Better Way  🔗 **Source:** [Better Way](https://nomad.blog/2026/07/17/better-way/) > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: [open-source, wordpress, release-leadership, open-web, community-care] > author: Anne McCarthy > source: nomad.blog > reference: https://nomad.blog/2026/07/17/better-way/ > date created: {{date:YYYY-MM-DD}} {{time:HH:mm}} > > # 🏷️ Title: better way > <!-- deep-read:sections start --> ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) - [📚 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#️-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🛡️ DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### 🔗 References - [better way — nomad.blog](https://nomad.blog/2026/07/17/better-way/) - [Automattic Creed](https://automattic.com/creed/) - Short documentary on open source (YouTube embed in post) ## 📝 Summary - What happened: WordPress 7.1 Beta 1 shipped, and Anne McCarthy — serving as Release Lead for the first time — reflects on the emotional weight of the release process and shares a short documentary about open source she was interviewed for. - Why it matters: it's a rare first-person account of what release leadership actually feels like (lost sleep, 4am anxiety) paired with a values argument for why open source matters, from one of WordPress's most visible contributors. - Key stakeholders: WordPress core contributors, release squads, Automattic, and the wider open source community the documentary addresses. - Risks and tradeoffs: none stated as risks; the implicit tradeoff is personal — sustained emotional investment in a volunteer-heavy release process versus burnout. - Bottom line: open source is "not perfectly good nor perfectly bad but it does feel like a better way," and the people who care are what make the open web work. ## 📖 Main Content - The post opens with WordPress 7.1 Beta 1 shipping "as of yesterday" and a broad thank-you to everyone involved. McCarthy names the pattern of every release: "its own special kind of chaos and its own special kind of coming together." - She describes the physical cost of release leadership: re-reading PRs late at night, waking at 4am stressed about the big picture — amplified this cycle because she's Release Lead for the first time and "learning something new every single day." - The counterweight to the anxiety is awe: the open web is built by humans "choosing to engage rather than disengage, care rather than despair," visible in thoughtful merge proposals, design debates, and API refinement in PR back-and-forths. She anchors this with a Patrick Ness quote about the ability to feel being "a rare gift" in a world of numbness and information overload. - Second thread: she shares a short documentary about open source she was interviewed for. The interview was "terrifying" — she cried during parts. Her open source origin story: she stumbled into it at Automattic in 2014, knew it only through the company creed, then "couldn't unsee or stop knowing" once she understood it. - Key hedged claim: open source "is not perfectly good nor perfectly bad but it does feel like a better way." She adds she's still "only scratching the surface," comparing the feeling to talking with "a queer elder who fought to have rights that I sometimes take for granted today." - The post closes with an invitation to subscribe — and an explicit invitation to unsubscribe "the second it no longer feels worth reading," because attention deserves care. - Uncertainties: the documentary's title and producer aren't named in the post; the WordPress 7.1 release timeline is referenced only as "Beta 1 is out." ## 🗒️ Notes - Genre: short personal reflection (~510 words), not a technical or announcement post — despite opening with release news. - Two braided threads: (1) release-lead diary entry, (2) open source values statement via the documentary share. - The emotional register is deliberate. She quotes Patrick Ness on feeling as "a rare gift" and admits crying during the documentary interview — vulnerability as a leadership posture, not a slip. - The "queer elder" analogy does real work: it frames open source freedoms as rights that were fought for and are now taken for granted — positioning newcomers as inheritors with a duty to understand the fight. - The conversion narrative ("I couldn't unsee or stop knowing") frames open source literacy as one-directional: once you understand it, you can't go back. That's a strong claim about worldview shifts, not just tooling preference. - The unsubscribe invitation at the end mirrors the post's thesis: attention is scarce, so give it only where it's worth giving — the same "care with what we give attention to" logic she applies to feelings. - DevRel-relevant detail: her list of where care shows up — merge proposals, design debates, API refinement in PRs, release parties, schedules — is a concrete inventory of the human touchpoints in a release cycle. ## 📚 References - [better way (source post)](https://nomad.blog/2026/07/17/better-way/) - [Automattic Creed](https://automattic.com/creed/) - [nomad.blog WordPress category](https://nomad.blog/category/wordpress/) - Short documentary on open source (YouTube embed; title not given in post) - Patrick Ness (quoted; from his fiction, work not named in post) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - WordPress 7.1 Beta 1 just shipped. As first-time Release Lead I'm losing sleep and learning constantly, but I keep being amazed that the open web exists because people choose to engage, care, and think hard together — working with people who care is wonderful. - I was interviewed for a short documentary about open source. It was terrifying and I cried. I stumbled into open source at Automattic in 2014, and once I understood it I couldn't go back. It's not perfect, but it feels like a better way — and I'm still only scratching the surface. ## 📰 Newsletter - WordPress 7.1 Beta 1 is here, and first-time Release Lead Anne McCarthy wrote the release note you didn't know you needed — not the changelog, but what it feels like to carry a release: 4am wake-ups, PR re-reads, and the quiet awe of watching people choose to care. - She also shared a short documentary on open source she was interviewed for — worth a watch if you've ever tried to explain to someone why "free software" isn't about the price. - Best line to steal for your next talk: open source is "not perfectly good nor perfectly bad but it does feel like a better way." - Read it: [better way](https://nomad.blog/2026/07/17/better-way/) ## ✅ Action Items #### DevRel - Developer advocacy: cite this post when explaining release-cycle culture to developers new to WordPress core; the "care shows up in merge proposals and API debates" framing is a ready-made talk beat. - Education: pair the documentary with contributor onboarding material as a "why open source" primer. - Community management: the "unsubscribe the second it no longer feels worth reading" stance is a model for respectful audience communication. #### OSPO - Community Engagement: the post is evidence for funding the human infrastructure of releases (release parties, coordination), not just code. #### Community - Contributors: use the release-lead anxiety account to set realistic expectations for first-time release squad members and normalize asking for support. #### WordPress - **Core Program Team:** first-time Release Lead experience reports like this are retrospective input — capture what "learning something new every single day" concretely required. - Marketing: the documentary is shareable why-open-source content for WordPress channels. - Training: candidate reading for Learn WordPress contributor courses on release roles. #### The WPCC - Programs: supports the case for maintainer/release-lead stipends — the emotional labor described here is real work. ### FAIR - Not applicable to this source — the post makes no claims about infrastructure independence or governance mechanics. ## 🧪 Hypotheses - First-time release leads across open source projects report sleep disruption and anxiety spikes concentrated in the beta-to-RC window. - Contributors with an explicit "conversion moment" narrative (couldn't unsee it) retain longer in open source projects than those without one. - Publicly sharing emotional experience by release leadership increases volunteer willingness to join future release squads. - Personal-blog advocacy (like this post plus documentary) converts more newcomers to open source contribution than official project marketing does. ### 📊 Methodology - Survey release leads across WordPress, Python, and Node release cycles on sleep/stress by release phase; compare first-time versus repeat leads. - Interview long-tenured contributors for origin narratives; code for "conversion moment" language and correlate with tenure. - Track release-squad signup rates in cycles following high-visibility personal posts by release leadership versus cycles without. ### ❓ Questions - What concrete support structures (co-leads, escalation paths, decision logs) reduce the 4am-anxiety load on first-time release leads? - Which parts of the release process generate the "coming together" feeling, and can they be designed for rather than hoped for? - Does the documentary reach beyond the already-converted open source audience? ### 🔮 Future Research - Longitudinal study of release-lead burnout and retention in volunteer-heavy projects. - Whether vulnerability-forward leadership communication measurably changes contributor community norms. ### 💡 Implications - Practice: release leadership is emotional labor and should be resourced like it — realistic time budgets, backup leads, post-release recovery time. - Education: values-based narratives ("a better way") may onboard contributors more durably than feature-based pitches. - Funding models: the human coordination layer of releases is uncompensated work that stipend programs could target. ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment - Reading level estimate: Flesch-Kincaid grade ~9-10; conversational long sentences, no jargon beyond "PRs" and "merge proposal." #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: one header illustration ("code for the people"). - Improve: none needed for a personal post; a release-timeline graphic would be over-engineering. #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: embedded video documentary. - Improve: audio narration of the post itself. #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: strong analogies (queer elder comparison), a literary quote, narrative structure. - Improve: already the post's strength. #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: implicit invitation to participate in WordPress releases. - Improve: a link to how to join a release squad would convert inspiration into action. #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: little; this is affective, not analytical, writing. - Improve: not the post's job. #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: celebrates collective work; subscribe/community framing. - Improve: comment prompt or discussion link. #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: reflective first-person model readers can mirror. - Improve: none needed. #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: none. - Improve: not applicable to this source. ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: simple paragraph structure, blockquote semantics for the Ness quote. - Improve: the header image has empty alt text (`alt=""`); if it's decorative that's correct, but if it carries the "code for the people" message it needs descriptive alt. #### Keyboard navigation - Present: standard WordPress.com theme behavior; no custom interactive elements. - Improve: nothing evident from content. #### Contrast and readability - Not assessable from the extracted HTML; no inline styles present. #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: responsive srcset on the header image. - Improve: nothing evident. #### Media and captions - Present: YouTube embed of the documentary. - Improve: no indication of captions or a transcript for the documentary; a transcript link would matter most here (WCAG 1.2.2/1.2.3). #### Forms and interactions - Not applicable to this source — no forms in the post content. #### Standards reference - Main gaps map to WCAG 2.2 AA 1.1.1 (image alt decision) and 1.2.2 (captions for the embedded video). ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: global framing of the open web and its contributors. - Improve: single-author perspective by design; not a gap for a personal post. #### Inclusive language - Present: plain, warm, jargon-light language. - Improve: none needed. #### Neurodiversity support - Present: short post, single thread per paragraph. - Improve: long compound sentences could be split. #### Representation - Present: author references queer elders and her surrogacy-related writing; documentary aims to broaden who sees themselves in open source. - Improve: none needed for this format. #### Psychological safety - Present: models vulnerability (crying, anxiety) from a leadership position; explicitly releases readers from obligation to keep subscribing. - Improve: none needed. ### ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - Inductive: generalizes from repeated concrete observations (merge proposals, design debates, PR refinement) to "the open web is created by fellow humans choosing to engage" — the evidence base is her direct experience across releases, which she's well-positioned to report. - Balanced qualification: "it's not perfectly good nor perfectly bad but it does feel like a better way" explicitly avoids overclaiming; the argument is comparative, not absolutist. - Analogical: the queer-elder analogy transfers a known pattern (rights taken for granted by inheritors) to open source freedoms; it clarifies rather than proves, and is offered as feeling, not proof. #### Fallacies - None of substance. The post argues from personal experience and labels it as such ("it does feel like"); potential survivorship framing (she sees the people who engage, not those who burned out and left) is inherent to the genre, not a rhetorical trick. #### Tone of voice - Warm, vulnerable, grateful, quietly evangelistic — "How wonderful it is to work with people who care"; "I couldn't unsee or stop knowing." ### 🛡️ DARVO Analysis - Not applicable to this source — there is no accusation, conflict, or defensive rhetoric; the post contains no deny/attack/reverse dynamics to analyze. ## 🎯 Conclusion - Bottom line: a first-time WordPress Release Lead's honest account of release anxiety, resolved into gratitude — and a values case that open source, imperfect as it is, "does feel like a better way." - Next steps for readers: watch the documentary she shared, and if the release-culture description resonates, look at joining a WordPress release squad — the post is effectively a recruitment letter for people who care. ## 🔄 Refactor Appendix — better way > Density: 2–5 Literature atoms (H3), 0–3 Permanent candidates (H4). > Defaults: 3 Literature, 1 Permanent. Resonance filter: if you can't > articulate in one line why a claim matters, drop it. > > Konik claim-header rules: present tense, declarative, ≤10 words when > possible, searchable, unique, mirrors annotation focus if present. > > Atomicity: one declarative sentence per atom. "and"/"also" → split. > > Tag pool: #bmf · #addendum · #xref · #articleseed · #storystem · #share · #aphorisms ### 📚 Literature Atoms (H3) ### [H1] Open source feels like a better way, not perfection > [!quote] > Like everything, it’s not perfectly good nor perfectly bad but it does feel like a better way. **Context & use**: - Second main paragraph, framing the shared documentary. - The deliberately hedged comparative claim is the post's thesis — useful phrasing for advocacy that doesn't overclaim. **Tags**: #xref #aphorisms <!-- atomicity: 1 idea ✓ --> ### [H2] Open web exists because humans choose engagement over disengagement > [!quote] > the open web is created by fellow humans choosing to engage rather than disengage, care rather than despair **Context & use**: - First paragraph, amid the release-anxiety account. - Grounds an abstract value (the open web) in observable contributor behavior — merge proposals, design debates, PR refinement. **Tags**: #xref #share <!-- atomicity: 1 idea ✓ --> ### 🧠 Permanent Candidates (H4) #### [P1] Release leadership is emotional labor, not just coordination **Claim** (one sentence, Courtney's voice): Leading an open source release is emotional labor that deserves the same resourcing as the technical work. **Evidence pointer**: [[#H2]] — McCarthy's 4am anxiety, lost sleep, and crying during the documentary interview, held alongside her awe at contributor care. **Scope & conditions**: Holds for volunteer-heavy, deadline-driven projects with visible leadership roles; weaker where releases are fully automated or staffed by paid full-time teams. **Links** (≥1 with annotation): - [[Open source sustainability]] — because extends - [[Contributor burnout]] — because evidence-for - [[DevRel community programs]] — because applies-in release-squad onboarding <!-- atomicity: 1 idea ✓ --> ### ✏️ Fleeting Queue - [F1] What is the title/producer of the open source documentary McCarthy was interviewed for? — https://nomad.blog/2026/07/17/better-way/ #fleeting #inbox - [F2] Which Patrick Ness book is the "ability to feel" quote from? — likely the Chaos Walking trilogy; verify #fleeting #inbox ### → Things 3 (max 2 actions) - [ ] Watch the open source short documentary embedded in McCarthy's "better way" post — https://nomad.blog/2026/07/17/better-way/ #things <!-- deep-read:sections end --> 📄 **Full text:** [[Full Document Contents/Articles/Better Way.md|Better Way by Anne McCarthy]] ## Highlights - WordPress 7.1 Beta 1 is out in the world as of yesterday. Whew, so many people are involved in every release that I can only offer a big “thank you” to everyone. Every release has its own special kind of chaos and its own special kind of coming together. The last week or so begins the stage of the release process where I start to lose sleep, often going to bed late re-reading PRs and waking up at 4am or so stressed about the big picture. This time my anxiety is amplified as I’m serving as the Release Lead for the very first time and learning something new every single day. At the same time, it never ceases to amaze me to see how the open web is created by fellow humans choosing to engage rather than disengage, care rather than despair, and to think/debate hard rather than to choose easy answers. I’ve felt that with every thoughtful merge proposal, every debate about a design decision, every PR that has developers going back and forth refining the shape of an API, and every person who helps bring it all together for release parties and schedules. How wonderful it is to work with people who care. A favorite quote by Patrick Ness comes to mind: ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kxr9g6qhjt1em51vjw2prsgh)) - Note: H2 — the open web exists because humans choose engagement over disengagement; written from inside first-time Release Lead anxiety during the 7.1 Beta 1 cycle. - Tags: atom/literature/h2 - Ironically, I’ve been so deep in the release that I haven’t been able to share a recent short documentary I was interviewed for about open source. It was terrifying to be interviewed–I cried during parts and found myself deeply appreciative of the questions asked. I stumbled into open source. When I joined Automattic in 2014, I didn’t have a full appreciation or understanding, beyond knowing it was [in our creed](https://automattic.com/creed/). Once I started to wrap my head around it, I couldn’t go back. I couldn’t unsee or stop knowing. Suddenly, I started to see all around me just how powerful of a concept it really is and how much is missed by not embracing a more open world. My hope in sharing the documentary below is that folks will watch it in order to get a better sense of why open source matters. Like everything, it’s not perfectly good nor perfectly bad but it does feel like a better way. I also still feel like I’m only scratching the surface of open source. It’s a similar feeling I get when talking to a queer elder who fought to have rights that I sometimes take for granted today. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kxr9g2t2a9jj7znwh99pjkkb)) - Note: H1 — the post's hedged thesis: open source as "a better way," not perfection. Shared alongside a documentary interview about why open source matters. - Tags: atom/literature/h1