Yes, I am the (interim) President of The WPCC 🔗 **Source:** [Yes, I am the (interim) President of The WPCC](https://jazzsequence.com/2026/02/yes-i-am-the-interim-president-of-the-wpcc/) > [!note]+ Document Notes > ```markdown > > --- > tags: [WordPress, OpenSource, Governance] > author: Chris Reynolds > source: jazzsequence.com > reference: [https://jazzsequence.com/2026/02/yes-i-am-the-interim-president-of-the-wpcc/] > date created: 2026-02-20 00:00 > > --- > > # 🏷️ Title: Yes, I am the (interim) President of The WPOCC > <!-- 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 - Include links cited in or relevant to the article. ## 📝 Summary - What happened: Chris Reynolds was named Interim President of The WP Open Community Collective (WPOCC), a nonprofit aiming to fund and support WordPress contributors. - Why it matters: WordPress lacks a Drupal-style association; WPOCC is positioning itself to fill that structural gap and make contribution more sustainable. - Key stakeholders: Individual contributors, maintainers, hosting and product companies using WordPress, the WordPress Foundation, and large tech companies consuming open source. - Risks and tradeoffs: Potential tension with existing WordPress leadership; risk that funding models still bend toward corporate interests; uncertainty over how “contribution” is defined and rewarded. - Bottom line: WPOCC is a community-driven attempt to build sustainable, compensated contribution in WordPress, foregrounding empathy and a broader definition of contribution. ## 📖 Main Content - The author connects his appointment as Interim President of WPOCC with lessons from DrupalCon Atlanta, where he observed how the Drupal Association supports core development and community governance. He argues that WordPress’s foundation will never serve a similar role, leaving a gap WTCC can fill by experimenting with “contribution compensation” models. - He notes a structural difference in how WordPress and Drupal are organized and funded, pointing out that a historical technical decision led to WordPress’s dominant adoption, but not to a correspondingly robust institutional structure for sustaining contributors. - WPOCC, boosted by a significant GoDaddy donation, is framed as an underdog effort to redirect value back to maintainers and contributors, especially as open source faces intensified exploitation in the age of AI-assisted development. LLMs can ingest open source code without attribution, further distancing value capture from the humans doing the work ([AI-assisted development risk](https://read.readwise.io/read/01khvjgjk43s3xbb2zf44deqjp?endLexposition=0000I_00000-0090&startLexposition=0000G&emphasizeText=AI+models+will+integrate+Open+Source+packages+and+use+Open+Source+code+for+reference+freely%2C+without+attribution+or+citing+sources.)). - The article critiques WordPress’s current reliance on “sponsored contributors” paid by employers to work on core, a model that is hard to justify to CFOs because the benefits are diffuse and indirect ([sponsored contributors critique](https://read.readwise.io/read/01khvjgjk43s3xbb2zf44deqjp?endLexposition=0000K_00004-0066&startLexposition=0000K&emphasizeText=The+solution+as+it+has+existed+over+the+last+many+years+has+been+%E2%80%9Csponsored+contributors%E2%80%9D)). He emphasizes that capitalism shapes which open source efforts get funded. - Reynolds challenges the narrow view that “real” contribution is only core code. He argues that plugins, tooling, and other ecosystem work are essential contributions that should be recognized and potentially compensated ([what counts as contribution](https://read.readwise.io/read/01khvjgjk43s3xbb2zf44deqjp?endLexposition=0000Q_00000_00002-0013&startLexposition=0000M&emphasizeText=I+believe+that+you+can+contribute+to+the+software+ecosystem+around+WordPress+%28e.g.+by+building+plugins+or+tools+that+are+used+for+WordPress%29+without+contributing+code+directly+to+core.)). - He references his own experience of being “mysteriously banned” from WordPress spaces as a motivating factor to join a “counter-cultural” organization like WPOCC, aiming to create a future that honors contributors in all forms. - The closing frames the WPOCC effort as an “anti-capitalist and anarchic” underdog story rooted in empathy and compassion, coexisting with existing WordPress institutions rather than replacing them ([empathy and compassion as anti-capitalist](https://read.readwise.io/read/01khvjgjk43s3xbb2zf44deqjp?endLexposition=0000S_00000-0094&startLexposition=0000S&emphasizeText=Because+you+know+what%E2%80%99s+really+anti-capitalist+and+anarchic%3F+Empathy+and+compassion.)). ### 🗒️ Notes - DrupalCon Atlanta was pivotal: Reynolds observed the Drupal Association’s role in funding and governance and saw parallels and gaps for WordPress ([DrupalCon reflection](https://read.readwise.io/read/01khvjgjk43s3xbb2zf44deqjp?endLexposition=00008_00002-000J&startLexposition=00000&emphasizeText=DrupalCon+Atlanta+was+enlightening+for+a+lot+of+reasons.)). - Drupal and WordPress have similar histories, but a key technical decision 16 years ago created a divergence in their adoption and trajectories. - WordPress’s institutional landscape (especially the Foundation) makes it unlikely to ever mirror the Drupal Association’s centralized, member-driven structure. - WPOCC is positioned as a gap-filling organization, especially with early funding such as the GoDaddy donation ([gap to help build a contribution compensation model](https://read.readwise.io/read/01khvjgjk43s3xbb2zf44deqjp?endLexposition=0000E_00000-002f&startLexposition=0000A&emphasizeText=there+just+so+happens+to+be+this+organization+that+is+positioning+itself+to+fill+the+gap+to+help+build+a+contribution+compensation+model+that+is+sustainable.)). - Reynolds wanted to be on the board from the beginning, believing his WordPress and Drupal experience, and his role at Pantheon, would be valuable to bridge ecosystems. - The presidency “landed” on him through circumstance rather than deliberate ambition, signaling a somewhat accidental, emergent leadership. - AI-assisted development accelerates existing patterns of open source exploitation by allowing large systems to ingest code without attribution or compensation. - Major corporations like Microsoft now embrace and rely on open source, which is beneficial for adoption but problematic when contributors remain unfunded. - Sponsored contributors in WordPress illustrate a misalignment between corporate accounting logic and the diffuse benefits of supporting infrastructure-like projects. - The article highlights how decision-making power in WordPress core does not necessarily align with who is sponsored or contributing code, contrasting with Drupal’s governance. - Contribution is reframed as a wide spectrum of activities beyond core code, emphasizing accessibility and inclusion challenges in current contribution pathways. - The author’s ban experience fuels a desire to build alternative, more equitable institutions and reward structures. - The closing narrative uses underdog and anti-capitalist language to frame WPOCC as an empathetic, community-first experiment inside the larger WordPress ecosystem. ## 📚 References - The WP Open Community Collective – About & mission (https://wpcommunitycollective.com/) - Drupal Association – About (https://www.drupal.org/association) - WordPress Foundation (https://wordpressfoundation.org/) - Pantheon (context for author’s employer) (https://pantheon.io/) - GoDaddy open source initiatives (for context of donation) (https://www.godaddy.com/) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - Paragraph A paraphrase: Reynolds announces he is now Interim President of WPOCC, situates this in his recent experience at DrupalCon, and notes that Drupal’s association model suggests lessons for WordPress’s future. - Paragraph B paraphrase: He argues that WordPress lacks an equivalent institutional backbone, that WPOCC—with seed funding—can experiment with sustainable contributor compensation, and that his own history, cross-project experience, and values make him a good fit for this role. ## 📰 Newsletter The WordPress community just got a fresh jolt of open source real-talk. Chris Reynolds has stepped in as Interim President of The WP Open Community Collective, a nonprofit laser-focused on sustainable contribution funding. Drawing on lessons from the Drupal Association, WPOCC is exploring how to recognize and compensate work across the WordPress ecosystem—core, plugins, tooling, and more. If you care about contributor health, AI-era code reuse, and new funding models, keep an eye on WPOCC and its upcoming programs and governance experiments. ## ✅ Action Items #### DevRel - Map key contributor personas (core, plugin devs, educators, organizers) and define how WPOCC can support each with talks, office hours, and content. - Produce explainers and workshops on “sustainable contribution” and open source funding models tailored to WordPress developers. - Improve developer-facing documentation on how to engage with WPOCC programs, nominations, and reporting. - Launch a content series (posts, talks, streams) on cross-ecosystem lessons from Drupal and other projects. - Establish community feedback loops (surveys, office hours) to refine program design and funding priorities. #### OSPO - Draft clear policies on how organizations can fund WPOCC and sponsored contributors while keeping governance independent. - Provide license and compliance guidance to help companies contribute funding without overreaching on control. - Integrate open source security and maintenance considerations into funding eligibility and program design. - Encourage companies to inventory dependencies and earmark a percentage of spend toward upstream support. - Explore MoUs between WPOCC and large consumers of WordPress to formalize long-term support. #### Community - Host roadmap clinics and governance conversations for maintainers to surface needs WPOCC could fund. - Build structured onboarding for new contributors (including non-code roles) into funded programs. - Develop transparent sponsorship tiers and impact reporting for funders and donors. - Coordinate multi-project drills (e.g., security or maintenance sprints) with cross-plugin/core collaboration. #### WordPress - Core: Align WPOCC’s support with high-impact maintenance and infrastructure work that core teams flag as under-resourced. - Core Performance: Identify recurring performance bottlenecks that could be targets for funded sprints or fellowships. - Core AI: Shape guidelines around AI-assisted contribution, attribution, and training-data ethics. - **Core Program Team:** Regularly sync with WPOCC to avoid overlap, share pain points, and co-design experiments. - Mobile & Playground: Use WPOCC-funded fellowships to prototype education-oriented tooling (Playground labs, mobile UX improvements). - Community & Training: Integrate WPOCC programs into meetup kits, WordCamp content, and Learn WordPress curricula. - Marketing & Support: Communicate funded wins, publish case studies, and surface support gaps that could use funded contributor time. - Documentation & Accessibility: Prioritize docs and accessibility work as “first-class” contribution areas eligible for funding. - Meta & CLI: Coordinate on tooling that makes contribution more discoverable and measurable. - Hosting & Tide: Partner with hosts and Tide for data to inform where funding has the highest ecosystem impact. - Openverse, Themes, Plugins, Photos, TV, Polyglots: Identify maintainers under heavy load and create stipend or microgrant pilots. #### The WPOCC - Programs: Design fellowship tracks for maintainers, microgrants for critical ecosystem tools, and stipends for underfunded roles (docs, accessibility, community). - Projects: Run documentation and governance sprints that lower barriers to non-code contributions. - Funding experiments: Pilot matched grants, milestone-based payouts, and published ledgers detailing where money flows and why. ### FAIR - Technical independence: Maintain independent infrastructure for WPOCC data, finances, and governance records. - Policies and covenants: Define funding transparency norms, conflict-of-interest rules, and anti-capture provisions. - Productized governance artifacts: Publish sample charters, contribution agreements, and evaluation scorecards for other community collectives to reuse. ## 🧪 Hypotheses - H1: Expanding the definition of “contribution” beyond core code will materially increase both contributor diversity and retention in WordPress. - H2: Transparent, community-governed funding (like WPOCC) will attract more sustainable support from companies than ad-hoc sponsorships. - H3: AI-assisted development will accelerate the extraction of value from open source without compensation unless new funding norms are established. - H4: WordPress governance that more closely mirrors Drupal’s association-style model will lead to better-aligned funding for critical maintenance work. - H5: Empathy- and contributor-centered narratives increase willingness among companies and individuals to fund infrastructure-level contributions. ### 📊 Methodology - For H1: Compare contributor demographics and activity before and after WPOCC programs that reward non-code contributions; use contribution metrics and surveys. - For H2: Run structured sponsorship programs with clear reporting; measure renewal rates, funding volume, and sponsor satisfaction vs. prior sponsorship models. - For H3: Analyze AI tooling usage in WordPress development, track dependency projects’ funding status, and correlate AI adoption with maintainer burnout and project health. - For H4: Conduct case studies comparing Drupal and WordPress funding outcomes, mapping governance structures to maintenance resourcing. - For H5: A/B test different fundraising narratives (pure ROI vs. empathy/justice framing) and evaluate donation and sponsorship conversion. ### ❓ Questions - How should the WordPress ecosystem formally define “contribution” in a way that is inclusive but still measurable? - What governance structures will ensure WPOCC remains independent from corporate capture while still engaging major funders? - How can AI vendors and users contribute financially back to the maintainers whose code trains or powers their systems? - What accountability mechanisms should surround funded contributors so efforts align with community priorities rather than just sponsor goals? - How can people affected by bans or conflicts in WordPress governance be safely included in future institutions? ### 🔮 Future Research - Comparative studies of funding models in other large open source ecosystems (Linux, Kubernetes, Python, etc.). - Research on long-term mental health and burnout among open source maintainers in high-usage but low-funding environments. - Experiments around collective bargaining or union-like structures for critical maintainers within open source ecosystems. - Exploration of standards for AI training data attribution, consent, and compensation in open source contexts. ### 💡 Implications - Practice: Organizations using WordPress at scale may need to treat upstream funding as core infrastructure cost rather than charity. - Policy: Community projects might develop norms or policies requiring some level of upstream support from large consumers. - Security: Better-funded maintainers could reduce risk from unpatched vulnerabilities and abandoned plugins. - Education: Contributor education can expand beyond code, emphasizing governance, documentation, and community roles. - Funding models: Transparent, experiment-driven collectives could become templates for other open source communities. ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment - Reading level estimate: Approximately high-school to early college, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level ~10–11 (conceptual but conversational). #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Narrative descriptions and contrasts (WordPress vs. Drupal structures). - Improve: Add diagrams showing governance and funding flows between WordPress, Drupal, WPOCC, and sponsors. #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: None explicitly. - Improve: Provide an audio recording or short podcast episode explaining WPOCC’s mission and structural differences with Drupal. #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Strong narrative, reflective tone, and clearly articulated opinions. - Improve: Add a brief glossary of terms (e.g., “sponsored contributors,” “maintainer,” “upstream”). #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Implied actions (joining, funding, contributing), but not hands-on. - Improve: Offer step-by-step “how to get involved” tasks, contribution labs, or small experiments (e.g., sponsor one issue). #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: Some causal reasoning about capitalism and contribution models. - Improve: Provide simple tables comparing models, or decision trees for sponsors choosing support paths. #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: Emphasis on community and collaboration. - Improve: Add discussion prompts for meetups or working groups to explore WPOCC’s role. #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: Reflective personal narrative that invites introspection. - Improve: Include journaling prompts about readers’ own relationship to contribution and compensation. #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: Limited; mostly social “ecosystem” metaphors. - Improve: Use explicit ecosystem analogies (e.g., keystone species as maintainers) and lifecycle thinking about projects. ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: Standard blog structure with headings and paragraphs (assumed). - Improve: Ensure proper heading hierarchy, alt text for images (including the DrupalCon photo), and language attributes. #### Keyboard navigation - Present: Typical web layout likely allows tabbing. - Improve: Confirm visible focus indicators, skip-to-content link, and no keyboard traps. #### Contrast and readability - Present: Dependent on site theme; likely adequate. - Improve: Verify color contrast meets WCAG 2.2 AA and text line-height supports comfortable reading. #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: Likely responsive. - Improve: Test at 200% zoom and high zoom on mobile; avoid text clipping and support reduced-motion preferences. #### Media and captions - Present: Static images only. - Improve: Provide descriptive alt text and, if video/audio are added later, full captions and transcripts. #### Forms and interactions - Present: Minimal (comment form, if any). - Improve: Ensure form labels, error messages, and target sizes are accessible. #### Standards reference - Map any gaps found during audits to WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria for ongoing remediation. ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: Focused on WordPress/Drupal communities, largely Western/tech-centric. - Improve: Highlight non-Western WordPress communities and localized contributions. #### Inclusive language - Present: Generally inclusive, non-gendered language and clear acknowledgement of exclusion. - Improve: Add plain-language summaries around more complex governance and funding discussions. #### Neurodiversity support - Present: Clear structure and relatively short article. - Improve: More consistent subheadings, bullet lists for key points, and explicit summaries. #### Representation - Present: Primarily the author’s voice and perspective. - Improve: Include quotes or references from a wider range of contributors and maintainers. #### Psychological safety - Present: Respectful tone acknowledging harms (e.g., bans) and centering empathy. - Improve: Link to community guidelines or reporting mechanisms where readers can safely engage. ### ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - The causal link between AI-assisted development and increased exploitation risk is clearly articulated and grounded in how LLMs consume code without attribution. - The critique of sponsored contributors highlights a structural mismatch between corporate ROI logic and public-good infrastructure, a coherent economic argument. #### Fallacies - Some implied generalization that “capitalism rules how open source is built” may oversimplify mixed funding patterns; this could be nuanced by acknowledging non-capitalist funding pockets. #### Tone of voice - Tone is reflective, candid, and lightly confrontational toward the status quo while remaining hopeful and collaborative. ### 🛡️ DARVO Analysis - Deny: The article does not deny harms in the ecosystem; it acknowledges exploitation risk and personal negative experiences directly. - Attack: There is no direct attack on specific individuals; criticism is aimed at systems (capitalism, structural choices, vague governance). - Reverse victim/offender: The author mentions being banned but frames it as context, not as a basis to portray himself as the sole victim; he uses it to justify working on systemic solutions rather than centering personal grievance. ## 🎯 Conclusion Reynolds’s appointment as Interim President of WPOCC anchors a broader argument: WordPress needs more intentional, community-governed funding and recognition of contributors beyond core code—especially under AI-driven exploitation pressures. WPOCC is positioned as an underdog experiment to bring empathy, transparency, and sustainability into how the ecosystem funds and values its people. For readers, the next steps are to clarify what “contribution” means in their own context, explore WPOCC’s programs, and consider how they—and their organizations—can support upstream work as an essential part of using WordPress. ## 🧱 Refactor Appendix (append after 🎯 Conclusion) ### 📚 Literature Split Pad - Purpose: Stage Konik CEE units that become per-source Literature notes. - Split level: **H3**. - Include verbatim quotes under 25 words and a [view highlight] link. ### [H1] WPOCC experiments with sustainable contribution funding > [!quote] [Yes, I am the (interim) President of The WPOCC](https://jazzsequence.com/2026/02/yes-i-am-the-interim-president-of-the-wpcc/) by [[Chris Reynolds]] via [[jazzsequence.com]]. Published 2026-02-19. > “this organization that is positioning itself to fill the gap to help build a contribution compensation model that is sustainable.” Two lines: context and use. Cite data if relevant. [view highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01khvjgjk43s3xbb2zf44deqjp?endLexposition=0000E_00000-002f&startLexposition=0000A&emphasizeText=that+is+positioning+itself+to+fill+the+gap+to+help+build+a+contribution+compensation+model+that+is+sustainable.) #xref #articleseed ID:rw_[MISSING] ### [H2] AI accelerates open source exploitation risks > [!quote] [Yes, I am the (interim) President of The WPOCC](https://jazzsequence.com/2026/02/yes-i-am-the-interim-president-of-the-wpcc/) > “AI models will integrate Open Source packages and use Open Source code for reference freely, without attribution or citing sources.” Two lines: context and use. [view highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01khvjgjk43s3xbb2zf44deqjp?endLexposition=0000I_00000-0090&startLexposition=0000G&emphasizeText=AI+models+will+integrate+Open+Source+packages+and+use+Open+Source+code+for+reference+freely%2C+without+attribution+or+citing+sources.) #xref ID:rw_[MISSING] --- ### 🔖 Atomic Split Pad (Zettel Candidates) - Purpose: Promote reusable claims into Atomic notes. - Split level: **H4**. - Each item: one idea, present tense, specific, testable. #### [Z1] WPOCC fills structural funding gaps in WordPress - Scope/condition in one line. - Pointer to page/time or dataset. - Links: [[WordPress-Governance]] [[Open-Source-Funding]] #### [Z2] AI usage increases uncompensated open source reuse - Scope/condition in one line. - Pointer to page/time or dataset. - Links: [[AI-and-Open-Source]] [[Maintainer-Sustainability]] --- ### ✏️ Fleeting Queue (Extract by Selection) - Purpose: Capture quick actions or sparks for Fleeting notes. - Extraction: **Select one line** → “Refactor: Extract selection to new note (content only).” - Keep each line short and self-contained. - [F1] Draft a visual diagram comparing WPOCC and Drupal Association roles — https://jazzsequence.com/2026/02/yes-i-am-the-interim-president-of-the-wpcc/ #fleeting #inbox - [F2] Explore metrics for non-code contributions in WordPress — https://jazzsequence.com/2026/02/yes-i-am-the-interim-president-of-the-wpcc/ #fleeting #inbox - [F3] Outline a sponsor-facing explainer on funding upstream WordPress work — https://jazzsequence.com/2026/02/yes-i-am-the-interim-president-of-the-wpcc/ #fleeting #inbox --- <!-- deep-read:sections end -->