Comments on: Podpress meltdown illustrates problems with Wordpress management

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:06:30 +0000

Two WordPress developers have volunteered fixes for both the 8.8 and 8.9 branches of PodPress – it’s only a few lines of code to cure the problem:

http://azaozz.wordpress.com/2008/07/31/podpress-in-wordpress-26/

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 06:49:00 +0000

@Matt:
Thanks for sharing your views here.
I clarified the post slightly (see the crossed-out and italicized area) with respect to the relationship between Automattic and Wordpress.org.
As far as the reasons for the delay in a new Podpress version, those may be perfectly valid reasons, I just wanted to chronicle the inconvenience and anxiety that many users appear to be experiencing over the situation since they have come to rely on that plugin so much for their podcast.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:29:17 +0000

On a pure technical level, post revisions was in core for three full months before the release:

http://trac.wordpress.org/changeset/7747

There were 4 pre-releases of WordPress 2.6, three betas and a Release Candidate, all of which included full post revision functionality.

Automattic does not control or manage WordPress.org development, they’re separate entities. (Though Automattic does contribute a lot of resources.) Comments about our release schedule should probably be directed to either myself or the WP lead developers. I’ll personally take responsibility for pushing us to be on a more aggressive release schedule to get improvements into the hands of users faster.

As for financial motivation, I presume that’s there for PodPress as there appears to be an arrangement with Podango. My guess is that Dan wanted to put a lot of improvements into this update rather than just fixing the 2.6 compatibility problem and that probably ended up being a bigger task than he imagined or time got taken away by life/family/love/work. From the site:

“this podPress update is NOT just for 2.6 support. Its a very large redesign to the codebase which is making it possible for the ports of podPress to Drupal and Joomla in the near future.”

That sounds non-trivial, rather than a few lines to fix 2.6 compatibility.

Anyway with our new update system, when the update is available it should get into the hands of people very quickly.

Scott, with regards to donations, when WP.org actively solicited them we’d get about 1 per 15-20k downloads, and that’s for core software!

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:17:06 +0000

@Scott:
I think what you’re saying–that “there has to be a better way” for this to work–is right on point.
These are innovative times in the blogosphere, and maintaining a good relationship between Wordpress/Automattic/core developers and theme/plugin developers is very important in keeping Wordpress in the lead in the CMS game.
The big question is, how can plugin and theme developers keep up with the growth and change in the Wordpress ecosystem as it grows exponentially? As Automattic and properties it owns like Wordpress.com and Gravatar continue to collect investment and even revenue, how will plugin developers stay up to date with the new code, and stay financially viable, without similar kinds of scaling and financing? They may not be able to, which is why I wanted to bring this issue up.
Perhaps the kind of marketplace you describe, or a well-managed startup specializing in Wordpress plugins, could start to correct some of this asymmetry.

By: Scott Frangos

Scott Frangos — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:14:15 +0000

Hi -
You raise a number of great points Dan. While I agree with what you’ve said in principle — that we need a better way to ensure smooth upgrades and functionality between WordPress core, and associated plugins, I think there’s a flaw in the current system.

What’s the motivation for a plugin developer to stay current? If you get a free plugin, then you should expect the same value in service. What I mean is, very few people donate to plugins, yet they expect the authors to provide immediate support for free? What’s wrong with that picture? Should I count the ways including the need for plugin developers to work on their “real” paid jobs?

Suggestions:
– Brainstorm and implement a paid level of service for key plugins
– Brainstorm and implement a marketplace where developers receive the structure and guidance needed to properly program plugins, AND where donations are solicited aggressively, and authors rewarded by some point system incorporating downloads, feedback, and service reviews FINANCIALLY for their efforts.

I co-developed a recent plugin release that already has around 300 downloads… but not one donation. Come on… there has to be a better way where everyone wins.

- Scott