A Way Forward With FAIR  ## Metadata - Author: [[siobhanmckeown.com]] - Full Title: A Way Forward With FAIR - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #wordpress - #opensource - #communitygovernance - #FAIR Author: Siobhan McKeown Source: siobhanmckeown.com Reference: https://siobhanmckeown.com/a-way-forward-with-fair/ date created: 2025-06-11 17:15 --- # Title: FAIR Project Sparks Debate: Decentralizing WordPress with New Governance Shift ## 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-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-belonging-assessment) - [✅ Logical validity](#-logical-validity) - [🔍 DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#-seo-evaluation) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ## 📝 Summary: This article by Siobhan McKeown addresses the recent turbulence within the WordPress ecosystem in late 2024, culminating in the launch of the FAIR (Federated and Independent Repositories) Project. FAIR aims to decentralize plugin and theme distribution governance as a complementary layer to the WordPress core, fostering resilience, sustainability, and security. The initiative emerged from community fractures, contributor bans, and fears about the project's future, seeking to rebuild trust and psychological safety. Supported by the Linux Foundation, FAIR provides an alternative path forward that encourages open participation and sustainable governance. ## 📖 Main Content: In September 2024, the WordPress community experienced significant upheaval, including contributor bans and company ostracization that undermined trust and threatened the ecosystem’s stability. Contributors, including McKeown, initially felt silenced due to fear of repercussions, reflecting a community climate lacking psychological safety. Recognizing the need for change, a coalition of contributors and businesses reached out to the Linux Foundation to help build a decentralized, federated package management system—FAIR—that would not fork WordPress but work alongside it. FAIR’s design promotes choice, security, and sustainable governance, addressing concerns about centralization and control. The article highlights the emotional journey of community members, the power struggles within the ecosystem, and the hope that FAIR will provide a more inclusive, welcoming space for contributors and hosts alike. The author expresses pride in contributing to FAIR, emphasizing the project’s potential to foster open web sustainability. ## 🗒️ Notes - **Context of Crisis:** - September 2024 events shook the WordPress ecosystem. - Contributor bans and ostracization of companies caused fear and fragmentation. - Psychological safety was lacking; contributors feared speaking out. - **Community Response:** - Contributors, including the author, signed open letters but felt limited in effect. - Some initiatives were weaponized in internal conflicts. - **Formation of FAIR:** - Contributors and businesses united and sought help from the Linux Foundation. - FAIR designed as a federated, decentralized package manager for WordPress plugins/themes. - It is NOT a fork but a complementary layer providing choice. - **Goals of FAIR:** - Build resilience and sustainability in software distribution. - Create a safe, welcoming environment for contributors. - Promote security, decentralization, and improved governance. - **Emotional and Community Impact:** - The author felt conflicted between speaking up and job security. - FAIR is a hopeful step towards rebuilding trust and community cohesion. - **Call to Action:** - Encourages community involvement and contribution to FAIR. - Thanks the Linux Foundation for support. ## 📖 References: - McKeown, Siobhan. "A way forward with FAIR." siobhanmckeown.com. June 6, 2025. https://siobhanmckeown.com/a-way-forward-with-fair/ - Karim Marucchi's LinkedIn Post on FAIR project launch. - Linux Foundation announcements on FAIR Project. ## 🗣️ Paraphrase:  1. Original: "I was on holiday as the events unfolded and I remember being glued to my phone, watching as each new blow happened. I had so much to say about it, but I felt then that I couldn’t say anything." Paraphrase: During my vacation, I closely followed the unfolding events on my phone, feeling deeply affected but unable to voice my concerns, fearing repercussions. 2. Original: "The FAIR Package Manager is built to complement and work alongside the WordPress central project, ensuring that users, contributors, hosts, and business owners have a choice, and have a secure and decentralised option with a sustainable and reliable form of governance." Paraphrase: FAIR is designed not to replace but to support the main WordPress project, offering stakeholders an alternative that is secure, decentralized, and governed sustainably. ## 📰 Newsletter: Hey WordPress Enthusiasts! 🚀 The FAIR Project is making waves in the community, offering a fresh approach to decentralizing plugin and theme distribution without forking WordPress itself. After last year’s upheaval shook the ecosystem, contributors teamed up with the Linux Foundation to build a secure, federated package manager fostering inclusivity and sustainability. This new path promises greater choice and resilience for users and developers alike. If you want to stay ahead in open source governance and contribute to a project built for the future, FAIR deserves your attention. Check out Siobhan McKeown’s insightful write-up here: https://siobhanmckeown.com/a-way-forward-with-fair/ and join the conversation! ## ✅ Action Items: - Emphasize FAIR’s role in increasing governance transparency and decentralization in WordPress. - Advocate for psychological safety in open source communities based on contributor fears highlighted. - Promote onboarding initiatives that welcome disenfranchised contributors to FAIR. - Leverage FAIR as a case study for sustainable open source governance models in talks and workshops. - Align open source advocacy messaging with FAIR’s goals around security, choice, and collaboration. - Position the FAIR project as a strategic focus in your OSPO leadership narrative for WordPress ecosystem growth. ## 🧪 Hypotheses: - A federated package management approach reduces risks associated with centralized control in open source ecosystems. - Psychological safety directly correlates with contributor retention and project sustainability. - Decentralized governance models improve community engagement in open-source projects compared to centralized leadership. ## 📊 Methodology: - Conduct surveys among WordPress contributors to measure perceived psychological safety before and after FAIR’s adoption. - Use case studies comparing governance structures of centralized vs federated open source projects. - Analyze contribution metrics (commits, PRs, issue resolution rates) pre- and post-FAIR implementation. - Employ qualitative interviews with FAIR participants to explore governance satisfaction and inclusivity. ## ❓ Questions: - How will FAIR maintain interoperability without forking the WordPress core? - What governance structures will FAIR use to ensure sustainable, democratic decision-making? - How can FAIR effectively onboard new contributors disillusioned by previous community conflicts? - What are the security implications of a federated package repository for WordPress? - How will FAIR interact with existing plugin marketplaces and hosts? ## 🔮 Future Research: - Longitudinal studies on the impact of FAIR on WordPress ecosystem health and contributor diversity. - Comparative analysis of federated vs centralized open source project governance efficacy. - Investigations into psychological safety as a driver for open source community growth. - Technical research into federated package manager security models. ## 💡 Implications:  Successful decentralization t - Summary: Back in September 2024 events happened that shook the WordPress ecosystem. - URL: https://siobhanmckeown.com/a-way-forward-with-fair/ Back in September 2024 events happened that shook the WordPress ecosystem. We all watched along as, over a period of a few months, the confidence that we had in the WordPress project, which is the foundation of nearly half of the web, was torn apart. Notable contributors were banned from contributing to the project, companies were ostracised, and there were hundreds of behind-the-scenes conversations in which people expressed their fear about the future of the project, the software, and of the security of the open web. I was on holiday as the events unfolded and I remember being glued to my phone, watching as each new blow happened. I had so much to say about it, but I felt then that I couldn’t say anything. I felt fear that if I added my voice to those who spoke up I, and the company that I worked for, would be singled out and barred from the community. In a volatile economy, I had responsibilities beyond myself and I couldn’t take the risk. I was one of the group of contributors who signed the [open letter published in the Repository](https://www.therepository.email/wordpress-contributors-and-community-leaders-call-for-governance-reform-in-rare-open-letter). We felt that we had to do something, even while knowing that something wasn’t enough. So I watched while initiatives [I had helped found](https://europe.wordcamp.org/2013/) were used as weapons in a power struggle and the community that I had been part of for many years struggled to process what was going on. Like many current and former contributors, I was part of conversations, and over time those conversations started to come together in a band of contributors and business owners who were motivated to make a change to the status quo. We reached out to the Linux Foundation and asked them if they could support us to create a project which would build resilience and sustainability into the software distribution, and create a new space where disenfranchised and disaffected contributors could come together once again to contribute productively to open source web publishing. I’m so proud to be part of the group that today launches the FAIR Package Manager project, to finally break cover, to have a voice, and to create a space that welcomes current and new contributors to the project. Over the past six months we have worked together to turn a situation that has shaken us all into an opportunity to build something new, something built for the future, something that prioritises sustainability and security, and something that we are all proud to contribute to and be part of. The FAIR Package Manager is built to complement and work alongside the WordPress central project, ensuring that users, contributors, hosts, and business owners have a choice, and have a secure and decentralised option with a sustainable and reliable form of governance. Not all those who have been part of this process feel they can speak up, which speaks to the lack of psychological safety and the fear that has overshadowed the community for the past ten months. I hope that now and over the coming months, we have the beginnings of a new space where open source contributors can scratch their itch, where dissent and challenge are welcomed and celebrated, and where we create a solid foundation for the future of the open web. Thanks to the Linux Foundation for taking us in – I’m excited to see what our crew will build together in the future! Learn more and get involved:, A Way Forward With FAIR, siobhanmckeown.com, 01jxg7px29hxf83sfj808ckqs3.