks and must log in to the website each day to record their points. There are 3 components of the Challenge:</p>
<p><img src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2017/05/groups-1024x313.png" alt="TWC groups" width="700" height="214" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-265695" /></p>
<p><strong>1. Nutrition</strong>: Players can earn up to 12 points per day. Everyone starts the day with 5 points, and can gain points for positive food choices, such as avoiding white flour, eating 3 cups of greens and drinking a specified amount of water based on their weight. Players lose points for unhealthy choices, such as eating too much sugar, eating processed foods, and consuming more than one serving of beer or wine.</p>
<p><strong>2. Fitness</strong>: Players can earn up to 2 points per day. They earn one point for doing 30 minutes or more of exercise per day and another point for stretching for at least 10 minutes.</p>
<p><strong>3. Lifestyle</strong>: Players earn one point for posting a daily Reflection on the twcfit.com website, and a second point for participating in the lifestyle challenge of the week. Each week, a different lifestyle activity is listed, including behaviors such as noting 3 things you are grateful for each day, getting 7 hours of sleep, or doing an act of kindness for someone. A maximum of 2 lifestyle points can be earned each day.</p>
<p><img src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2017/05/bbg-log-886x1024.jpg" alt="Log Points" width="700" height="809" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-265720" /></p>
<p>The participant can go to the Totals page to check their score against other players.</p>
<p><img src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2017/05/totals-1024x466.png" alt="Totals page" width="700" height="319" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-265697" /></p>
<p>Tom’s plugin includes code that directs the PayPal IPN to the respective subsite for MemberPress (MP) purchases. In addition, this plugin adds the new MP user into the corresponding BuddyPress group once the MP transaction was returned compete. (twc-fit-challenges-member-management.php)</p>
<p><img src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2017/05/twc-customplugin.png" alt="TWC custom plugin" width="884" height="712" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-265698" /></p>
<p>Other components of the custom plugin include:</p>
<ul>
<li>buddypress.php: sets up BuddyPress (message for logged out users, custom date picker)</li>
<li>Challenges-bp-points.php: Extends BP Group functionality: add_points =&gt; adds to database</li>
<li>admin-menu-points &#8212; UI for front end</li>
<li>admin-points &#8212; Doing work</li>
<li>admin-menus &#8212; puts nav in Dashboard</li>
<li>twcfit-challenges.php &#8212; timezones &#8211; offset GMT, returns city timezone (php only reads city)</li>
</ul>
<p>In addition, a separate twc-utility plugin hides some BuddyPress content that is not needed and redirects login to BuddyPress.</p>
<p>Tara customized the style sheets and some BuddyPress theme files to add a custom button to the BuddyPress Group page, and edited the BuddyPress navigation and styles. For example:</p>
<ul>
<li>activity &gt; post-form.php customized “What is your reflection for the xx Challenge today, name?”</li>
<li>groups &gt; single &gt; group-header.php &#8212; Adds RESOURCES button to header<br /><img src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2017/05/bp-customization.jpg" alt="BuddyPress Customization" width="235" height="139" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-265719" />
</li>
</ul>
<p>The site also uses the  BuddyPress Custom Profile Menu and Custom User Profile Photo plugins.</p>
<h2>Current Status</h2>
<p>Over the past 13+ years, Ginny has hired 4 instructors, expanded her business to McLean, Virginia, and wrote the “<a href="http://bodybyginny.com/good-food-recipe-book-by-ginny-wright/">Good Food Recipe Book</a>” which is available for sale on her website.  At this time, Ginny is still deciding whether she wants to invest in marketing Total Wellness Challenge or keep it small, mostly based on word of mouth. The increased competition in this space has made it harder to gain exposure without a large marketing budget.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://twcfit.com/">Total Wellness Challenge</a> website has been running well for a little over a year. Six Challenges have been conducted so far, and participants have loved interacting with each other. Tara and Tom are happy with the positive feedback on their customized “gamification” of BuddyPress and how it has helped provide additional clients and exposure for Ginny’s outdoor boot camps. </p>
<div>
<img src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2017/05/taraclaeys.jpeg" alt="Tara Claeys" width="150" height="150" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-265693" /> <em><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/taraclaeys">Tara Claeys</a> of <a href="https://designtlc.com/">Design TLC, LLC</a> provides custom website and graphic design services, with a focus on creating effective, clean and personal communication platforms for small businesses. Tara has a marketing background, combined with design and website coding expertise. Tara is the proud recipient of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce 2016 &#8220;Best Technology Business Award.&#8221;<br />
Links: <a href="https://twitter.com/design_tlc">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraclaeys">Linkedin</a> </em>
</div>
<p>&nbsp;</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, 01 May 2017 15:50:35 +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:8:"@mercime";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:11:"
	
	
	
	
	
";s: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:29:"HeroPress: Scholarship Update";s: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:29:"https://heropress.com/?p=1771";s: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:41:"https://heropress.com/scholarship-update/";s: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:"<img width="960" height="639" src="http://20094-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ipad-uandr-1-1024x682.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Two hands holding an ipad so we can see the screen." /><p>The <a href="https://heropress.com/up-running-scholarship-heropress-wpshout/">Up and Running Scholarship</a> has been open for 10 days now, with 9 more to go! We&#8217;ve gotten many applications, from all of the world.  I&#8217;ve been really pleased with the diversity of the applicants. They really are all over the map, both in location and gender.</p>
<p>Several people have come to me privately asking if they should apply, if perhaps they&#8217;re too privileged to qualify. I&#8217;ve encouraged everyone to apply. We have some very wise people on the selection board, and I have no doubt they&#8217;ll make sure the winners are the best fit.</p>
<p>Good wishes to all!</p>
<div class="rtsocial-container rtsocial-container-align-right rtsocial-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal-button"><a title="Tweet: Scholarship Update" class="rtsocial-twitter-button" href="https://twitter.com/share?text=Scholarship%20Update&via=heropress&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fscholarship-update%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal fb-light"><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal-button"><a title="Like: Scholarship Update" class="rtsocial-fb-button rtsocial-fb-like-light" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fscholarship-update%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-linkedin-button" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fscholarship-update%2F&title=Scholarship+Update" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Share: Scholarship Update"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-pinterest-button" href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://heropress.com/scholarship-update/&media=https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ipad-uandr-1-150x150.png&description=Scholarship Update" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Pin: Scholarship Update"></a></div></div><a rel="nofollow" class="perma-link" href="https://heropress.com/scholarship-update/" title="Scholarship Update"></a></div><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com/scholarship-update/">Scholarship Update</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</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, 01 May 2017 13:59:18 +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:"";}}}}}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:68:"Post Status: Maintaining Legacy WordPress Websites — Draft 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:31:"https://poststatus.com/?p=36610";s: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:75:"https://poststatus.com/maintaining-legacy-wordpress-websites-draft-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:1903:"<p>Welcome to the Post Status <a href="https://poststatus.com/category/draft">Draft podcast</a>, which you can find <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/post-status-draft-wordpress/id976403008">on iTunes</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Ih5egfxskgcec4qadr3f4zfpzzm?t=Post_Status__Draft_WordPress_Podcast">Google Play</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/krogsgard/post-status-draft-wordpress-podcast">Stitcher</a>, and <a href="http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1061/rss">via RSS</a> for your favorite podcatcher. Post Status Draft is hosted by Joe Hoyle &#8212; the CTO of Human Made &#8212; and Brian Krogsgard.</p>
<p>Brian and Joe discuss many of the factors that are a part of maintaining a website for the long term. They discuss it both in the sense of when you own the site (like Brian with Post Status), and when you are doing long-term client work (like Human Made with retainers).</p>
<p>There are several things to consider, whether it’s in your own code, or the decisions you make on which third party developer’s tools to use.</p>
<p><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');</script><![endif]-->
<a href="https://audio.simplecast.com/68341.mp3">https://audio.simplecast.com/68341.mp3</a><br />
<a href="https://audio.simplecast.com/68341.mp3">Direct Download</a></p>
<h3>Links</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://semver.org/">Semantic Versioning</a></li>
<li><a href="https://woocommerce.wordpress.com/2017/04/04/say-hello-to-woocommerce-3-0-bionic-butterfly/">WooCommerce 3.0 and moving to SemVer</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Sponsor: SearchWP</h3>
<p>SearchWP makes WordPress search better. Instantly improve your site search without writing a line of code! SearchWP enables custom algorithms, searching custom fields, product data, and much more. Improve your site’s search today with our newest partner, <a href="https://searchwp.com">SearchWP</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:"Sun, 30 Apr 2017 14:31:59 +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:14:"Katie Richards";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:11:"
	
	
	
	
	
";s: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:46:"HeroPress: HeroPress Geography: Eastern Europe";s: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:29:"https://heropress.com/?p=1766";s: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:57:"https://heropress.com/heropress-geography-eastern-europe/";s: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:3924:"<img width="960" height="399" src="http://20094-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/heropress_eastern_europe-1024x426.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Google map of eastern Europe." /><p>I don&#8217;t have nearly as many countries from Eastern Europe as I&#8217;d like.  The ones I do have are along the western edge. Several of the countries represented have more than one essay from them.</p>
<p>Also of note, the first HeroPress essay ever came from Ukraine, and is listed here.</p>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><p><a href="https://heropress.com/essays/finding-your-place/">Finding Your Place</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><p><a href="https://heropress.com/essays/wordpress-mantra-mine/">The WordPress Mantra Is Mine Too</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><p><a href="https://heropress.com/essays/really-no-excuse/">You Really Have No Excuse</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><p><a href="https://heropress.com/essays/taking-chance-wordpress/">Taking A Chance With WordPress</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><p><a href="https://heropress.com/essays/rebirth/">Rebirth</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><p><a href="https://heropress.com/essays/growing-a-business-in-europe-with-wordpress/">Growing a Business in Europe with WordPress</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><p><a href="https://heropress.com/essays/even-crisis-has-options/">Even Crisis Has Options</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><p><a href="https://heropress.com/essays/blogging-solopreneurship-terrorism/">Blogging, Solopreneurship, &#038; Terrorism</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<div class="rtsocial-container rtsocial-container-align-right rtsocial-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal-button"><a title="Tweet: HeroPress Geography: Eastern Europe" class="rtsocial-twitter-button" href="https://twitter.com/share?text=HeroPress%20Geography%3A%20Eastern%20Europe&via=heropress&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fheropress-geography-eastern-europe%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal fb-light"><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal-button"><a title="Like: HeroPress Geography: Eastern Europe" class="rtsocial-fb-button rtsocial-fb-like-light" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fheropress-geography-eastern-europe%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-linkedin-button" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fheropress-geography-eastern-europe%2F&title=HeroPress+Geography%3A+Eastern+Europe" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Share: HeroPress Geography: Eastern Europe"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-pinterest-button" href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://heropress.com/heropress-geography-eastern-europe/&media=https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/heropress_eastern_europe-150x150.png&description=HeroPress Geography: Eastern Europe" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Pin: HeroPress Geography: Eastern Europe"></a></div></div><a rel="nofollow" class="perma-link" href="https://heropress.com/heropress-geography-eastern-europe/" title="HeroPress Geography: Eastern Europe"></a></div><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com/heropress-geography-eastern-europe/">HeroPress Geography: Eastern Europe</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</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:"Sat, 29 Apr 2017 22:45:10 +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:"";}}}}}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:64:"WPTavern: Shopify Discontinues Its 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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69415";s: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:75:"https://wptavern.com/shopify-discontinues-its-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:2735:"<p><a href="https://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/shopify-logo.jpg?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/shopify-ecommerce-shopping-cart/" target="_blank">Shopify&#8217;s official plugin for WordPress</a> was removed from the plugin directory this week. The plugin allowed users to create &#8220;Buy Buttons&#8221; for products from their Shopify stores and insert them into WordPress posts and pages using a shortcode. It was built by <a href="https://webdevstudios.com/" target="_blank">WebDevStudios</a> and had approximately 9,000 active installations before it was removed.</p>
<p>Shopify&#8217;s <a href="https://help.shopify.com/manual/sell-online/buy-button/wordpress-for-shopify" target="_blank">documentation</a> says the plugin has been discontinued and will not be supported after June 30, 2017. WordPress users who want to display Shopify products on their sites are now instructed to <a href="https://help.shopify.com/manual/sell-online/buy-button/create-buy-button" target="_blank">create a Buy Button for a product or collection</a> and paste the embed code into WordPress instead.</p>
<p>The WordPress plugin team would not comment on why the plugin was removed, but a support representative from Shopify said it was outdated and difficult to maintain.</p>
<p>&#8220;The reason it was removed is that it was being replaced by Buy Button, which is a better way of selling in WordPress,&#8221; Shopify customer support representative Jacquelyn Failano said. &#8220;The WordPress plugin was built by a third party and even if we support it, it could break at any time as we make future updates to the Buy Button channel.&#8221;</p>
<p>Failano said that by switching from using the plugin to creating Buy Buttons with Shopify, users will have access to updated features, including fonts, colors, layouts, buttons, and multiple images on variants. Merchants will also be in a better position to take advantage of future updates.</p>
<p>&#8220;The plugin uses older code and methods that will no longer be updated or supported,&#8221; Failano said. &#8220;There is no longer a dedicated development team for it. This means that there are no resources to maintain or rebuild the plugin.&#8221;</p>
<p>Failano would not confirm whether or not the plugin was removed from the directory by Shopify at the company&#8217;s discretion or whether it was forcibly removed by WordPress for a violation of the guidelines.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m afraid I cannot confirm on that part &#8211; the main reason why it was discontinued was because the plugin uses older code and methods that will no longer be updated or supported,&#8221; Failano said.</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, 28 Apr 2017 02:02:10 +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: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:92:"WPTavern: How the San Francisco WordPress Meetup is Using Open Collective to Fund Activities";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69286";s: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:"https://wptavern.com/how-the-san-francisco-wordpress-meetup-is-using-open-collective-to-fund-activities";s: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:5065:"<p>In 2016, WordPress meetups had the fastest growth the community has seen in five or six years with more than 62,566 people attending in 58 different countries. Meetups are the seeds of future WordCamps. These local gatherings help users further their WordPress skills and underpin the community&#8217;s growth across the globe.</p>
<p>Funding a local meetup can be a challenge, as organizers often have to seek out sponsors just like a WordCamp but at a smaller scale. The San Francisco WordPress meetup (WPSFO) is trying something new by publicly managing its budget and expenses with <a href="https://opencollective.com/wordpress-sf" target="_blank">Open Collective</a>. Last week we featured the service in an <a href="https://wptavern.com/open-collective-is-a-new-transparent-way-to-fund-open-source-projects" target="_blank">article</a> and WPSFO lead organizer Shannon Dunn commented on his meetup&#8217;s experience with it so far.</p>
<p>&#8220;It creates a level of transparency for the whole community and lets current and prospective customers understand where the money goes,&#8221; Dunn said. &#8220;I&#8217;d say we&#8217;re pretty happy with it and it&#8217;s an integral part of managing our meetup.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/wpsfo.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>Dunn started attending and helping out with WPSFO in 2011 and stepped up to be lead organizer at the beginning of 2016. Former lead organizer Zach Berke, who started in 2007, was the one who initially suggested the idea of using Open Collective.</p>
<p>&#8220;Before we started with Open Collective, sponsors paid for things directly,&#8221; Dunn said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve had various host sponsors (Automattic, Exygy, Pantheon) that have provided meeting space, food, and drinks. These hosts have always paid for the food directly. We also had a relationship with WPEngine at one point. They paid a videographer to film the meetups. All other expenses, usually for minor things, were paid for by the organizers.&#8221;</p>
<p>Dunn said that Open Collective has helped to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses for meetup organizers, as it provides a straightforward process for posting expenses and getting reimbursed.</p>
<p>&#8220;Funding a meetup can be pretty tough,&#8221; Dunn said. &#8220;It&#8217;s great that we have hosts to cover the big items, but various other expenses come up. Those small things are usually paid for by the organizers. Also, there are times when one of our primary hosts can&#8217;t provide a space to meet. We have several alternative meeting spaces but not all of them provide food and drinks. On those occasions, organizers have paid for the food and drink out of pocket. We could have gone without, but we try to keep each meetup a consistent experience.&#8221;</p>
<p>Dunn said the team wanted to cover these costs without digging into the pockets of the organizers, who already volunteer a lot of time and energy to the meetup. They do not charge for the events and don&#8217;t plan on doing it in the future, so having additional funds on hand became a priority.</p>
<p>&#8220;Pia from Open Collective reached out to Zach about a year ago,&#8221; Dunn said. &#8220;Zach had a prior relationship with another OC founder, Xavier, from his early Storify days. Zach agreed to sign up for OC because it seemed to address a pain point. Zach handed the reins of OC to Michelle and I, who have brought sponsors onto the platform.&#8221;</p>
<p>Dunn said using Open Collective has had many positive advantages over the previous system WPSFO had for managing funds. Receiving donations and submitting expenses is now streamlined into a transparent pipeline. The meetup has an estimated annual budget of $6,658, based on current donations.</p>
<p>&#8220;Being able to provide recognition to our sponsors is a big plus,&#8221; Dunn said. &#8220;It&#8217;s worth noting that this is a young and ever-evolving platform so with that you&#8217;re provided direct access to Open Collective&#8217;s front line, which is beneficial in addressing any questions or concerns that arise.&#8221;</p>
<p>Dunn said using Open Collective has opened up additional possibilities, like making WPSFO t-shirts to sell to members and the general public. Having money in the meetup account means the organizers can do it without having to pre-sell the shirts.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not like we&#8217;re floating in cash now, but we have little bit of money to work with,&#8221; Dunn said. &#8220;It feels great to have that and we&#8217;re deeply appreciative of our sponsors for making it possible.&#8221;</p>
<p>WPSFO is one of <a href="https://opencollective.com/discover?show=meetup" target="_blank">23 meetups</a> that have started managing their budgets and funds through Open Collective. Other early adopters of the service include multiple WWCode meetups, Women Who Code Atlanta, and SF Data Science Meetup, with budgets ranging from a few hundred dollars to more than $25,000.</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, 27 Apr 2017 18:55:29 +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: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:85:"WPTavern: WordCamp US 2017 Ramps Up Ticket Sales, Organizers Plan for 2,500 Attendees";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69357";s: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:"https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-us-2017-ramps-up-ticket-sales-organizers-plan-for-2500-attendees";s: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:2418:"<p><a href="https://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/wordcamp-us-nashville.jpeg?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>Promotion for <a href="https://2017.us.wordcamp.org" target="_blank">WordCamp US 2017 in Nashville</a>, December 1-3, is now in full swing, as organizers have ramped up social media efforts to stimulate ticket sales. Instead of releasing batches of tickets in stages, all WordCamp US tickets are on sale at once.</p>
<p>&#8220;Our goal is to sell between 2,000 and 2,500, but we could accommodate more,&#8221; marketing lead Laura Byrne-Cristiano said. &#8220;We will also again have a livestream that is fully closed captioned as it was the last two years. Folks who can&#8217;t make it to Nashville from around the globe can see what&#8217;s happening in real time.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nashvillemusiccitycenter.com/" target="_blank">Music City Center</a> was selected as the official venue. It is within walking distance to several of the city&#8217;s attractions and museums. Last week organizers announced <a href="https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/2017/04/21/renaissance-nashville-wcus-2017-official-hotel/" target="_blank">The Renaissance Nashville Hotel</a> as the official hotel for the event, which is also within walking distance of the venue and will offer a special discounted rate for attendees.</p>
<p>&#8220;At this stage of the game, ticket sales are light which is to be expected with an event is that is eight months out,&#8221; Byrne-Cristiano said. The team plans to release more specific numbers in the fall once the full slate of speakers has been announced. Byrne-Cristiano said speaker submissions will be open within the next few days.</p>
<p>&#8220;While we would like to see every seat filled, our focus is on putting together a high quality camp for the community,&#8221; Byrne-Cristiano said.</p>
<p>You can sign up on the <a href="https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/" target="_blank">WordCamp US website</a> to subscribe to the latest news for the event or follow <a href="https://twitter.com/WordCampUS/" target="_blank">@WordCampUS</a> on Twitter. If you have an Android device, check out the <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.wordcamp.android&rdid=org.wordcamp.android" target="_blank">WordCamp Android app</a> to add the event to your calendar and follow updates on speakers and the schedule.</p>
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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:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:115:"WPTavern: Watsonfinds WordPress Plugin Uses IBM’s Watson to Determine Most Likely Emotional Response From Readers";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69392";s: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:123:"https://wptavern.com/watsonfinds-wordpress-plugin-uses-ibms-watson-to-determine-most-likely-emotional-response-from-readers";s: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:3557:"<p>One of the most difficult things about writing online is expressing tone and emotion. Emoticons and Emoji help, but what if there was a tool that uses artificial intelligence to determine the emotional response readers are most likely to have after consuming your content?</p>
<p>That&#8217;s the idea behind <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/watsonfinds/">Watsonfinds</a>, a free WordPress plugin created by Alfredo Gutiérrez and Max Ortu. Using a complex algorithm, Watsonfinds uses <a href="https://www.ibm.com/watson/">IBM&#8217;s Watson</a> to understand content like a human by reading and interpreting complete sentences, the reader’s language, and its context.</p>
<p>Once activated, a new button is added to the editor toolbar. Clicking the button will send the content through an API to IBM&#8217;s Watson for analysis.</p>
<p><img />Watsonfinds Toolbar ButtonWhen an analysis is completed, the results are displayed in a modal window. The report is broken down into five emotions: joy, sadness, anger, disgust, and fear.</p>
<p><img />Watsonfinds AnalysisI submitted five posts of various length and each report was generated quickly. Here are the posts I submitted along with the most likely emotional response from readers.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://wptavern.com/automattic-to-close-san-francisco-office">Automattic to Close San Francisco Office</a> &#8211; Sadness</li>
<li><a href="https://wptavern.com/new-wordpress-plugin-shows-users-where-a-plugins-settings-link-is-upon-activation">New WordPress Plugin Shows Users Where a Plugin’s Settings Link Is Upon Activation</a> &#8211; Sadness</li>
<li><a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-7-4-fixes-visual-editor-incompatibility-with-upcoming-version-of-chrome">WordPress 4.7.4 Fixes 47 Issues</a> &#8211; Sadness</li>
<li><a href="https://wptavern.com/heropress-partners-with-wpshout-to-offer-wordpress-education-scholarships">HeroPress Partners With WPShout to Offer WordPress Education Scholarships</a> &#8211; Joy</li>
<li><a href="https://wptavern.com/headway-themes-appears-to-be-dying-a-slow-death">Headway Themes Appears to be Dying a Slow Death</a> &#8211; Anger</li>
</ul>
<p>Within the report is a timeline where you can compare results as you add or remove words to the post.</p>
<p>During testing, I found the timeline confusing to use as I thought I had to save the post as a draft after each edit to generate a revision on the timeline. To use the timeline, you need to make changes to a post without saving it and then click the Watsonfinds button to generate a new report.</p>
<p>Being able to see which words are generating the emotions depicted in the report would be a nice feature to have. Gutiérrez says that this feature is in the works and will be in the commercial version of the plugin. The More Insights tab in the report is an advertisement for the premium version which is not yet available.</p>
<p>I tested the plugin on WordPress 4.7.4 and didn&#8217;t encounter any issues. While Watsonfinds isn&#8217;t going to change how I write, I can see the potential benefits of using such a plugin to try to illicit a certain emotional response from readers and customers whether it&#8217;s a renewal email, blog post, or other copy.</p>
<p>You can try out <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/watsonfinds/">Watsonfinds</a> for free by downloading it from the WordPress plugin directory. To learn more about how it works, check out the <a href="http://www.watsonfinds.com/">plugin&#8217;s official site</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, 26 Apr 2017 23:48:43 +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: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:99:"WPTavern: 2017 Open Source Security and Risk Analysis Report Shows Widespread GPL License Conflicts";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69137";s: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:110:"https://wptavern.com/2017-open-source-security-and-risk-analysis-report-shows-widespread-gpl-license-conflicts";s: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:8963:"<a href="https://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/open-source.jpg?ssl=1"><img /></a>photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/79777096@N00/6866996865">16th st</a> &#8211; <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">(license)</a>
<p>Open source software usage is growing across all industries, but this year&#8217;s <a href="https://www.blackducksoftware.com/download/open-source-security-risk-analysis-2017" target="_blank">Open Source Security and Risk Analysis (OSSRA)</a> report from Black Duck shows the pervasiveness of security vulnerabilities and license compliance risks. Black Duck conducted audits on more than 1,000 commercial applications in 2016 and analyzed the anonymized data. The audits were primarily related to merger and acquisition transactions but span a wide array of industries, such as healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, aerospace, aviation, and retail.</p>
<p>Open source security and license compliance issues can both pose serious financial threats to a company. Black Duck&#8217;s findings show 96% of applications scanned include open source software and the average app included 147 unique open source components. The majority of these applications (67%) contained security issues which have been publicly known for an average of four years. These included high-risk and well-known vulnerabilities such as Poodle, Freak, Drown, and Heartbleed.</p>
<p>License compliance issues were even more widespread than the security issues. Black Duck&#8217;s audits found 85% of the applications had components with license conflicts. Although 75% of the audited applications included GPL-licensed components, only 45% of them were fully in compliance with the license. The audits also revealed that 53% of the scanned applications had components with &#8220;unknown&#8221; licenses, which generally means the components were used without permission from their creators.</p>
<h3>How GPL Compliance Efforts Affect the Future of the Copyleft Ecosystem</h3>
<p>Stephen O&#8217;Grady&#8217;s recent <a href="http://redmonk.com/sogrady/2017/01/13/the-state-of-open-source-licensing/" target="_blank">article</a> on Redmonk.com hails the decline of GPL, referencing repositories surveyed by Black Duck that demonstrate the once-dominant GPL license is &#8220;steadily eroding, giving way to licenses at the opposite, permissive end of the spectrum.&#8221; Although developers and companies are readily embracing open source software, the trend is towards more permissive licenses.</p>
<p>&#8220;In Black Duck’s sample, the most popular variant of the GPL – version 2 – is less than half as popular as it was (46% to 19%),&#8221; O&#8217;Grady said. &#8220;Over the same span, the permissive MIT has gone from 8% share to 29%, while its permissive cousin the Apache License 2.0 jumped from 5% to 15%.&#8221;</p>
<p>In a reaction <a href="https://opensource.com/article/17/2/decline-gpl" target="_blank">article on Opensource.com</a>, Jono Bacon said he has witnessed this same trend with the GPL falling out of favor in terms of practicality for business owners who are uncomfortable with meeting its black and white demands.</p>
<p>&#8220;In recent years though we have seen a newer generation of developers form for whom there is a less critical, and if I dare say it, less religious focus on freedom,&#8221; Bacon said. &#8220;For them, open source is a pragmatic and practical component in building software as opposed to an ethical choice, and I suspect this is why we have seen such a growth in the use of MIT and Apache licenses.&#8221;</p>
<p>The complexity of compliance is one of the chief drawbacks for those who feel uncomfortable using GPL-licensed code. If Black Duck&#8217;s open source application audits are any indication, commercial adoption of the GPL has not come with adequate education on license compliance.</p>
<p>However, GPL enforcement rarely leads to litigation. In an article that outlines the Free Software Foundation&#8217;s (FSF) stance on <a href="https://www.fsf.org/bulletin/2016/fall/the-role-of-lawsuits-in-gpl-compliance" target="_blank">the role of lawsuits in GPL compliance</a>, Donald Robertson said compliance is almost always an educational matter.</p>
<p>&#8220;Most violators are unaware of their obligations under the license and simply need additional help to come into compliance,&#8221; Robertson said. &#8220;Almost all GPL compliance cases end quietly with the violator correcting their mistakes, with only a minimal notification of past recipients of the then-violating distribution that anything has happened.&#8221;</p>
<p>Robertson emphasized that lawsuits should be a last resort but must remain a legitimate option. FSF&#8217;s compliance efforts focus on educating violators, but the organization reserves the right to take action on those who knowingly choose to violate.</p>
<p>&#8220;The threat of litigation provides leverage that we need with the rare violators whose GPL compliance problems are not merely mistakes, but are intentional attempts to limit their users&#8217; freedom,&#8221; Robertson said. &#8220;While compliance work is primarily educational, we need a tool that can work with the rare few who are already educated but chose to violate anyway. Copyleft was designed from the start to serve as that tool.&#8221;</p>
<p>Software Freedom Law Center president and executive director Eben Moglen spoke at the SFLC&#8217;s conference last October about <a href="https://www.linux.com/news/eben-moglen-gpl-compliance-and-building-communities-what-works" target="_blank">open source license compliance</a>. He urged listeners to consider the perception of the GPL in the industry at large when weighing the costs of litigating compliance.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are not and we never were copyright maximalists,&#8221; Moglen said. &#8220;We did not do what we have been doing for the past 30 years to build free software on the basis of the assumption that freedom required us to chase down and punish everybody who ever made a mistake or who even deliberately misused copyrighted software made for sharing.&#8221;</p>
<p>Moglen said that in situations where it is appropriate to make an example, it is important to declare that you are in a last-resort situation with no other options besides litigation. Securing compliance by force can damage companies&#8217; trust in using the GPL.</p>
<p>&#8220;If Richard Stallman and I had gone to court and sued a major global public company on a claim of copyright infringement that was weak enough to be thrown out of court on a motion to dismiss, we would have destroyed the GPL straightaway,&#8221; Moglen said. &#8220;If we had shown that we were prepared to risk large on coercion, even against a bad actor in our own judgement — if we had done that without adequate preparation to be sure that we won &#8211; we would have lost an example of coercion and nobody would have trusted us again.&#8221;</p>
<p>Moglen cautioned listeners not to be too quick to take action that might cause people to question whether there is something wrong with copyleft. He advocated spontaneous compliance, as opposed to constantly policing violations, as the most effective way to ensure the future of the GPL.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have an opportunity to put this free software where we want it, which is everywhere, and to make it do what we want, which is to spread freedom,&#8221; Moglen said. &#8220;We’re not in a place where the difficulty is how do we get enough ammunition to force everybody to comply. We don’t need ammunition. We need diplomacy. We need skill. We need to work together better. We need to understand how that working together purposively brings us to the point where everyone is not afraid of FOSS anymore and we are not worried about their complying anymore. We are just all engaging and leading the task of making free software.&#8221;</p>
<p>Moglen encouraged diplomacy and discretion when it comes to compliance because the long-term credibility of the free software community is at stake.</p>
<p>&#8220;I agree with the people who have suggested that if a campaign of coercive compliance is carried just a moment too far, willingness to use copyleft among the ￼rational businesses of the world will decline to a point which is dangerous to freedom,&#8221; Moglen said. &#8220;Because I do believe that copyleft is important to freedom.&#8221;</p>
<p>While Black Duck&#8217;s recent audits show that companies struggle with open source risk management and license conflicts are rampant, the good news is that the world is embracing open source software in every industry. Engineers and product managers may not have a full grasp of the requirements of the GPL, but a compliance approach that focuses on education will go a long way towards building a future that includes copyleft software at the core of innovation.</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, 26 Apr 2017 21:43:41 +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: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:37:"HeroPress: Hire More Women Developers";s: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:56:"https://heropress.com/?post_type=heropress-essays&p=1739";s: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://heropress.com/essays/hire-women-developers/";s: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:10706:"<img width="960" height="480" src="http://20094-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/042617-1024x512.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Pull Quote: Rarely is a developer or engineer pictured as being female or looking like me. We need to change that." /><blockquote><p>The journey of a Developer that has the pleasure and gratitude of having WordPress as a resource.</p></blockquote>
<h3>Who am I and am I good?</h3>
<p>We define ourselves in order to navigate life. Like we brand our business or our clients’ websites, we brand ourselves. Remember to define yourself, because others are always going to define you. Be true to yourself.</p>
<p>I recall the scene in the movie starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Herrington where he’s improving her social standing. At the end his manners are called into question. He says,</p>
<p>“You see, the great secret, Eliza, is not a question of good manners or bad manners, or any particular sort of manners, but having the same manner for all human souls. The question is not whether I treat you rudely, but whether you’ve ever heard me treat anyone else better.”</p>
<p>We are all the same, yet different. We all hurt and desire, yet what we are motivated by may be different. Be true to yourself to follow what you know is meant for you. Trust in the journey. For it is the journey, not the destination, that not only makes up one’s day, but ultimately defines us once we have arrived!</p>
<h3>Embrace Your Uniqueness</h3>
<p>When I was in sixth grade, the yearbook asked us what we would like to accomplish. While most of the girls wrote modeling or acting (we are in Southern California after all), I wanted to discover a new animal.</p>
<p>Discovery has always been one of my passions. WordPress has been a way to discover new ways to combine code to ‘make things happen’ by creating plugins. WordPress has provided a place to practice the developer&#8217;s craft. I’m a working dev and I have a lot of gratitude to give the WordPress community.</p>
<p>I have been given time, support, and much patience. The Meetups have provided a place to gain the ground work, providing an awareness of current tech issues and best practices to put in place, to ensure site performance.</p>
<p>&#8220;It takes courage to try and fail and fail again. Practice the art of asking lots of questions.&#8221; Remember, “sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of, that do the things that no one could imagine.” So even if someone questions your work, whether you could ever possibly have done that or do that, keep going.</p>
<h3>Stereotypes</h3>
<p>Imagine an engineer writing a program, a developer creating an application, and a social media specialist crafting creative content. Do you see them at their desks? What does the engineer look like? What does the developer look like? Did you picture them as a female? Typically not. Perhaps the one crafting creative content was pictured as female.</p>
<blockquote><p>Rarely is a developer or engineer pictured as being female or looking anything like me. We need to change that.</p></blockquote>
<p>It’s been proven that when given identical resumes with name either David or Maria, the hiring committee will determine David to be identified as more qualified every time. Maria’s accomplishments had to be two times better before she is seen as equally qualified as David.</p>
<p>We, both men and women, hold ‘implicit biases.&#8217; It is a cultural thing. Men are seen as a more qualified developer. Acknowledging this is the first step.</p>
<p>What can we do to help turn this around? First, let’s visit why we should turn this around.</p>
<h3>Reason for Diversity (Focusing on Women in Engineering)</h3>
<p>We are facing real, large complex problems as a community that requires developers to figure out. Specifically, in the WordPress world, we need a platform, as well as themes and plugins, that appeals to a large audience. True innovation requires a diverse team. It will ensure that different viewpoints, ideas, and solutions are discovered.</p>
<p>Women are an asset to the team, especially in the role of developer. Consider the fact that many women are making the buying decisions. A woman developer helps create a product that appeals to a larger audience, which ultimately affects sales. Female developers bring insight to the possibilities of products that are currently missing and overlooked.</p>
<p>How do we change this? Hire more women developers. Make it a point to include, describe, and depict developers as women in marketing materials. Encourage women to apply for developer positions.</p>
<blockquote><p>If you’re female reading this and you like to problem solve and build things, give development a try.</p></blockquote>
<p>Just because things are the way they are doesn’t mean they have to stay that way. Typically, women aren’t developers but that can change. WordPress is a community where women developers thrive. WordPress is stronger as a community because of its diversity of users and creators. We all benefit from diversity. By having diversity within our community, we grow. We build. Ultimately, we create more opportunity for all.</p>
<h3>Some Obstacles Facing Women In STEM</h3>
<p>Woman as developers are viewed as being different. Many are questioned why they are doing this. Women will even be treated at as if they shouldn’t be there. Women are conditioned from a young age to be princesses, not engineers.</p>
<p>Developers are competitive, like great writers. Competitiveness for the best projects is part of the game. This game is not something that females are ‘taught’ or necessarily have experience in. Men joke with each other differently than women do. Entering the environment from a female perspective, it may seem aggressive and uninviting.</p>
<blockquote><p>It helps to have experience in team sports to help to manage and navigate the competitive male dominated culture of the field.</p></blockquote>
<p>Another way to ensure success is to join a group that supports women in tech. It will help to deal with issues that arise and gain confidence in an industry that is dominantly male. Typically, women and men communicate differently. Also, I find it a way to relax and relate without needing to worry about so many other unrelated issues. It provides a platform to discuss issues like family, which many times a big impact on a woman’s career &#8212; especially when she has children.</p>
<h3>Feminine Aspect</h3>
<p>Balancing being feminine in a male dominated field can be difficult. According to Marilyn vos Savant, the person with the highest IQ at 200 and famous advice writer, women who play up their sexual attractiveness make themselves appear ‘lightweight’ and lose ‘parity’ with men. This is not okay since a woman faces pressure in society to look attractive and be nurturing. This is similar to how men are valued by being a provider. This is a real dichotomy. Women are not allowed to be seen as sexually-attractive and competent. It is as if there’s a choice to be made. That is a real problem.</p>
<h3>What the WordPress Community has Done for Me</h3>
<p>WordPress community was a discovery of people who are curious and solve technical questions. Over the years, it has grown more and more an emphasis on marketing and business element driving the community culture. As WordPress grows and continues to grow in popularity, more and more opportunities emerge for all.</p>
<p>I found the community to be a place to bring questions. It has been a place to find inspiration and to inspire others in my professional journey as a developer. The community has helped me to develop the courage and determination to secure a position as a developer. The WordPress community has been a resource of a network of individuals to turn to for help. It is an open source and sharing community with many talented people.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Resources drawn from:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rebelgirls.co/products/good-night-stories-for-rebel-girls">Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls</a></p>
<p>Ted Talks | Inspiring the next generation of female engineers | Debbie Sterling</p>
<hr />
<p>Elizabeth Shilling, a developer with a degree in psychology with a social, developmental emphasis from UC Santa Barbara, specialized in biological sciences, computer science, business, and teaching. Looking at differences between men and women in math and sciences bloomed during research as an undergrad. It was determined to be cultural, not biological. Social expectations dominate the direction of female students away from engineering sciences rather than intellectual capabilities. She loves coffee and the ocean.</p>
<div class="rtsocial-container rtsocial-container-align-right rtsocial-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal-button"><a title="Tweet: Hire More Women Developers" class="rtsocial-twitter-button" href="https://twitter.com/share?text=Hire%20More%20Women%20Developers&via=heropress&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fessays%2Fhire-women-developers%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal fb-light"><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal-button"><a title="Like: Hire More Women Developers" class="rtsocial-fb-button rtsocial-fb-like-light" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fessays%2Fhire-women-developers%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-linkedin-button" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fessays%2Fhire-women-developers%2F&title=Hire+More+Women+Developers" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Share: Hire More Women Developers"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-pinterest-button" href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://heropress.com/essays/hire-women-developers/&media=https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/042617-150x150.jpg&description=Hire More Women Developers" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Pin: Hire More Women Developers"></a></div></div><a rel="nofollow" class="perma-link" href="https://heropress.com/essays/hire-women-developers/" title="Hire More Women Developers"></a></div><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com/essays/hire-women-developers/">Hire More Women Developers</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</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, 26 Apr 2017 14:30:13 +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:18:"Elizabeth Shilling";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:69:"WPTavern: WordCamp Europe 2017 Introduces Small Business Sponsorships";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69351";s: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:"https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-europe-2017-introduces-small-business-sponsorships";s: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:3032:"<p><a href="https://2017.europe.wordcamp.org/" target="_blank">WordCamp Europe 2017</a> organizers are counting down 50 days until the largest planned WordPress event to date. Speaker announcements continue to roll out and the recommended hotels are getting booked up at the height of tourist season. As of yesterday, more than 300 of the 500 tickets for <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-europe-2017-announces-speakers-opens-registration-for-contributor-day" target="_blank">Contributor Day</a> have been claimed.</p>
<p>This year organizers are <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-europe-2017-to-experiment-with-sponsors-workshops" target="_blank">experimenting with sponsor workshops</a>, a perk targeted at the highest levels of sponsorship, which includes Administrator (€ 38,000) and Super Admin (€ 75,000) tiers. This new item in the sponsor&#8217;s package is described as a &#8220;sponsor &#8220;track&#8221; in the <a href="https://2017.europe.wordcamp.org/files/2016/12/wceu17-sponsorship-kit_122916.pdf" target="_blank">sponsorship kit brochure</a> and allows sponsors to hold a talk or a workshop in a dedicated space that accommodates approximately 200 people.</p>
<p>In an effort to prevent the event from disproportionately focusing on mega sponsors, the organizing team has created a <a href="https://2017.europe.wordcamp.org/2017/03/23/wordcamp-europe-2017-sponsorship-exclusively-for-small-business/" target="_blank">new sponsorship package exclusively for small businesses</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;We recognized that our sponsorship tiers were more geared towards larger WordPress businesses and felt we were not giving small businesses enough opportunity to showcase their products and services and allow them to connect to attendees,&#8221; WCEU Sponsorship co-organizer Remkus de Vries said. &#8220;This is why we created the SMB tier and we hope many see this as a wonderful chance to show off their products and services for what&#8217;s shaping up to be more than 3,000 attendees.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Small Business sponsorship level is priced at € 2,500 and is available to companies that generate the majority of their revenue from WordPress and made less than 1 million euro in revenue in 2016. It qualifies the sponsor for a booth in the middle of the event. The table, banner printing, and setup are all handled by the WCEU Sponsor Team.</p>
<p>&#8220;Similar to TechCrunch’s Startup Alley, we want to help highlight smaller companies or ones that have just started out,” WCEU Sponsorship co-organizer Noel Tock said. “Simply seeking out sponsorship funds the fastest way possible would not be fair to attendees. This helps makes the conversations and experiences a lot more diverse and balanced.&#8221;</p>
<p>There are 10 remaining Small Business sponsorship slots, along with 288 micro-sponsorships (€ 150.00). Potential sponsors can <a href="http://wceurope.polldaddy.com/s/wordcamp-europe-2017" target="_blank">apply on the WCEU website</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:"Tue, 25 Apr 2017 18:33:29 +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: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:84:"WPTavern: WordPress 4.8 Will End Support for Internet Explorer Versions 8, 9, and 10";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69314";s: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:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-8-will-end-support-for-internet-explorer-versions-8-9-and-10";s: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:4371:"<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ie-logo.jpg?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>Over the weekend, Matt Mullenweg announced that the upcoming WordPress 4.8 release will <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2017/04/23/target-browser-coverage/" target="_blank">drop support for IE versions 8, 9, and 10</a>. Core contributors have been <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2017/02/28/the-new-editor-and-browser-support/" target="_blank">discussing</a> <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2017/03/13/continued-discussion-on-browser-support/" target="_blank">browser support</a> for the past two months in relationship to setting technical requirements for the new editor.</p>
<p>Microsoft <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/WindowsForBusiness/End-of-IE-support" target="_blank">discontinued support for IE 8, 9, and 10</a> in January 2016, which means these versions no longer receive security updates. Mullenweg said that attempting to continue supporting these browsers is holding back WordPress development.</p>
<p>&#8220;I realize that folks still running these browsers are probably stuck with them because of something out of their control, like being at a library or something,&#8221; Mullenweg said. &#8220;Depending on how you count it, those browsers combined are either around 3% or under 1% of total users, but either way they’ve fallen below the threshold where it’s helpful for WordPress to continue testing and developing against.&#8221;</p>
<p>In an effort to determine how many people are still using these insecure and obsolete browsers, Jonathan Desrosiers collected data from three different sources. The following are numbers for global IE usage published by StatCounter&#8217;s <a href="http://gs.statcounter.com/" target="_blank">GlobalStats</a>, which Desrosiers said are nearly identical to WordPress.com&#8217;s numbers:</p>
<ul>
<li>IE8: 0.41%</li>
<li>IE9: 0.26%</li>
<li>IE10: 0.26%</li>
<li>IE11: 3.79%</li>
</ul>
<p>WordPress will not stop working entirely in these browsers, but after the 4.8 release contributors will no longer test new features against older versions of IE. Some capabilities in wp-admin may be more limited. Mullenweg confirmed that the next versions of TinyMCE will no support older IE versions.</p>
<p>Global IE usage has declined from 7.44% in March 2016 to 4.18% in March 2017. IE marketshare has been shrinking as mobile device usage has gone up. October 2016 marked the first month in history that <a href="http://gs.statcounter.com/press/mobile-and-tablet-internet-usage-exceeds-desktop-for-first-time-worldwide" target="_blank">mobile and tablet traffic exceeded desktop usage worldwide</a>. As this trend of declining desktop usage continues, IE will likely be buried within a couple of years.</p>
<p>&#8220;I have been hard pressed to find a U.S. government agency running a version of IE less than 11,&#8221; WordPress lead developer Andrew Nacin commented on the announcement. &#8220;Government agency websites similarly see negligible traffic from IE &lt; 11.&#8221;</p>
<p>The decision to drop support for IE 8, 9, and 10 was met with celebration from the WordPress developer community. Focusing on browsers that still receive security updates is a better use of open source contributors&#8217; time and resources. Developers who do client work can also refer to WordPress&#8217; IE support policy when pressured by clients to support insecure browsers.</p>
<p>Naturally, the topic of raising minimum browser requirements resulted in developers lobbying to drop support for PHP 5.2, which reached end of life more than six years ago. In March 2015, <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-version-stats-updated-more-than-13-of-sites-are-running-wordpress-4-1" target="_blank">WordPress stats estimated PHP 5.2 usage at 16.6%</a>, but that number has dropped steadily to <a href="https://wordpress.org/about/stats/" target="_blank">5.1%</a> today. The task of updating a browser to the latest version was designed to be easy for users, but upgrading PHP versions is still somewhat complicated for those who are not receiving help from their hosting companies. The 5.1% on PHP 5.2 represents millions of users who would need to cross a significant hurdle into order to stay current with the latest version of WordPress.</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, 24 Apr 2017 21:18:07 +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: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:"Post Status: Breaking into and building community, with WordPress and beyond — Draft 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:31:"https://poststatus.com/?p=36524";s: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:"https://poststatus.com/breaking-building-community-wordpress-beyond-draft-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:1913:"<p>Welcome to the Post Status <a href="https://poststatus.com/category/draft">Draft podcast</a>, which you can find <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/post-status-draft-wordpress/id976403008">on iTunes</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Ih5egfxskgcec4qadr3f4zfpzzm?t=Post_Status__Draft_WordPress_Podcast">Google Play</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/krogsgard/post-status-draft-wordpress-podcast">Stitcher</a>, and <a href="http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1061/rss">via RSS</a> for your favorite podcatcher. Post Status Draft is hosted by Brian Krogsgard.</p>
<p>Brian is joined by guest-host Matt Medeiros &#8212; host of the <a href="https://mattreport.com/">Matt Report podcast</a>, and many other ventures in the WordPress ecosystem. They discuss community building, their experiences building community in the WordPress world, and the challenges of getting involved in a new community.</p>
<p><a href="https://audio.simplecast.com/67536.mp3">https://audio.simplecast.com/67536.mp3</a><br />
<a href="https://audio.simplecast.com/67536.mp3"> Direct Download</a></p>
<h3>Links</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://craftedbymatt.com/">Crafted by Matt</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mattreport.com/">Matt Report</a></li>
<li><a href="https://poststatus.com/jobs/">Post Status WordPress Jobs</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQlcN0Wf-FE&feature=youtu.be">This WordPress community is not for the taking</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Sponsor: Prospress</h3>
<p><a href="https://prospress.com/">Prospress</a> makes the WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin, that enables you to turn your online business into a recurring revenue business. Whether you want to ship a box or setup digital subscriptions like I have on Post Status, Prospress has you covered. Check out <a href="https://prospress.com/">Prospress.com</a> for more, and thanks to Prospress for being a Post Status partner.</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, 24 Apr 2017 19:13:24 +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:14:"Katie Richards";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:80:"WPTavern: New Plugin Offers Better Plugin Recommendations in the WordPress Admin";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69226";s: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:91:"https://wptavern.com/new-plugin-offers-better-plugin-recommendations-in-the-wordpress-admin";s: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:4958:"<p>If you work with WordPress every day you may have learned to tune out the recommended plugins in the admin by now, but the &#8220;Add Plugins&#8221; screen is an important part of the new user experience. WordPress developers <a href="https://jkudish.com/2017/04/20/better-plugin-recommendations-for-wordpress/" target="_blank">Joey Kudish</a> and <a href="https://secretpizza.party/wordpress-needs-curation/" target="_blank">Nick Hamze</a> have released a plugin that brings better recommendations to the admin.</p>
<p>Hamze contends that the first plugins that appear in the featured section have a smaller, niche audience, and are unlikely to be useful to the majority of new users.</p>
<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/add-new-plugins-featured.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>The recommended plugins are slightly better, as they are based on plugins that the user and other users have installed. However, Hamze believes they could be tweaked even further to display plugins that specifically benefit new users. The Recommended tab was <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/30337" target="_blank">introduced two years ago</a> to display results based on plugins that are commonly used together. It excludes plugins that users already have installed.</p>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/recommended-plugins.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>&#8220;I really want to help WordPress but I think what is most needed isn’t a new editor or more guidelines but rather someone to take all the stuff in this fractured ecosystem and bring it together,&#8221; Hamze said. &#8220;Get rid of all the crap and only show people the stuff worth using.&#8221;</p>
<p>Hamze said he doesn&#8217;t know if WordPress can solve this problem diplomatically with code. He believes manual curation is required to deliver the best new user experience. A <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/34212" target="_blank">ticket</a> for re-thinking the default &#8216;Add Plugins&#8217; tabs/filters was is open on WordPress trac, as the plugins that appear in these screens have remained unchanged for some time. The ticket hasn&#8217;t received much discussion yet.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/better-plugin-recommendations/" target="_blank">Better Plugin Recommendations</a> plugin removes the default and featured recommendations tabs and includes a new recommendations tab curated by Hamze to appeal to new users. Below is an example of the first 10 recommendations the plugin includes:</p>
<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/better-recommended-plugins.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>Hamze uses the following criteria to select the recommended plugins:</p>
<ul>
<li>Price (Free)</li>
<li>Numbers of users</li>
<li>Average Rating</li>
<li>Last Updated</li>
<li>Support Given</li>
</ul>
<p>When asked why the recommendations don&#8217;t include Jetpack, Hamze said it didn&#8217;t seem necessary, given its high position in the popular tab and the fact that it already comes pre-installed with many hosts.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/jeherve">@jeherve</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/jkudish">@jkudish</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/jetpack">@jetpack</a> Haha, I actually like jetpack but since it's already at the top of the popular tab and preinstalled almost everywhere, didn't seem necessary</p>
<p>&mdash; Nick Hamze (@NickHamze) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickHamze/status/855389412510674944">April 21, 2017</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<p>Hamze and Kudish created a web service that delivers the recommendations to sites where the plugin is installed. The node <a href="https://better-plugin-recommendations.now.sh">server</a> is powered by <a href="https://hapijs.com/" target="_blank">hapi.js</a> and is open source on <a href="https://github.com/secretpizzaparty/better-plugin-recommendations-server" target="_blank">GitHub</a></p>
<p>&#8220;If the idea is well received in the community, I’d love to expand on it further and include some plugins from outside the WordPress.org plugin repository in our recommendations, as I think there’s some great third-party plugins that new users should definitely know about,&#8221; collaborator Joey Kudish said.</p>
<p>Hamze said he doesn&#8217;t expect there to be many regular users who will find and install the plugin but hopes that hosting companies will integrate it by default for their WordPress customers.</p>
<p>&#8220;What I’m hoping is that I can convince the hosting companies to preinstall this (maybe in the MU folder) for their customers,&#8221; Hamze said. &#8220;The app blends in seamlessly with WordPress. There are no ads or branding. The plugin is designed solely to help new users find great plugins to help them on their WordPress journey.&#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:"Mon, 24 Apr 2017 14:11:46 +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: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:25:"Matt: Songs for My Father";s: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=47222";s: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:42:"https://ma.tt/2017/04/songs-for-my-father/";s: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:4027:"<p>One of the things that surprised me most about when my Dad was sick last year was that while he was in the hospital over about 5 weeks he lost any interest in music, TV, movies, anything on a screen. Music was particularly surprising given that he had music on at his desk pretty much all the time, and really enjoyed loading a new CD or record into the media library he had set up at home. One of the songs I remember playing for him was from a band, Manhattan Transfer, that we used to listen to a lot when I was younger and just learning about jazz, I chose <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwL9xf3YQ-4">Tuxedo Junction</a> because it might cheer him up.</p>
<p>I remember him smiling faintly. (I wish I had played him more music. I wish I had recorded more of his stories, ideally before he got sick. I wish I had figured out how to navigate the hospital and health care system better.)</p>
<p>What I didn&#8217;t anticipate was how after <a href="https://ma.tt/2016/04/in-memoriam-chuck-mullenweg/">his death</a> there would be aftershocks of grief that would hit me over and over again, especially while driving or in a plane. I went from crying maybe three times in the past decade to breaking down at the end of a company town hall, when talking to family, when my Mom found out about the anniversary present my Dad had been looking at, and with any number of songs that unexpectedly took on a new meaning.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgKAFK5djSk">Wiz Khalifa &amp; Charlie Puth&#8217;s See You Again</a>, is obvious, and was in heavy rotation every public place I went; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHCob76kigA">Lukas Graham&#8217;s 7 Years</a> completely broke me down when it talked about children &#8212; if I ever have any my father will never meet them; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WibQR0tQ0P8">Kayne &amp; Paul McCartney&#8217;s Only One</a>, the tribute to Kanye&#8217;s daughter and passed mother and I think perhaps his best song; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp-EO5I60KA">Ed Sheeran&#8217;s Thinking Out Loud</a>, about growing old together, turning 70 as he was so close to doing; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkBKJMTCHGk">Kanye&#8217;s Ultralight Beam</a> snuck up on me, I didn&#8217;t expect it, but the questioning and gospel and anger and hope in it captured something I didn&#8217;t even realize I was feeling. Even jazz wasn&#8217;t safe, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWeXOm49kE0">Horace Silver&#8217;s lyric-less Song for My Father</a> had the same effect.</p>
<p><img /></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NLZCLKppZs">John Mayer&#8217;s Stop This Train</a> is a song I&#8217;ve probably heard a hundred times since it came out in 2006, but all of sudden these words meant something completely different:</p>
<blockquote><p>So scared of getting older<br />
I&#8217;m only good at being young<br />
So I play the numbers game<br />
To find a way to say that life has just begun</p>
<p>Had a talk with my old man<br />
Said, &#8220;Help me understand&#8221;<br />
He said, &#8220;Turn sixty-eight<br />
You&#8217;ll renegotiate&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>I almost had to pull the car over: he was sixty-eight. What I would give for just one more conversation with him like the one the day before he passed. I wish I had written more down, recorded more of his stories, learned more about his journey.</p>
<p>As the year has passed, the surprise crying is much less common even when one of <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/1211384122/playlist/3UiuLpSyYUZduDPkaaCmCA">these songs</a> comes on the radio. Usually when I think of my father it&#8217;s with a smile. I&#8217;ve even had a few treasured dreams where we&#8217;ve been able to talk, nothing that made much sense (it was a dream) but I remember waking up with an overwhelming feeling of enveloping love. While the &#8220;new normal&#8221; is different, I can&#8217;t say it&#8217;s better &#8212; he&#8217;s still gone.</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, 22 Apr 2017 05:12:39 +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: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: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:46:"WPTavern: Embed Mastodon Statuses in 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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=68788";s: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:57:"https://wptavern.com/embed-mastodon-statuses-in-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:4387:"<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/mastodon-logo.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>After the <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/2017/now-on-twitter-140-characters-for-your-replies" target="_blank">controversial changes to Twitter&#8217;s @reply feature</a>, which no longer counts usernames towards the 140-character limit, Mastodon registrations rose sharply. <a href="https://mastodon.social/" target="_blank">Mastodon</a> is a free, open source, decentralized network that  has many similarities to Twitter. The software, named in honor of its creator&#8217;s favorite metal band, was launched in October and registered 24,000 users in the first six months. A strong negative reaction to Twitter&#8217;s changes has fueled a spike in Mastodon registrations. In the last week alone, the software&#8217;s user base has grown from 237,000 users on April 15 to <a href="https://mnm.eliotberriot.com/dashboard/db/network-drilldown?refresh=30m&orgId=1&from=now-7d&to=now" target="_blank">more than 414,000 users</a> today.</p>
<p>Mastodon is different from Twitter in that it is broken up into different independently-hosted instances. Whereas Twitter has struggled to combat trolls and abuse on its platform, Mastodon instances can each declare and enforce their own rules. For example, the flagship <a href="https://mastodon.social/about/more" target="_blank">Mastodon.social</a> instance bans content that is illegal in Germany or France, such as Nazi symbolism and Holocaust denial, excessive advertising, racism, sexism, and other undesirable posts.</p>
<p>Mastodon&#8217;s Tweetdeck-style interface allows users to post &#8220;toots&#8221; with a 500-word character limit. Toots can also be published with a content warning so that users can choose whether to view it.</p>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/mastodon.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>With all the increased activity around Mastodon this week, there was bound to be someone with the desire to display toots on their website. The first plugin for bringing Mastodon content into WordPress has landed in the plugin directory. <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/embed-mastodon/" target="_blank">Embed Mastodon</a> was created by David Libeau, a French developer and Mastodon enthusiast. It allows users to embed toots using a shortcode.</p>
<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/mastodon-embed.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>&#8220;I created this plugin because <a href="http://www.numerama.com/" target="_blank">Numerama</a>, a french tech website, was saying that it could be cool to embed Mastodon statuses, like with Twitter, in WordPress,&#8221; Libeau said. &#8220;I was thinking the same when I wrote a small article on my personal blog. I am using both Twitter and Mastodon but want to progressively leave Twitter.&#8221;</p>
<p>Libeau said he is not a WordPress developer and Mastodon Embed is his first plugin. He does not know if it&#8217;s coded well but said users may be interested in <a href="https://github.com/ginsterbusch/mastodon-embed" target="_blank">an alternative plugin on GitHub</a> that is a complete rewrite of his effort. The rewrite includes multiple embeds, caching, proper shortcode initialization, and fallback to &#8220;direct&#8221; embeds if embed via iframe is forbidden.</p>
<p>Libeau said he doesn&#8217;t know what will happen to his plugin in light of the rewrite, but he is continuing to develop <a href="http://mastodon.tools/" target="_blank">small tools for Mastodon users</a>. Mastodon has an open API for apps and services, which makes it easy for developers to build things that integrate with it.</p>
<p>After testing the Mastodon Embed plugin I found that it works but may have a couple of styling issues with the link display. If you find that it&#8217;s not working, it&#8217;s possible that your particular Mastodon instance configuration does not allow embedding via iFrame. To resolve this you may need to contact the admin of the instance or use the fork of the plugin that has a fallback for this scenario. If you find a bug with the Mastodon Embed plugin hosted on WordPress.org, you can <a href="https://github.com/DavidLibeau/mastodon-tools/issues" target="_blank">log an issue on Libeau&#8217;s Mastodon Tools repository</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:"Sat, 22 Apr 2017 03:18:28 +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: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:57:"WPTavern: Headway Themes Appears to be Dying a Slow 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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=68837";s: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:"https://wptavern.com/headway-themes-appears-to-be-dying-a-slow-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:9405:"<p>It&#8217;s been seven months since Grant and Clay Griffiths, founders of Headway Themes, <a href="http://headwaythemes.com/the-future-of-headway/">apologized</a> to customers for failing to communicate on a regular basis and provide adequate customer support. In the apology, the founders admit that the company was experiencing <a href="https://wptavern.com/headway-themes-confirms-financial-difficulties-issues-apology-to-customers">financial difficulties</a> and noted that competition in the WordPress drag-and-drop page-builder space was tough. The duo vowed to communicate more, provide better customer support, and continue to develop Headway 4.0. Has anything changed since the apology was published?</p>
<h2>Headway Themes Migrates to FlyWheel Hosting</h2>
<p>In December of 2016, <a href="https://getflywheel.com/">Flywheel</a> hosting <a href="https://wptavern.com/flywheel-acquires-wordpress-local-development-tool-pressmatic">acquired Pressmatic,</a> created by Clay Griffiths. Soon after, Headway Themes migrated to Flywheel hosting which caused a few hiccups such as site downtime due to DNS propagation, login issues, and an issue with the Headway Dashboard. The acquisition raised questions on how it would affect Clay&#8217;s ability to work on Headway.</p>
<p>“This acquisition and employment will provide myself and my family much more stability than we’ve had in a long time, and will allow me to better focus on Headway in my spare time,” Griffiths said. “This includes rolling out the upcoming 4.1 release, and working hard to make sure the support and other outstanding issues are resolved for all our customers.”</p>
<h2>Influx Confirms Communication Issues With Founders</h2>
<p>Soon after the apology, Headway Themes began to use Influx to provide first-tier customer support. <a href="https://influx.com/">Influx</a> provides customer support for companies, including those in the WordPress ecosystem such as <a href="https://www.advancedcustomfields.com/">Advanced Custom Fields</a>. Any issues that Influx couldn&#8217;t solve are escalated to Clay and Grant. In February, Gary Bairéad, a former Headway Themes employee, <a href="https://twitter.com/garybairead/status/834823813674188800">contacted Headway Themes support</a> about the status of Headway 4.0 and received the following response.</p>
<p><img /></p>
<p>Influx couldn&#8217;t answer the question because Headway developers had not informed them of its progress despite inquiring about it. Influx notes that there may be a beta released in the near future but not to be quoted on it because a similar promise was made five months prior. In January, the official <a href="https://twitter.com/headwaythemes">Headway Themes Twitter account</a> confirmed that Headway was being supported and that 4.0 would be released soon.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/3BugMedia">@3BugMedia</a> we are fully supporting Headway.  4.0 update coming soon. ^gg</p>
<p>&mdash; Headway Themes (@headwaythemes) <a href="https://twitter.com/headwaythemes/status/816698625380286464">January 4, 2017</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<p>Around the same time period, another Headway Themes customer submitted a support request asking about the status of a longstanding issue they were having. Influx explained that there was a lull because the main developers were failing to communicate. The support representative also pointed out that it seemed the only way for customers to get information about Headway Themes was by emailing support.</p>
<p><img /></p>
<p>Influx says it tried multiple times to contact Headway Themes developers about the issue and said it was lobbying hard to get it rectified.</p>
<h2>Payments Stop for Third-Party Block Developers</h2>
<p>In February, Bairéad <a href="https://headwayupdate.wordpress.com/2017/02/03/update-4-dont-renew-3rd-party-blocks-through-headwaythemes-com/">published a request</a> to third-party block customers to not renew through Headway Themes.com and to instead, purchase and renew directly from the developer&#8217;s sites. Chris Howard, founder of <a href="http://pizazzwp.com/">Pizazz WP,</a> and Chris Rault, co-founder of <a href="https://www.headwayrocket.com/">HeadwayRocket,</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/HeadwayRocket/status/826005360834142208">confirmed</a> they are owed money from customers who purchased and renewed blocks through Headway Themes.com.</p>
<p>I reached out to both developers to see if they&#8217;ve been paid since February.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve sent Clay a bunch of messages, but he&#8217;s completely ignoring me and hasn&#8217;t paid over another cent since the last long delay,&#8221; Rault said.</p>
<p>&#8220;It’s down to only 2 or 3 renewals a month, but I’m not receiving anything still. I&#8217;d estimate they still owe me around $2,000,&#8221; Howard said.</p>
<p>For Howard, the issue of not receiving payments has been <a href="https://wptavern.com/headway-3-8-9-patches-potential-xss-vulnerability#comment-200810">going on for months</a>.</p>
<h2>Former Support Staff Still Owed Money</h2>
<p>Headway Themes&#8217; apology does not mention the former support team who the company <a href="https://wptavern.com/former-headway-themes-employee-goes-public-staff-has-not-been-paid-and-customers-are-not-receiving-support">failed to pay</a> on time for months. Since the apology, members of the team have received small payments but are still owed thousands of dollars. Receiving payments from Headway Themes is often a difficult process.</p>
<p>After not receiving a payment in February, a former team member sent a flurry of emails to Grant and Clay Griffiths inquiring about the payment. Clay eventually responded that they would send out payments when they&#8217;re able too. After a week of questioning when that would be with no response, the team member received a payment.</p>
<h2>Influx Says Headway Themes is Restructuring</h2>
<p>A Headway Themes customer recently contacted support to ask about the status of Headway and published Influx&#8217;s response to the company&#8217;s support forums. Here&#8217;s their response:</p>
<blockquote><p>Hi [Redacted],</p>
<p>Thanks for reaching out.</p>
<p>Currently, Headway is going through a restructuring phase to resolve the challenges being faced at this time. We do not have the full details here at support but the main stakeholders are working to return Headway to its rightful mode of operations.</p>
<p>Please let me know if there are any more questions that I can answer for you. Kind Regards.</p></blockquote>
<p>To learn more about the restructuring process and what&#8217;s going on with Headway development, I reached out to Grant and Clay Griffiths. Both have not responded to my request for comment.</p>
<h2>Blox Picks Up Where Headway Left Off</h2>
<p>Last year, when it appeared the future of Headway Themes <a href="https://wptavern.com/headway-themes-future-is-uncertain-amidst-financial-troubles">was in jeopardy</a>, Maarten Schraven forked the <a href="http://bloxthemebuilder.com/start-downloading-beta-blox-theme-v1-0-0/">Headway 3.8.8 codebase</a> and named it <a href="http://bloxthemebuilder.com/">Blox Builder</a>. Blox Builder is 100% GPL Licensed and is a direct replacement for Headway. Schraven recently <a href="http://bloxtheme.com/lots-of-questions-about-blox-theme/">answered a number of questions</a> related to the project, one of which is how easy is it to transfer from Headway to Blox.</p>
<blockquote><p>There are different ways to convert your Headway Theme to Blox Theme. The best way is to export your template, you get an .json file. In this file you have to change hw to bt and headway to blox. If you have a large website you also can change the database tables. Some of our users have Blox Theme and Headway Themes side by side and switch between them. The last way (not yet available) is our conversion script. This script can do two things, change the database or do the same search and replace. This script will work automatic or as standalone.</p>
<p>Or, if you think this is to difficult, you always can ask us for the conversion, we can discuss this on e-mail or skype</p></blockquote>
<p>There&#8217;s no time frame on when the conversion script will be available. If you&#8217;re a fan of the way Headway Themes works and are looking for a similar replacement, check out Blox Builder.</p>
<h2>Many in the Headway Themes Community Have Moved On</h2>
<p>A number of devoted fans and customers of Headway have switched to other page builders like Divi, Elementor, and Beaver Builder. What was once a vibrant community-run Slack channel for Headway Themes enthusiasts has turned into a ghost town. There is little hope among them that the company will be able to rebound.</p>
<h2>Not Much Has Changed</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, the issues that prompted Headway Themes&#8217; founders to issue an apology are still present. There is a lack of communication on the company&#8217;s blog, social media accounts, and to Influx, the company it has outsourced customer support to. The apology dated Sept 13, 2016, was the last post published to the company&#8217;s blog. Former employees and third-party developers are still owed considerable amounts of money and there has been little if any development on the Headway code base.</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, 22 Apr 2017 02:00:05 +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: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:83:"WPTavern: HeroPress Partners With WPShout to Offer WordPress Education Scholarships";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69027";s: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:"https://wptavern.com/heropress-partners-with-wpshout-to-offer-wordpress-education-scholarships";s: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:3468:"<p>HeroPress has teamed up with <a href="https://alexdenning.com/">Alex Denning</a>, <a href="https://pressupinc.com/">Fred Meyer, and David Hayes</a> of <a href="https://wpshout.com/">WPShout</a> to offer 10 copies of <a href="https://wpshout.com/up-and-running/">Up and Running Second Edition</a> at the deluxe tier. The deluxe tier is valued at $249 and includes everything the course has to offer including video tutorials, creating a theme and child theme, screencast series, creating a WordPress plugin, and more.</p>
<p>The scholarship applications are geared towards three groups of people:</p>
<ul>
<li>Those in financial hardship (unemployment, jobseeking, students or underemployment).</li>
<li>Those in low-income countries without the means to purchase the course.</li>
<li>Under-represented groups in tech and the WordPress community, including but not limited to:
<ul>
<li>Women</li>
<li>Transgender applicants</li>
<li>BAME applicants</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Those who qualify have until May 9th to fill out the <a href="https://heropress.com/up-running-scholarship-heropress-wpshout/">application</a>. Five members of the WordPress community make up a panel that will review the applications and choose 10 recipients who they feel are deserving of the award. HeroPress will then tally the selections and those with the most votes will be awarded a scholarship. In case of a tie, HeroPress will be the deciding vote. The five panelists are:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/maedahbatool?lang=en">Maedah Batool</a> (Creative Director at WPTie, Pakistan).</li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/anafranciscas">Ana Silva</a> (Digital Marketer at Human Made, UK).</li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/PlanningWrite">Winstina Hughes</a> (Co-Organizer, WordCamp New York).</li>
<li><a href="http://twitter.com/rahul286">Rahul Bansal</a> (CEO at rtCamp, India)</li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/pippinsplugins">Pippin Williamson</a> (Founder at Pippin’s Plugins, USA).</li>
</ul>
<p>Pippin Williamson, founder of Easy Digital Downloads, says he accepted the panelist role because it’s an opportunity to make a significant difference in someone’s life.</p>
<p><a href="http://heropress.com/">HeroPress</a>, founded by <a href="https://topher1kenobe.com/">Topher DeRosia</a> in 2015, publishes an essay every Wednesday from members of the community on how WordPress has positively impacted their lives. HeroPress has published essays from people in the <a href="https://heropress.com/heropress-geography-middle-east/">Middle East</a>, <a href="https://heropress.com/heropress-geography-oceana/">Oceania</a>, <a href="https://heropress.com/heropress-geography-central-south-america/">Central and South America</a>, and other parts of the world.</p>
<p>To learn the HeroPress story, listen to <a href="https://wptavern.com/wpweekly-episode-227-the-heropress-story-with-topher-derosia">our interview with DeRosia</a>. In it, he explains his motivation for creating the site and shares a personal story of someone who couldn’t write an essay because they were spending all of their time trying to stay alive.</p>
<p>To learn more about Up and Running Second Edition, <a href="https://wptavern.com/wpweekly-episode-268-behind-the-scenes-of-wordpress-development-course-up-and-running-second-edition">listen to our interview</a> with the founders where they explain how and why they created the course.</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, 21 Apr 2017 19:05:17 +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: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:93:"WPTavern: Checathlon: A Free WordPress Business Theme with Support for Easy Digital Downloads";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69228";s: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:"https://wptavern.com/checathlon-a-free-wordpress-business-theme-with-support-for-easy-digital-downloads";s: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:3892:"<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/checathlon/" target="_blank">Checathlon</a> is new business theme on WordPress.org that was designed to seamlessly integrate with <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/easy-digital-downloads/" target="_blank">Easy Digital Downloads</a>. The name is a combination of the words checkout and decathlon, according to its creator <a href="https://foxland.fi/" target="_blank">Sami Keijonen</a>.</p>
<p>Checathlon combines elegant typography with a bold, pink accent color to showcase products and services on a business or e-commerce website. The theme was designed by Finnish designer Toni Suni and is Keijonen&#8217;s 13th theme to be listed in the directory.</p>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/checathlon-screenshot.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>&#8220;I had some kind of vision of what I wanted and Toni created a pixel perfect design based on our discussion,&#8221; Keijonen said. &#8220;I’m super happy about the end result. Unfortunately, the design and the theme was not good enough for WordPress.com and the theme was rejected from there.&#8221; Keijonen opted to create a Checathlon Plus plugin as an alternative way to monetize the theme.</p>
<p>Checathlon has an intuitive way of organizing the content featured on the front page. Unlike many other themes, the front page is not controlled by a custom page template. Once you set the front page as a static page, the Customizer will give access to the service/pricing, products, testimonial, and blog sections.</p>
<p>The theme includes support for a Pricing page template and a Team Page template. These features make Checathlon more flexible for use on a business, agency, non-profit, or e-commerce website.</p>
<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/checathlon-team-page.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>The pricing template has a &#8220;Service and Pricing widget&#8221; area where users can drop in the custom widgets available in the Checathlon Plus plugin. The widgets make it easy for users to set an icon, title, content, price, and a link for each pricing tier, as well as the ability to highlight one tier as featured.</p>
<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/checathlon-pricing-template.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>Checathlon was built to support several plugins, including <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/easy-digital-downloads/" target="_blank">Easy Digital Downloads</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/custom-content-portfolio/" target="_blank">Custom Content Portfolio</a>, and <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/jetpack/" target="_blank">Jetpack</a> (testimonials and portfolio). The theme includes styles for the Jetpack email subscription widget and EDD <a href="https://foxland.fi/demo/checathlon/downloads/" target="_blank">downloads</a> and account pages. It&#8217;s also tagged as <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/handbook/review/accessibility/" target="_blank">accessibility-ready</a>, which means that it has successfully passed an accessibility audit. Check out the <a href="https://foxland.fi/demo/checathlon/" target="_blank">live demo</a> to see Checathlon in action.</p>
<p>Keijonen is taking a unique approach by creating a <a href="https://foxland.fi/downloads/checathlon-plus/" target="_blank">Checathlon Plus plugin</a> as an alternative to offering a &#8220;pro version&#8221; of the theme. It extends the theme to include more customizer capabilities, additional widgets, cart customization features for EDD, and two child themes. The <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/checathlon/" target="_blank">free theme</a> is available on WordPress.org and <a href="https://foxland.fi/documents/for/checathlon/" target="_blank">documentation</a> can be found on the theme&#8217;s website.</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, 21 Apr 2017 16:25:44 +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: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:62:"WPTavern: WordPress Plugin Directory Restores Tabbed Interface";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69139";s: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:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-plugin-directory-restores-tabbed-interface";s: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:4036:"<a href="https://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/tabs.jpg?ssl=1"><img /></a>photo credit: <a href="https://stocksnap.io/photo/CCRDK5WZEM">Jeffrey Betts</a>
<p>Last month the WordPress Plugin Directory <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-relaunches-plugin-directory-with-new-design-and-improved-search-algorithm" target="_blank">relaunched with a new design</a> and improvements to the search algorithm. The new design replaced the plugin pages&#8217; previous tabbed interface with a wall of text, truncated by numerous &#8220;read more&#8221; links.</p>
<p>The outpouring of negative community feedback on the new design overshadowed many of the helpful improvements. Removal of the tabs was by far the most unpopular design choice in this iteration, as many found it to be confusing and inferior in terms of navigating the information efficiently. Users, developers, and contributors on the redesign <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-plugin-directory-redesign-why-so-many-people-feel-their-feedback-was-ignored" target="_blank">felt their feedback was roundly ignored</a> throughout all phases of the design&#8217;s beta and testing period.</p>
<p>Four months ago, contributor Jon Ang (@kenshino) opened a <a href="https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/2328" target="_blank">ticket</a> regarding the &#8220;read more&#8221; links, which he described as &#8220;a usability nightmare.&#8221; The ticket was closed as a duplicate of <a href="https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/2278" target="_blank">another ticket</a> which received very little discussion. Today, Otto marked the ticket as fixed, <a href="https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/5399" target="_blank">announcing the return of tabs</a> in the commit message:</p>
<blockquote><p>Change single-plugin view to have tabbed design. Eliminates read-more on all sections except developers and changelog, adds tabs back to interface using CSS to switch between them. Tabs control both main display as well as widgets.</p>
<p>Known issues: Changelog read-more not working (js issue), developers section is currently split using CSS, future change will split this section into two separate sections.</p></blockquote>
<p>Members of the Advanced WordPress Facebook (AWP) community, who were among the most critical of the new design, are <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/advancedwp/permalink/1473163646079178/" target="_blank">pleased with the change</a>. The new tabs are subtle, tasteful, and in line with the overall design. They eliminate the clutter that the expanded &#8220;read more&#8221; links created.</p>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/plugin-page-tabs-restored.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>The Reviews tab now displays six of the most recent reviews, as opposed the the previous two most recent. This makes it not as easy to destroy a plugin&#8217;s reputation with poor reviews timed to always be visible on the main plugin page. Otto <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/advancedwp/permalink/1473163646079178/?comment_id=1473175582744651&reply_comment_id=1473218756073667&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R3%22%7D" target="_blank">replied</a> to comments on the AWP community, saying that these numbers are not set in stone and that there are good arguments for displaying different sets of reviews, as opposed to simply the most recent ones.</p>
<p>Two weeks ago the meta team <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-plugin-directory-restores-stats-and-links-to-older-versions-of-plugins" target="_blank">brought back stats and older versions of plugins</a>, a couple of features that were removed in the first iteration of the new directory. Screenshot display is still somewhat clunky, requiring users to click on their browsers&#8217; back button in order to return to the plugin details. Future iterations of the design are expected to address the remaining quirks and issues that users and contributors have raised since the relaunch.</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, 20 Apr 2017 21:46:39 +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: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:41:"WPTavern: WordPress 4.7.4 Fixes 47 Issues";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69141";s: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:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-7-4-fixes-visual-editor-incompatibility-with-upcoming-version-of-chrome";s: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:1182:"<p>WordPress 4.7.4 <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2017/04/wordpress-4-7-4/">is available</a> and is a maintenance release that fixes 47 issues reported against 4.7. This update includes a visual editor <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/40305">compatibility fix</a> for an upcoming version of Chrome.</p>
<p>Uploading video and audio files no longer result in <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/40075">broken thumbnails</a> and the REST API received a few enhancements related to <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/39854">data</a> <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/40136">handling</a>. WordPress 4.7.4 also restores the ability to Shift-click a range of checkboxes.</p>
<p>Auto updates are rolling out but if you&#8217;d like to update immediately, browse to Dashboard &gt; Updates and click the update button.</p>
<p>To see a full list of changes visit the <a href="https://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.7.4">release notes</a> page on the Codex. Since December, WordPress 4.7 has been <a href="https://wordpress.org/download/counter/">downloaded</a> more than 60 million times.</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, 20 Apr 2017 18:39:31 +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: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:45:"Dev Blog: WordPress 4.7.4 Maintenance Release";s: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:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=4710";s: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://wordpress.org/news/2017/04/wordpress-4-7-4/";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:4513:"<p>After almost sixty million downloads of WordPress 4.7, we are pleased to announce the immediate availability of WordPress 4.7.4, a maintenance release.</p>
<p>This release contains 47 maintenance fixes and enhancements, chief among them an incompatibility between the upcoming Chrome version and the visual editor, inconsistencies in media handling, and further improvements to the REST API. For a full list of changes, consult the <a href="https://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.7.4">release notes</a> and the <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/log/branches/4.7?rev=40487&stop_rev=40224">list of changes</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/download/">Download WordPress 4.7.4</a> or visit <strong>Dashboard → Updates</strong> and simply click “Update Now.” Sites that support automatic background updates are already beginning to update to WordPress 4.7.4.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who contributed to 4.7.4:<br />
<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jorbin/">Aaron Jorbin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/adamsilverstein/">Adam Silverstein</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/afercia/">Andrea Fercia</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/azaozz/">Andrew Ozz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aussieguy123/">aussieguy123</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/blobfolio/">Blobfolio</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/boldwater/">boldwater</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/boonebgorges/">Boone Gorges</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bor0/">Boro Sitnikovski</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chesio/">chesio</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/curdin/">Curdin Krummenacher</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/danielbachhuber/">Daniel Bachhuber</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nerrad/">Darren Ethier (nerrad)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidakennedy/">David A. Kennedy</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidbenton/">davidbenton</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dlh/">David Herrera</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dd32/">Dion Hulse</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ocean90/">Dominik Schilling (ocean90)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/eclev91/">eclev91</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/iseulde/">Ella Van Dorpe</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ghosttoast/">Gustave F. Gerhardt</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ig_communitysites/">ig_communitysites</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jnylen0/">James Nylen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joedolson/">Joe Dolson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/johnbillion/">John Blackbourn</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/karinedo/">karinedo</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lukasbesch/">lukasbesch</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/maguiar/">maguiar</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/matheusgimenez/">MatheusGimenez</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mboynes/">Matthew Boynes</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mattwiebe/">Matt Wiebe</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mayurk/">Mayur Keshwani</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/melchoyce/">Mel Choyce</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/celloexpressions/">Nick Halsey</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/swissspidy/">Pascal Birchler</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/peterwilsoncc/">Peter Wilson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/delawski/">Piotr Delawski</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pratikshrestha/">Pratik Shrestha</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/programmin/">programmin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rachelbaker/">Rachel Baker</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sagarkbhatt/">sagarkbhatt</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sagarprajapati/">Sagar Prajapati</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sboisvert/">sboisvert</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/wonderboymusic/">Scott Taylor</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sergeybiryukov/">Sergey Biryukov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/netweb/">Stephen Edgar</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cybr/">Sybre Waaijer</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/timmydcrawford/">Timmy Crawford</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/vortfu/">vortfu</a>, and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/westonruter/">Weston Ruter</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, 20 Apr 2017 17:54:32 +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:15:"Pascal Birchler";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:70:"Post Status: Introducing a new way to find high quality WordPress jobs";s: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=36314";s: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:43:"https://poststatus.com/wordpress-job-board/";s: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:3285:"<p>It&#8217;s my pleasure to formally introduce the <a href="https://poststatus.com/jobs">Post Status WordPress job board</a>. It actually went live two weeks ago, but I wanted to give it time to work out any kinks before broadly promoting it.</p>
<p>Now, I think we&#8217;re ready for prime time. So, why do we need another place to list WordPress jobs?</p>
<p>The signal to noise ratio &#8212; both for employers seeking qualified candidates, and for candidates finding quality job listings &#8212; is pretty low across the board in the job market. Most people who hire technical professionals will tell you that it&#8217;s very difficult to find good candidates. And anyone seeking great job opportunities knows how hard it can be to find out the best opportunities, especially at the times you&#8217;re actually looking.</p>
<p>The goal for the Post Status WordPress job board is to take advantage of both sides of this equation.</p>
<p>Post Status isn&#8217;t a huge website with tons of traffic. But the traffic I do get is from a highly targeted audience of primarily WordPress professionals, or web professionals who use WordPress as a primary tool.</p>
<p>By creating a highly targeted job board, I&#8217;m able to increase the signal on both sides; employers can get quality applications, and applicants can find quality employers.</p>
<p>Furthermore, our team &#8212; meaning <a href="https://poststatus.com/profiles/katie-richards/">Katie Richards</a>, and myself &#8212; go through each employer&#8217;s listing to confirm that it&#8217;s a qualified listing of someone actually hiring, provides relevant information, and is properly described for the available position.</p>
<p>We&#8217;ve already got 20+ jobs and counting, and I know many of them have had applications start to roll in, even without public announcement yet.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;d like to submit a job, the process is currently only for Post Status <a href="https://poststatus.com/club">members</a>. We may open that up in the coming weeks, but for now, you can join and post, or if someone from your organization is a member, they can post it.</p>
<p>Listings last for 45 days (the first listings are being extended out starting today), and will be marketed to the Post Status Club &#8212; now over 900 WordPress professionals &#8212; as well as the free Post Status <a href="https://poststatus.com/newsletter">newsletter</a>, where we&#8217;ll send digests of new jobs.</p>
<p>In the future, we may create new features for job seekers to keep an even closer eye on available jobs, but for now, the email and listing page are the place to go. And we may build new tools for employers as we get feedback and see demand for them.</p>
<p>I look forward to this being a valuable resource for the WordPress community. We&#8217;re dedicated to making it work well for a long haul, and we expect general activity to increase as the word gets out that it&#8217;s there.</p>
<p>So, if you don&#8217;t mind, we&#8217;d love your help to promote this job board, both now and when you hear of companies hiring and people seeking positions. It is a truly great feeling to know that you helped someone find their next workplace.</p>
<p>So, check out some <a href="https://poststatus.com/jobs">WordPress jobs</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, 20 Apr 2017 13:35:19 +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: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: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:89:"WPTavern: WordCamp Europe 2017 Announces Speakers, Opens Registration for Contributor Day";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=69083";s: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:"https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-europe-2017-announces-speakers-opens-registration-for-contributor-day";s: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:2015:"<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/wordcamp-europe-2017.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://2017.europe.wordcamp.org/" target="_blank">WordCamp Europe 2017</a> has been rolling out <a href="https://2017.europe.wordcamp.org/speakers/" target="_blank">speaker</a> announcements over the past week, slowly building what appears to be a strong lineup of both European and international WordPress experts. Speaker names are being released in thematic groups, the first dedicated to development topics, followed by business and content/marketing groups.</p>
<p>Registration for <a href="https://2017.europe.wordcamp.org/2017/04/19/time-to-register-for-wceu-2017-contributor-day/" target="_blank">Contributor Day</a>, which will be held the day before the conference on Thursday, June 15th, is now open. Organizers are expecting more than 3,000 attendees for the WordCamp, but Contributor Day is limited to 500 registrants. The <a href="http://wceurope.polldaddy.com/s/sign-up-for-contributor-day-2017" target="_blank">signup form</a> allows attendees to select up to two different contributor teams they would like to participate in.</p>
<p>In addition to the traditional contribution activities, Thursday&#8217;s event will also feature workshops and talks for beginners and those who want to learn more about topics such as JavaScript, Vagrant, internationalization, security, accessibility, and plugins. The workshops will be announced at a later date.</p>
<p>WP Tavern will be on the ground in Paris to cover WordCamp Europe as an official media partner. We&#8217;re looking forward to connecting with the European WordPress community and finding the stories that might otherwise go untold. The last remaining <a href="https://2017.europe.wordcamp.org/tickets/" target="_blank">tickets</a> are selling quickly. There are 288 micro-sponsor tickets left and just 308 general admission tickets remaining before the event is sold out.</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, 20 Apr 2017 03:29:43 +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:11:"
	
	
	
	
	
";s: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:80:"HeroPress: Announcing the Up and Running Scholarship, from HeroPress and WPShout";s: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:29:"https://heropress.com/?p=1722";s: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:"https://heropress.com/announcing-up-running-scholarship-heropress-wpshout/";s: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:3263:"<img width="960" height="639" src="http://20094-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ipad-uandr-1-1024x682.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Two hands holding an ipad so we can see the screen." /><p>For the first time ever, HeroPress is taking part in offering a scholarship! The good folks over at WPShout are soon releasing some great new WordPress training material called <em>Up and Running</em>. As part of that release they&#8217;d like to offer ten copies for free to those who fit the application qualifications.</p>
<h3>How do I apply?</h3>
<p>Visit the <a href="https://heropress.com/up-running-scholarship-heropress-wpshout/"><em>Up and Running</em> Scholarship Application</a> page, read the rules, and fill out the form.</p>
<div class="rtsocial-container rtsocial-container-align-right rtsocial-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal-button"><a title="Tweet: Announcing the Up and Running Scholarship, from HeroPress and WPShout" class="rtsocial-twitter-button" href="https://twitter.com/share?text=Announcing%20the%20Up%20and%20Running%20Scholarship%2C%20from%20HeroPress%20and%20WPShout&via=heropress&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fannouncing-up-running-scholarship-heropress-wpshout%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal fb-light"><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal-button"><a title="Like: Announcing the Up and Running Scholarship, from HeroPress and WPShout" class="rtsocial-fb-button rtsocial-fb-like-light" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fannouncing-up-running-scholarship-heropress-wpshout%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-linkedin-button" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fannouncing-up-running-scholarship-heropress-wpshout%2F&title=Announcing+the+Up+and+Running+Scholarship%2C+from+HeroPress+and+WPShout" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Share: Announcing the Up and Running Scholarship, from HeroPress and WPShout"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-pinterest-button" href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://heropress.com/announcing-up-running-scholarship-heropress-wpshout/&media=https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ipad-uandr-1-150x150.png&description=Announcing the Up and Running Scholarship, from HeroPress and WPShout" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Pin: Announcing the Up and Running Scholarship, from HeroPress and WPShout"></a></div></div><a rel="nofollow" class="perma-link" href="https://heropress.com/announcing-up-running-scholarship-heropress-wpshout/" title="Announcing the Up and Running Scholarship, from HeroPress and WPShout"></a></div><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com/announcing-up-running-scholarship-heropress-wpshout/">Announcing the Up and Running Scholarship, from HeroPress and WPShout</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</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, 20 Apr 2017 00:07:55 +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:"";}}}}}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:80:"WPTavern: BuddyPress 2016 Survey Results Show 54% of Respondents are on PHP 7.0+";s: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:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=68226";s: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:89:"https://wptavern.com/buddypress-2016-survey-results-show-54-of-respondents-are-on-php-7-0";s: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:5532:"<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/bp-featured.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>The <a href="https://buddypress.org/2017/04/2016-buddypress-survey-results/" target="_blank">results of the BuddyPress 2016 survey</a> have been published. This year the survey received feedback from 302 respondents in 61 different countries, a 43% increase in responses from 2015. The top five countries represented in the survey include the United States (27.15%), India (7.62%), United Kingdom (6.95%), Germany (6.29%), and Canada (3.64%). English remains the most popular language for BuddyPress sites at nearly 70% and this year Spanish (10.7%) replaced French for the #2 spot, followed by German (9.96%).</p>
<p>A new question in the 2016 survey asked users what PHP versions their sites are on. More than 53% of respondents report having sites on PHP 7.0+ and 63% are using a version higher than 5.6+.</p>
<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/buddypress-php-2016.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>Lead developer Paul Gibbs sees these results as an affirmation that the BuddyPress core leadership made the right decision when dropping support for PHP 5.2 nine months ago.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">We (<a href="https://twitter.com/buddypress">@buddypress</a>) made the right call 9 months ago to drop support for PHP 5.2 in our last major release.</p>
<p>&mdash; Paul Gibbs (@pgibbs) <a href="https://twitter.com/pgibbs/status/849399725707202562">April 4, 2017</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">In fact, our 2016 users survey <a href="https://t.co/1LClEoOr38">https://t.co/1LClEoOr38</a> suggests 88% of respondents use PHP &gt;5.6, maybe we can be more aggressive this year.</p>
<p>&mdash; Paul Gibbs (@pgibbs) <a href="https://twitter.com/pgibbs/status/849399973649276931">April 4, 2017</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<p>Gibbs is currently on a sabbatical from BuddyPress and was not available for comment. Project lead John James Jacoby said that the decision to drop support for PHP 5.2 may not be a direct corollary to its usage falling below 1%, but the core team will continue to bump the minimum version in the future with consideration for user happiness.</p>
<p>&#8220;It’s hard to know whether increasing our minimum PHP version made any direct difference,&#8221; Jacoby said. &#8220;My hunch is most users do not care very much, and the ones that do, care greatly. It’s all about keeping users happy – sometimes that means maintaining compatibility with old dependencies; other times it means kindly motivating users to upgrade things maybe they haven’t thought about in a while.&#8221;</p>
<p>The 2016 results show that 45% of respondents have been using BuddyPress for a year or less. While this isn&#8217;t necessarily an indication of users&#8217; ability, it is interesting in light of the project&#8217;s recent shift to focus on developers and site builders. The survey results indicate that more users identify themselves as a beginner when it comes to knowledge of BuddyPress themes and hooks.</p>
<p><a href="https://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/buddypress-knowledge.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>BuddyPress core developers made the decision to focus on site builders and developers based on how they saw the project&#8217;s user base changing over time. Making the software 100% turnkey is no longer one of their chief objectives. With the high percentage of users who identify as beginners, the project will need to find a way to get them connected and advancing in their BuddyPress knowledge.</p>
<p>&#8220;The <a href="https://buddypress.org/support/" target="_blank">BuddyPress.org community forums</a> continue to be the best place to get connected with other users to talk about what they’re working on,&#8221; Jacoby said. &#8220;Our documentation coverage in the codex is constantly being maintained, and we’re still working behind the scenes on a developer site ala <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/" target="_blank">developer.wordpress.org</a>. Nothing will ever beat reading the code from inside a quality code-editor, but having public visibility into the codebase is good for everyone, too.&#8221;</p>
<p>April 30, 2017, marks the 8th anniversary of the first stable release of BuddyPress. Version 3.0 will be released this year and contributors are working towards adding a new template pack and improving the BP REST API, in addition to other new features based on comments from the survey.</p>
<p>&#8220;The primary focus of BuddyPress for 3.0 and beyond (in addition to being a great foundation for developers) should be to improve member management and communications inside your WordPress,&#8221; Jacoby said. &#8220;The latest and greatest versions of PHP don’t necessarily help us with those things directly, but the performance improvements of running BuddyPress on PHP 7.0 or 7.1 are impressive, enough to continue aggressively bumping our minimum required and recommended versions to keep users happy and safe.&#8221;</p>
<p>A <a href="https://buddypress.org/2017/04/2016-buddypress-survey-results/" target="_blank">summary of the 2016 survey results</a> was published to the BuddyPress.org blog and the <a href="https://mercime.github.io/BuddyPress-2016-survey-results/" target="_blank">full results</a> are available on GitHub, along with comments from respondents.</p>
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