A Little (Late) Spring Cleaning  ## Metadata - Author: [[WordPress.org Project]] - Full Title: A Little (Late) Spring Cleaning - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #wordpress - #governance - #openSource Author: WordPress.org Project Source: Make WordPress Project blog Reference: https://make.wordpress.org/project/2025/06/25/a-little-late-spring-cleaning/ date created: 2025-08-20 00:00 --- # Title: A Little (Late) Spring Cleaning — Auditing GitHub repos, plugins, and Slack for clarity and focus ## Table of Contents: - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) - [📖 References](#-references-1) - [🗣️ 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-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical validity](#-logical-validity) - [🔍 DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#-seo-evaluation) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### References: - WordPress.org Project. “A Little (Late) Spring Cleaning.” Make WordPress Project blog. https://make.wordpress.org/project/2025/06/25/a-little-late-spring-cleaning/ ## 📝 Summary: The WordPress.org Project conducted a comprehensive cleanup across GitHub repositories (WordPress and bbPress orgs), WordPress.org-hosted plugins, and project Slack channels. Using codified criteria for what belongs under the official GitHub org, the team cataloged every repository and archived those without ongoing maintenance, active team alignment, or a continuing purpose. They also closed deprecated/merged plugins maintained by the wordpressdotorg account and archived inactive Slack channels to reduce noise. The effort emphasizes transparency, historical preservation, and focus on current priorities, with an open invitation for feedback if anything was archived prematurely. Direct anchors to key sections: - Criteria and audit approach: “Following up on the codified criteria…” (top) - Archived GitHub repositories (WordPress + bbPress) with rationale and an archive-notes spreadsheet reference (Archived Repositories) - Closed plugins list and Core Handbook page for retired plugins (Closed Plugins) - Archived Slack channels and inactivity definition (Archived Slack Channels) - Call for feedback and appreciation for contributors (Looking Ahead) ## 📖 Main Content: The initiative centers on governance and hygiene across WordPress’s collaboration surfaces. - Governance criteria and inventory - The project codified what qualifies a repo to live under the WordPress GitHub org and cataloged all repos in a structured spreadsheet with metadata. Criteria included: ongoing maintenance; affiliation with an active WordPress.org team or initiative; and whether the repo serves an ongoing purpose. - GitHub repository archiving - 20 WordPress org repositories were archived between June 5–24, 2025. Typical cases: feature plugins already merged into Core; short-term experiments; one-off demos; legacy comms repos. - One bbPress org repo (“wpbbp”) was also archived. - Archives remain public; specific reasons per repo are documented in an Archive Notes spreadsheet. - Plugin closures - The team reviewed plugins maintained or supported by the wordpressdotorg user. Plugins tied to deprecated features, outdated support needs, or merged projects were closed (11 plugins on June 24, 2025). Examples listed include Background Update Tester, Plugin Dependencies, Rollback Auto Update, Widgets Refresh, WP Auto-Updates. - A Core Team Handbook page now records retired plugins previously supported by Core, preserving historical context. - Slack channel archiving - Slack channels tied to completed initiatives, legacy features, or inactive Core components were archived on June 24, 2025. - For feature-* and core-* component channels, inactivity was defined as “no meaningful collaboration for at least one year.” - 30 channels were archived; they remain public and can be unarchived if warranted. - Looking ahead - The post encourages periodic audits and invites public feedback if something seems prematurely archived. It closes with gratitude to contributors and reiterates the mission to democratize publishing. ### 🗒️ Notes - Audit scope and criteria - Comprehensive inventory across WordPress + bbPress GitHub orgs. - Criteria for inclusion: maintenance status, alignment with active teams/initiatives, ongoing utility. - GitHub outcomes - 20 WordPress org repos archived (June 5–24, 2025). - Reasons: merged feature plugins, short-term experiments/demos, legacy comms. - 1 bbPress repo archived: wpbbp. - Publicly accessible archives; per-repo rationale documented in spreadsheet. - Plugin outcomes - Review of plugins managed by wordpressdotorg. - 11 plugins closed on June 24, 2025; examples include Background Update Tester, Plugin Dependencies, Rollback Auto Update, Widgets Refresh, WP Auto-Updates. - New Core Handbook page lists retired Core-supported plugins; allows retroactive additions. - Slack outcomes - 30 Slack channels archived (June 24, 2025). - Inactivity threshold: no meaningful collaboration ≥ 1 year for feature-* and core-* component channels. - Channels remain public and easily unarchived. - Process values and engagement - Emphasis on clarity, reduced noise, and contributor focus. - Preserves history and transparency via public archives and handbook references. - Open invitation for feedback on premature archival decisions. - Appreciation for past contributors; framing as continuous evolution. ## 📖 References: - A Little (Late) Spring Cleaning — Make WordPress Project: https://make.wordpress.org/project/2025/06/25/a-little-late-spring-cleaning/ - Core Team Handbook (retired plugins reference page mentioned in article; find under Core Team Handbook on make.wordpress.org) - WordPress GitHub org: https://github.com/WordPress - bbPress GitHub org: https://github.com/bbpress ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: 1) Original idea: The team audited all WordPress and bbPress GitHub repositories using codified criteria and cataloged them in a spreadsheet to assess maintenance, team alignment, and ongoing purpose. - Paraphrase: Building on newly formalized standards for inclusion in the official GitHub organizations, the project enumerated every repository from WordPress and bbPress into a single spreadsheet, annotating each with metadata to judge whether it’s actively maintained, tied to a current WordPress.org initiative, and still serves a continuing need. 2) Original idea: Multiple systems were cleaned—GitHub repos, plugins, and Slack channels—with public archiving, defined inactivity rules, and a handbook page to preserve history, alongside an open call for feedback and thanks to contributors. - Paraphrase: The cleanup spanned code, extensions, and communications. Repositories and Slack channels that no longer saw meaningful activity were archived while keeping them publicly viewable; outdated plugins were closed and documented in the Core Handbook to retain historical context. The post invites community input on any mistaken removals and recognizes the contributor effort that enabled progress. ## 📰 Newsletter: Spring cleaning, but make it open source. The WordPress project just finished a sweeping tidy-up across GitHub, the Plugin Directory, and Slack to sharpen focus and reduce noise. Highlights: - GitHub: Repos without ongoing maintenance or active team alignment (like feature plugins already merged into Core) were archived—still public for reference. - Plugin Directory: A set of legacy or merged-into-Core plugins (e.g., Background Update Tester, Plugin Dependencies, WP Auto-Updates) were officially closed, with a new Core Handbook page to preserve their history. - Slack: 30 channels tied to dormant initiatives were archived after a one-year inactivity threshold, but can be unarchived if work resumes. Why this matters for learners and builders: less clutter, clearer signals, and a more focused path to contribute. If you spot something that should be revived, the projec - Summary: Following up on the codified criteria for a repository to live under the WordPress organization on GitHub, a comprehensive audit of all repositories under both the WordPress and bbPress GitHub orga… - URL: https://make.wordpress.org/project/2025/06/25/a-little-late-spring-cleaning/ Following up on the [codified criteria for a repository to live under the WordPress organization on GitHub](https://make.wordpress.org/project/2025/06/04/criteria-for-creating-or-migrating-repositories-under-the-wordpress-github-organization/), a comprehensive audit of all repositories under both the WordPress and bbPress GitHub organizations has been conducted. To support this effort, every repository was [catalogued in a spreadsheet](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1v5BwlXA2J637RUBoZ8_Kmz3nM9Urw6ZEQ_h8JN2Z2f4/edit?usp=sharing), along with metadata to assess which met the established criteria. This includes factors such as ongoing maintenance, alignment with an active WordPress.org team or initiative, and whether the repository serves a continuing purpose. #### Archived Repositories In total, 20 repositories in the WordPress GitHub organization were identified as no longer meeting the criteria for active maintenance under the organization. These include: * Feature plugins for projects that have already been merged into WordPress Core and are no longer providing any additional functionality. * Some repositories were created for short-term experimentation or one-off demonstrations. While useful at the time, they no longer serve an active purpose and were archived to reduce clutter. * Legacy communication efforts that are no longer relevant. The following repositories have been archived between June 5, 2025 and June 24, 2025: * [marcomms-Meetups](https://github.com/WordPress/Marcomms-Meetups/) * [marcomms-Internal-Comms](https://github.com/WordPress/Marcomms-Internal-Comms/) * [marcomms-Rolling-tasks](https://github.com/WordPress/Marcomms-Rolling-tasks/) * [marcomms-WP-Releases](https://github.com/WordPress/Marcomms-WP-Releases/) * [marcomms-Onboarding](https://github.com/wordpress/marcomms-onboarding) Additionally, one repository was archived under the bbPress GitHub organization: [wpbbp](https://github.com/bbpress/wpbbp). Archived repositories remain publicly accessible for reference purposes. Specific reasons why each repository was closed can be found in the `Archive Notes` column of the spreadsheet #### Closed Plugins Archiving repositories was only one part of this effort. Since the GitHub repositories often overlap with plugins hosted on the [WordPress.org Plugin Directory](http://wordpress.org), all plugins maintained or supported by the `wordpressdotorg` user were also reviewed. Plugins tied to deprecated features, outdated support needs, or now-merged projects were closed to reduce confusion and focus contributor attention on current tools. The following 11 plugins were closed on June 24 2025: * [Background Update Tester](https://wordpress.org/plugins/background-update-tester/) * [Plugin Dependencies](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-plugin-dependencies/) * [Rollback Auto Update](https://wordpress.org/plugins/rollback-update-failure/) * [Widgets Refresh](https://wordpress.org/plugins/widgets-widgets-widgets/) * [WP Auto-Updates](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-autoupdates/) To preserve historical context, a [new page in the Core Team Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/retired-official-core-team-plugins/) has been published as a reference of all retired plugins that were officially supported by the Core team at one point. Plugins closed prior to this effort can be added retroactively as they’re identified. #### Archived Slack Channels Beyond code and plugins, Slack was also reviewed. Slack channels associated with completed initiatives, legacy features, or inactive Core components were archived. This helps reduce noise and ensures that active discussion spaces align with the project’s current areas of focus. `feature-*` and `core-*` component channels were considered inactive if there had been no meaningful collaboration for at least one year. The following 30 Slack channels were archived in the [WordPress.org Slack instance](https://make.wordpress.org/chat/) on June 24, 2025: Archived Slack channels remain publicly accessible and can easily be unarchived if new maintainers come forward or if the channel is the most appropriate space for new discussions. #### Looking Ahead As the project continues to evolve, periodic audits like this help keep our resources aligned with current priorities. If you believe something was archived prematurely or have suggestions for future cleanups, please detail in the comments. When archiving certain code bases, plugins, and channels, it’s important to pause and thank the many contributors who brought them to life. Their work forms the foundation for continued progress. Every commit, idea, and conversation has helped advance WordPress’s mission to democratize publishing. And for that, we say “thank you!”, A Little (Late) Spring Cleaning, WordPress.org Project, 01jyks3k3yd0v8qy4tkp3ggrbh.