WordCamp US 2024  ## Metadata - Author: [[simonrjones.net]] - Full Title: WordCamp US 2024 - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #WordCamp - #WordPress - #Community_Events Author: Simon R. Jones Source: Simon R. Jones Website Reference: [WordCamp US 2024](https://www.simonrjones.net/2024/09/wordcamp-us-2024/) date created: {{date:2024-09-25}} {{time:11:15}} --- # Title: WordCamp US 2024: Highlights and Key Discussions ## Table of Contents:  1. 📝 [Summary](#📝-summary) 2. 📖 [Main Content](#📖-main-content) 3. 🗒️ [Notes](#🗒️-notes) 4. 🗣️ [Paraphrase](#🗣️-paraphrase) 5. 📰 [Newsletter](#📰-newsletter) 6. ✅ [Action Items](#✅-action-items) 7. 🧪 [Hypotheses](#🧪-hypotheses) 8. 📊 [Methodology](#📊-methodology) 9. ❓ [Questions](#❓-questions) 10. 🔮 [Future Research](#🔮-future-research) 11. 💡 [Implications](#💡-implications) 12. 🧠 [Learning Styles Assessment](#🧠-learning-styles-assessment) 13. 📊 [Accessibility Assessment](#📊-accessibility-assessment) 14. 🌍 [DEIB Assessment](#🌍-deib-assessment) 15. ✅ [Logical Validity](#✅-logical-validity) 16. 🔍 [SEO Evaluation](#🔍-seo-evaluation) 17. 🎯 [Conclusion](#🎯-conclusion) ### References: - Simon R. Jones, "WordCamp US 2024." Simon R. Jones Website, 2024. [Link](https://www.simonrjones.net/2024/09/wordcamp-us-2024/) ## 📝 Summary: Simon R. Jones provides an overview of WordCamp US 2024, capturing key moments and discussions from the event. The article highlights the latest updates in WordPress development, community growth, and debates surrounding open-source contributions. Additionally, it touches on Automattic’s ongoing efforts to maintain transparency and inclusivity within the WordPress ecosystem. ## 📖 Main Content: WordCamp US 2024 brought together thousands of WordPress enthusiasts, developers, and community members. Simon R. Jones details some of the event’s most notable moments, including discussions on the future of WordPress, open-source development, and inclusivity initiatives. One of the key highlights was Automattic’s continued emphasis on expanding WordPress’s core capabilities while addressing the ongoing debates around corporate involvement in the open-source space. The event also featured several workshops focused on improving accessibility and fostering greater community collaboration. ### 🗒️ Notes: - **WordPress Updates**: WordPress continues to grow with a focus on core updates, especially around block-based editing. - **Open-Source Contributions**: Discussions about the role of large corporations in open-source development were prominent. - **Workshops & Collaboration**: Several workshops focused on community collaboration, accessibility, and sustainability within the ecosystem. - **Diversity and Inclusion**: Automattic and WordCamp organizers emphasized diversity, equity, and inclusion within the WordPress ecosystem. ## 📖 References: - Simon R. Jones, "WordCamp US 2024." Simon R. Jones Website, 2024. [Link](https://www.simonrjones.net/2024/09/wordcamp-us-2024/) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: 1. **Original**: "WordCamp US 2024 showed the strength of the WordPress community as it continues to grow and adapt to new challenges in the open-source world." **Paraphrase**: The WordPress community’s resilience was on full display at WordCamp US 2024 as it embraced growth and tackled new challenges in open-source development. 2. **Original**: "The emphasis on accessibility was evident, with workshops dedicated to improving the user experience for all, regardless of their abilities." **Paraphrase**: Accessibility took center stage at the event, with numerous workshops focused on enhancing the user experience for individuals of all abilities. ## 📰 Newsletter: WordCamp US 2024 was an exciting event for the WordPress community, featuring in-depth discussions on the future of WordPress, open-source contributions, and accessibility improvements. The event underscored WordPress’s ongoing commitment to inclusivity and collaboration within its ecosystem. Check out Simon R. Jones’s detailed recap [here](https://www.simonrjones.net/2024/09/wordcamp-us-2024/) to catch up on everything you missed, from block editor updates to community-driven workshops. ## ✅ Action Items: - **Core Development**: Stay up-to-date on WordPress’s core development changes, especially block-based improvements. - **Engage in Open-Source**: Contribute to ongoing discussions about corporate roles in open-source. - **Support Inclusivity**: Actively engage in initiatives promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the WordPress community. ## 🧪 Hypotheses: 1. Workshops on accessibility will lead to more inclusive design features in future WordPress releases. 2. Increased corporate transparency within open-source will foster more trust and collaboration in the community. ### 📊 Methodology: Survey WordCamp participants and track the number of contributions to accessibility-related features in upcoming WordPress updates. Analyze data on corporate participation in open-source development before and after public discussions at WordCamp US 2024. ### ❓ Questions: - How will recent discussions on corporate contributions affect the future development of WordPress? - What new tools or initiatives emerged from WordCamp US 2024 to promote accessibility in WordPress? ### 🔮 Future Research: - Analyze the long-term impact of WordCamp workshops on accessibility and collaboration in the WordPress community. - Study corporate involvement in open-source projects and its effect on overall community engagement. ### 💡 Implications:  Future research on accessibility improvements and corporate involvement will provide deeper insights into the evolving dynamics of the WordPress community, helping to drive more inclusive and transparent growth. ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment: 1. **Visual Learners (Spatial)**: - **Present**: Limited visual aids included. - **Improve**: Incorporate flowcharts or infographics to visually represent WordPress’s growth and contributions. 2. **Aural Learners (Auditory-Musical)**: - **Present**: No auditory content available. - **Improve**: Offer audio summaries or podcasts of key discussions from WordCamp. 3. **Verbal Learners (Linguistic)**: - **Present**: Clear language with in-depth descriptions. - **Improve**: Include more examples and analogies to explain complex topics like corporate involvement in open-source. 4. **Physical Learners (Kinesthetic)**: - **Present**: Lacks hands-on engagement. - **Improve**: Provide actionable steps, such as how attendees can participate in WordPress contributions or community initiatives. 5. **Logical Learners (Mathematical)**: - **Present**: Some logical analysis of WordPress updates and community growth. - **Improve**: Include more data points and charts for readers who prefer analytical breakdowns. 6. **Social Learners (Interpersonal)**: - **Present**: Some references to community collaboration. - **Improve**: Include direct links to WordPress forums or Slack groups for continued discussion. 7. **Solitary Learners (Intrapersonal)**: - **Present**: Reflection on personal involvement in WordPress contributions not included. - **Improve**: Add prompts encouraging readers to reflect on their role in the open-source community. 8. **Naturalistic Learners**: - **Present**: No environmental or nature-based references. - **Improve**: Use nature-based analogies when discussing community ecosystems and collaborative growth. ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment: - **Screen Reader Compatibility**: The article is screen reader-friendly. - **Keyboard Navigation**: Users can easily navigate using a keyboard. - **Contrast and Readability**: Clear, readable fonts and good contrast, though a dark mode option could enhance user experience. - **Text Resizing**: Content adjusts to different text sizes without issue. ### 🌍 DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) Assessment: - **Cultural Relevance**: The event discussed DEIB, but more diverse voices could be amplified. - **Improve**: Include perspectives from a wider variety of cultural backgrounds within the WordPress community. - **Inclusive Language**: Language is neutral and inclusive. - **Neurodiversity Support**: Consider breaking long sections into smaller, more digestible parts. - **Repre - Document Tags: [[matt mullenweg]] [[open source corporate contribution]] [[wcus]] [[wordpress]] [[wordpress contribution]] [[wpdrama]] [[wp engine]] - Summary: Matt Mullenweg opened his WordCamp US 2024 Q&A presentation with “this may be one of my spiciest WordCamp presentations ever. - URL: https://www.simonrjones.net/2024/09/wordcamp-us-2024/ Matt Mullenweg opened his [WordCamp US 2024 Q&A presentation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnI-QcVSwMU) with “this may be one of my spiciest WordCamp presentations ever.” He went on to publicly attack WP Engine (a sponsor at Word Camp US) and the private equity firm behind them, Silver Lake. This left many attendees with a very negative ending to WordCamp. [Matt followed this up by posting on wordpress.org](https://wordpress.org/news/2024/09/wp-engine/), the official website for the open source project WordPress, to continue his criticism of WP Engine. In his post Matt called WP Engine “a cancer to WordPress.” This news post “WP Engine is not WordPress” will now appear on nearly every WordPress site in the world on the admin dashboard (official WordPress news channels have a very wide reach). This is very strong criticism which to be honest seems uncalled for. And even if Matt has valid reasons there are better, more productive ways to address this. Using language like this feels very wrong to me, it’s poor leadership, and I can’t see how it makes the community stronger. Matt’s core frustration appears to be how commercial companies use open source and don’t meaningfully contribute to it. He made a fair point saying commercial companies talking open source need to use real [open source licenses](https://opensource.org/licenses) and that what really makes open source is what he calls ecosystem thinking. He defined this as: Learn, evolve, nourish, teach. He called out WP Engine for brand confusion, a lack of open source contributions to the WordPress project, and disabling core functionality on the WP Engine hosting platform. A recent campaign to encourage more open source contribution called [Five for the future](https://wordpress.org/five-for-the-future/) has public declaration pages. [Automattic](https://wordpress.org/five-for-the-future/pledge/automattic/) pledges 3,786 hours a week, while [WP Engine](https://wordpress.org/five-for-the-future/pledge/wp-engine/) only commits 47 hours a week. Matt mentioned it was more like 40 and indeed the public contribution page has since been updated to this figure. Comparing WP Engine to Automattic is clearly unreasonable. Automattic is the company run by Matt that essentially runs WordPress (strictly speaking it’s an open source project, but with heavy influence and direction from Automattic). Other big WordPress tech companies such as Yoast contribute 150 hours a week, other hosting companies like BlueHost 53 hours and Siteground 42 hours.Yes, WP Engine could contribute more to core, but compared to others it’s not an awful record. And one I hope they can improve on. The Five for the Future handbook states: > “It represents a goal to contribute 5% of your time or resources to the WordPress project, recognizing that any contribution, no matter the amount, is valuable.” > > <https://wordpress.org/five-for-the-future/handbook/about-five-for-the-future/> Shaming companies for not doing more goes against the project’s own values. WP Engine is a big player in the WordPress space and isn’t perfect. It’s true buyouts and corporate investment can have a negative effect on good companies. We’ve used the WP Engine hosting platform (both the Enterprise and normal hosting packages) and the restrictions of their setup can be frustrating. But it does work fairly well and our past experience of support has been good. They purchased and now actively develop Advanced Content Fields (ACF), possibly the most essential plugin for professional WordPress development (it has an open source version). Interestingly I see WordPress is developing what may be a replacement for ACF with [custom fields in the Block Editor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLB3OkgNOTs). Matt’s follow up blog post stated WP Engine disable revisions, a core part of WordPress, simply to make money. The storage mechanism for revisions is not great and high numbers of revisions can seriously affect performance. So limiting or disabling this is a fairly common approach. There are lots of businesses using WordPress as the foundation for their business. If more people use WordPress, WordPress as a whole grows. Not everyone has to contribute to core to make a positive impact to the wider WordPress community. And if big businesses use WordPress, more people will use WordPress. It’s a virtuous cycle. In the Q&A one person accused Matt of “punching down” and said “what seems like vendettas are demotivating. With stalled market share we need to promote new people coming into WordPress. WordPress started with people hacking on it. Not negativity.” I think a stalled market share is natural. At 43% WordPress already commands a huge share of the web. But the web thrives on different people doing different things, and I don’t think it would be healthy for the web for one platform to dominate. If WordPress wants to grow perhaps they could focus on working with the wider PHP ecosystem to encourage developers to use WordPress for more use cases. For example, supporting [Composer](https://getcomposer.org/) the excellent package manager for PHP. Later in his talk, Matt said “The idea we’re creating is bigger than any one person.” Does that include him?, WordCamp US 2024, simonrjones.net, 01j8hvpnsfhvxfrp2ed0jfk7qg.