Yoast Co-Founder Seeks WordPress Contributor Board

Source: Freepik_Free Vector _ Landing page concept website setup

Meanwhile, there’s even Joost de Valk, one of the co-founders of the popular Yoast SEO plugin, who’s recently suggested a WordPress contributor board. The idea is to get fairer contributions from the bigger players in WordPress, more financial transparency, and better representation from the contributor community.

In the wake of discussions regarding the contribution of companies such as WPEngine towards the WordPress ecosystem, De Valk opines on the topic. He quotes CEO Matt Mullenweg of Automattic, defending his commitment to more substantial contributions from companies availing themselves from WordPress. According to De Valk, with the high financial profits that these companies benefit from, they ought to reciprocate by contributing towards WordPress development.

In the proposal, De Valk puts much emphasis on community representation and transparency. He actually presents the case that a contributor board would allow contributors and companies to have a voice in the direction of WordPress and ensure their voices are represented. It would further help build trust for a solid and healthy WordPress community through greater transparency.

He adds, from his own business experience, a third point: focusing on the community contributions rather than short-term gains. He adds how focusing on the welfare of the WordPress community made the long-term success of the company.

This advisory contributor board would decide on all matters relating to WordPress, give its advice on various parts of development, host discussions, and so on. It will ensure substantial provision of improvement suggestions from various stakeholders through increased transparency and contribution.

Yet another recommendation made by De Valk is that the community be educated on more financial transparency on payments made to Automattic for trademarks. As he says, transparency in payments made to Automattic for trademark deals could help him understand better where payments pay back the development of WordPress.

De Valk’s proposal generated interest within the WordPress community itself, and many quarters welcomed him with open arms who both supported his endeavors at improving the representation and transparency of communities. Discussions continue, and one will only know if this idea of creating a contributor board takes hold and becomes enacted.

Role of the Contributor Board

If established, the contributor board would probably play a significant role in influencing the future of WordPress. It would be the platform to consult contributors and companies on:

• Have their say on the WordPress roadmap: The board would come up with useful insights into what the community needs and what order of priority.
• This would help guide the development of future features and updates.
• Facilitate cooperation: The board might, in attempting to solve problems and find areas of improvement, work on building communication and collaboration among stakeholders.
• Balance contributions: Larger companies may then contribute more to the platform when compared to their benefits by creating a better playing field

Challenges and Considerations

Though the advantages of a contributor board are many, challenges also come with it:

• Board’s Definition Role: The first thing that has to be defined is the board’s responsibilities and authority. Too many powers may make it stagnant, while too few would be ineffective.
• Representation Board: The board must represent the diverse WordPress community – the mix from different walks of life, various regions, and different skill levels.
• Elimination of Conflicting Interests: The board should be cleared of any conflict of interest to be in good standing. This may require the development of rules regarding member involvement and declaration of their associations.
• Achieve Equilibrium Between Community and Business Needs: The board should balance the needs of the larger community WordPress and satisfy the business needs that depend on the platform.

If it’s successful, the influence of a contributor board on the WordPress ecosystem will be significant. Here are just a few ways it could:

• Have more community engagement: It will build a stronger sense of community and engagement if the board lets contributors have a say in the direction of WordPress.
• Innovation: A more diverse and inclusive community directly means that you get better innovative ideas and solutions.
• Ensure sustainability: The board would balance and encourage fairness in contribution and ensure transparency that keeps this project of WordPress sustainable for the long term.
• Improvement of experience: With a more responsive WordPress that is perhaps more community oriented, there will be the improvement of every user’s experience.

A WordPress contributor board is a very promising thing toward making WordPress more equitable, transparent, and community-driven. Significant challenges have to be met to be able to bring this about, but the potential benefits are many. It is an opportunity for careful consideration to ensure that any board is representational and has mechanisms to address or avoid conflict of interest, where a very valuable mechanism can stem in order to form the shape of what WP will be in the future.

Discussions that are still ongoing for arriving at a solution in this regard should be toward the betterment of all stakeholders involved. Success will not only depend upon the willingness of the contributors, the developers, and at-large members to collaborate and try for mutual interests, but it will also have to ensure the prioritization of the long-term health of the WordPress ecosystem.

Sources:

• https://www.searchenginejournal.com/yoast-co-founder-suggests-a-wordpress-contributor-board/528462/
• https://twitter.com/sejournal/status/1840710687049302209
• https://ezitech.org/blogs/co-founder-of-yoast-offers-the-idea-of-a-wordpress-contributor-board/
• https://www.facebook.com/100064813777714/posts/970164318487352/

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