Community, and a Metaphor ![rw-book-cover](https://tacoverdo.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Nail-in-wood.jpg) ## Metadata - Author: [[Taco]] - Full Title: Community, and a Metaphor - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #WordPress - #Community - #OpenSource - #Metaphor - #Leadership Author: Taco Verdonschot Source: Taco Verdonschot Blog Reference: [Community, and a metaphor](https://tacoverdo.com/community-and-a-metaphor/) date created: 2024-12-27 00:00 --- # Title: Community, and a metaphor ## 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 (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) Assessment](#deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#logical-validity) - [🔍 DARVO Analysis](#darvo-analysis) - [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#seo-evaluation) - [🎯 Conclusion](#conclusion) ## 📝 Summary: In this post, Taco Verdonschot discusses the state of the WordPress community, emphasizing the tension caused by leadership decisions and the resulting damage to the community's cohesion. Using a metaphor of driving a nail into wood, Taco illustrates how ongoing harm to the WordPress community is fracturing relationships and eroding the platform’s integrity. Despite the challenges, Taco expresses hope for collaboration and a brighter future where the community thrives together. ## 📖 Main Content: ### 🗒️ Notes: - **The WordPress Community**: - Taco defines the WordPress community as an informal, self-classifying group of individuals who contribute to WordPress’s development, often meeting both online and offline. - The community has a cooperative atmosphere despite the fact that many members are technically competitors. - **A Metaphor for Leadership and Damage**: - Taco compares the actions of WordPress leadership to driving a nail into wood—while initially the damage is minor, continued actions are causing visible cracks in the structure. - The metaphor illustrates how persistent negative actions can irreparably harm the community, likening it to the loss of core contributors and relationships. - **Impact on Individuals**: - Taco reflects on seeing people leave the WordPress ecosystem or become disillusioned with the platform due to the strain on the community. - He calls out the emotional and financial harm that ongoing leadership decisions are causing. - **A Dream of Change**: - Despite the damage, Taco expresses a hopeful dream that the leadership will pause and work collaboratively with others to rebuild the community in a healthier, stronger way. ## 📖 References: - Taco Verdonschot, *Taco Verdonschot Blog*, "Community, and a metaphor" - Comments from Seth Goldstein, Alvaro, and Taco Verdonschot on the blog post ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: - **Original**: "I was there in the room when the leader of WordPress started pounding a nail into the WordPress community." - **Paraphrase**: I witnessed firsthand when the leader of WordPress began making decisions that would harm the community. - **Original**: "Any craftsman would know to stop pounding the nail to prevent further damage." - **Paraphrase**: An experienced craftsman would have stopped driving the nail to avoid causing more harm. ## 📰 Newsletter: In his latest post, Taco Verdonschot reflects on the growing fractures within the WordPress community, using the metaphor of driving a nail into wood to describe the damage caused by ongoing leadership decisions. Taco sees the impact of these decisions in the departure of contributors and the emotional toll it’s taking on the community. Yet, Taco remains hopeful for collaboration and change, dreaming of a future where WordPress thrives with a stronger, united community. Is it possible to rebuild and heal, or is it too late for WordPress to come together? ## ✅ Action Items: - **Open Source Advocacy**: As a community-focused leader in open source, Taco’s insights into the challenges faced by WordPress offer a cautionary tale. Advocacy for strong community ties and ethical leadership in open-source projects should be prioritized. - **Contributor Engagement**: Encourage open communication and active collaboration between leadership and contributors to avoid the alienation of key community members. - **Education**: Educate new leaders in the open-source space about the value of community-building and the potential harm that poor decisions can cause to a project’s ecosystem. ## 🧪 Hypotheses: - **Future Studies**: How do leadership decisions in open-source projects affect community cohesion, and what strategies can be implemented to mitigate the impact of poor leadership on contributors? ### 📊 Methodology: - **Data Sources**: Surveys or interviews with WordPress contributors, analysis of community activity in response to leadership changes. - **Research Design**: Case study comparing the WordPress community’s engagement before and after key leadership decisions. ### ❓ Questions: - How can WordPress leadership rebuild trust with contributors and heal the community? - What mechanisms can be put in place in open-source projects to prevent long-term damage due to leadership actions? ### 🔮 Future Research: - Future research could explore how leadership transitions in open-source projects impact long-term community sustainability and contributor retention. ### 💡 Implications: - The article’s reflections could serve as an important case study for future open-source projects, highlighting the delicate balance between leadership decisions and community health. This may lead to better leadership practices that prioritize inclusivity and collaboration. ## 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment: 1. **Visual Learners**: - **Present**: The article is well-structured with headings and a clear layout, supporting visual learners. - **Improve**: Infographics illustrating the metaphor of the nail in the wood could make the argument even clearer for visual learners. 2. **Aural Learners**: - **Present**: No auditory elements are included. - **Improve**: An audio version of the blog post could engage auditory learners better. 3. **Verbal Learners**: - **Present**: The article uses clear language and metaphor, making it suitable for verbal learners. - **Improve**: Storytelling elements could be added to deepen engagement for verbal learners. 4. **Physical Learners**: - **Present**: No interactive components. - **Improve**: Actionable tasks or case studies involving leadership in open-source projects could engage kinesthetic learners. 5. **Logical Learners**: - **Present**: The article logically connects leadership actions to community harm using the metaphor of nails in wood. - **Improve**: A more detailed breakdown of how leadership decisions affect specific aspects of community health could appeal to logical learners. 6. **Social Learners**: - **Present**: The article discusses community dynamics and relationships, engaging social learners. - **Improve**: Including prompts for group discussions or community feedback would deepen engagement for social learners. 7. **Solitary Learners**: - **Present**: The reflective nature of the article provides opportunities for solitary learners to think critically. - **Improve**: Additional journaling prompts or personal reflection questions could enhance engagement. 8. **Naturalistic Learners**: - **Present**: The metaphor of the wood and nail could resonate with naturalistic learners. - **Improve**: Introducing real-world examples from nature or environmental sustainability could further engage naturalistic learners. ## 📊 Accessibility Assessment: - **Screen Reader Compatibility**: The article is well-structured and likely compatible with screen readers. - **Improve**: Alt-text for images should be included to improve accessibility. - **Keyboard Navigation**: The article’s text should be easily navigable by keyboard. - **Improve**: No interactive elements were noted, but any future additions should be keyboard-navig - Document Tags: [[Matt Mullenweg]] [[WordPress]] [[wpdrama]] [[wp engine]] - Summary: The WordPress community made the project a success for many years. Recently, it's been divided. I hope to see it being repaired, not split. - URL: https://tacoverdo.com/community-and-a-metaphor/ ![Image of a nail in wood, splitting the wood.](https://tacoverdo.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Nail-in-wood.jpg) I’ve been working with [WordPress](https://wordpress.org) for over 10 years. Or should I say “around WordPress”? Because unlike many of the amazing web developers I know, I’ve not built (many) websites on WordPress. I wouldn’t survive [Jamie’s speed build challenge](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiPorWuYVbztG5kfpP98ME_SumRyjaZq8). Instead, I’ve been working with the people who build the websites, with the people who build the plugins, with the people who build WordPress core. And that’s what I like best about WordPress; the people. #### The WordPress Community Those people in and around WordPress make what we call the WordPress community, which is an extremely vague definition. But, that’s ok. It’s not up to me to decide who is or isn’t in the community. I feel a system of self-classification works well here. Speaking for myself, I most definitely consider myself part of the WordPress community. It’s a community that meets online. On GitHub, Trac, wordpress.org, in [Slack](https://chat.wordpress.org) (a lot of Slacks actually), Facebook groups, LinkedIn communities, Reddit, and discord, to name just a few. It’s also a community that meets offline. At [WordCamps](https://central.wordcamp.org), meetups, and many other conferences around the globe. These local and global communities of WordPress enthusiasts are quite special. Despite the fact they mostly consist of competitors, you’ll find they all have a relaxed, cooperative vibe. People genuinely care about WordPress, open source, and each other. #### Friends More than once, I’ve said the WordPress community consists of friends, and friends I’ve never met before. And while I won’t invite everyone to my birthday party (not even when I turn 40 next year), I do consider them friends. Why? Because I can always turn to the people in the WordPress community for advice. For a helping hand. Or, to lend a hand when they need one. Even when I don’t always agree with some company’s policies or business ethics, I still may be able to help my friends do better, or make the best of it. #### A metaphor Everyone who’s ever worked with wood knows that driving a nail in a piece of wood might crack it, depending on the type of wood, the size of the nail and its location. Any nail will cause damage to wood. But, when applied correctly, it can help you build a strong structure, larger than any single piece of wood. But, if you do it wrong, it will hurt your structure. You’ll hurt the solidity of the wood. Maybe at first, you won’t see a crack, you won’t see the wood split. But as you continue to drive in the nail, you’ll see that crack become visible, and at some point even irreparable. I was there. I was there in the room. I was there in the room when [the leader of WordPress started pounding a nail into the WordPress community](https://wordpress.tv/2024/10/11/an-in-person-qa-with-matt-mullenweg/). At first, it only hurt the people who were hit directly. However, over time, as he decided to continue to pound the nail, the once perfectly formed and polished WordPress community started to crack. By now, a clearly visible crack has formed. Any craftsman would know to stop pounding the nail to prevent further damage. Any craftsman would know that at this point, the crack is still reparable. Yet what we’re seeing in WordPress is [the opposite](https://www.reddit.com/r/WPDrama/comments/1hlp08d/what_drama_should_i_create_in_2025/). #### The effect What I already see happening is splinters flying off. Splinters that were at the core of our polished piece of wood. Splinters that were together forming a strong part of our piece of wood have been forcefully removed, or sprang off because they couldn’t take the constant beating. Our piece of wood will never be the same. Leaving the metaphor, what I see happening is people who were heavily invested in WordPress walk off, or being forced to step away. I’m seeing a community that’s hurting because of pain that’s constantly being inflicted. I’m seeing a community that’s increasingly wondering if they’ll still have clients next year. If they’ll still have a job. I’m seeing a community that wants the pounding to end. I’m seeing friends get hurt. Emotionally and financially. And I want it to stop. #### How does this continue? I don’t know. I do have a dream though. I dream that Matt stops pounding. I dream that Matt joins forces with [Joost](https://joost.blog/wordpress-leadership/) and [Karim](https://marucchi.com/wordpress-leadership-continued/). I dream that everyone involved pulls their weight to create a strong and healthy structure, together. Because in the end, all I really want is to hang out with my friends -old and new- in this amazing community, and see and help them thrive., Community, and a Metaphor, Taco, 01jg4j1sncwmvygpxp9sb1rrpg.