


<p>And the solutions that were provided can now be kind of consolidated and standardized. And Mark Ru Wiley also has a proposal in the Gutenberg issues where he tackles that topic quite a bit and has a few suggestions on how to solve some of the issues. He also has a very good list of what the issues pain points actually are. So he defines the problem quite nicely and comprehensively. So it&#8217;s definitely worth a read for the same developers that are trying to get the head around full site editing with the block editor. And so that&#8217;s just as a side note, you will find the links all in the show note, I think we mentioned it also briefly in our last episode, in the 61 episode. So there is now a with this versioin, now also an initial work in progress of the styling part.</p>



<p>Part of it is also the lowering, the specificity of alignment rules for supporting layouts to wide alignment. There was this catch 22, that if you wanted to have wider aligned blocks, like a cover block or a gallery block or full aligned, you needed to get to the edges of the browser. But if you don&#8217;t want the text answer, go to the end of the browser, you needed to have a margin on that. So it was kind of a catch 22 that you couldn&#8217;t use the wide alignment or the full alignment when you wanted to also have borders there. So there is a solution there, if it&#8217;s working for your theme, you&#8217;ll find out. And then speaking of themes, this release removes data alignment for the themes, its a port layout. So you might need to update your theme to adhere to that. And it&#8217;s also remove div wrappers for the aligned image blocks. So that will certainly also interrupt some of the themes when you are using it. But it&#8217;s a very simple adjustment, but I need to go through that. Mary, do you want to take the next one?</p>



<p><em>Mary Job</em>: Yes. The patterns registration from directory with theme.json is not allowed. So want to write up on that, but those who are building patterns and teams, and then there&#8217;s also the list view. You can now expand block list three on selection.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah the expanding and collapsing of list three is really helpful when you have a long post or template that you need to organize there. Yeah. So let me go back to the allow pattern registration from directory, with the theme.json. So you can now I&#8217;ll put black pattern registration in a sub directory of your theme. And then in theme, Jason, you can link to those patterns through a setting to that directory. The team is also working on a method to actually include patterns from the WordPress directory and have them, that is that? Okay, sorry. So you use the slug from the pattern in the WordPress directory and add it to your theme.json. So it will be shown in your theme for the inserter as well. So that&#8217;s good. All right. That concludes all the enhancements.</p>



<p>There were quite a few others that we kind of skipped over it, but because there were a little minor or hard to explain there, but the bug fixes are coming and coming, coming bug fixes.&nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>Bug Fixes</strong></h3>



<p>So every release has 20 to 40 bug fixes. And that is really cool how the community kind of reports bug fixes and the get up issues, and then the team to take them on and fix all the things that are, are not working just right, like the latest post block had a missing class for the Post title. So it was very hard for a theme to actually target the Post title for the block that has now been solved. Also the query block got a bug fix noting that when you only want to see sticky post, that nothing will be displayed. If there are no sticky posts. So there was some quirkiness there, but now it&#8217;s solved. The global style duo tone rendering was missing in the post editor.</p>



<p>And that seems to be a backport that will go into the next minor release of the WordPress core. So that is fixed and onset core. Earlier so you don&#8217;t have to wait to 6.0 to come out. All right.&nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>Accessibility</strong></h3>



<p>That brings us to accessibility updates that are together with a search button. Also the duplication labels for safe draft or saved as pending buttons have been avoided now. And then there is the rich text. There was a change in the rich text component, and that was reversed because it had an area multiline states, which of course doesn&#8217;t work that well. And then the tree grid for at home and end keys and up and to jump to the start and the end of the grid. So that&#8217;s really helpful for keyboard navigation. All right, this Gutenberg plugin also brings us new APIs to handle core data like post data or other records from custom post types, one meta tag, and it proposes two new experiments.</p>



<h3><strong>PRs</strong></h3>



<p>One is the use entity records proposal, and then an experimental usage of that, which is a hook that you can use to handle data. And PRS actually have some example quote that you can use. And also what&#8217;s in and out of the scope of this PR. And so that is definitely neat. Your testing, now when you open up the Gutenberg plugin, there&#8217;s in the menu, in the WP admin, there is a sections called experiment. That&#8217;s previously where the navigation block and the patterns and other things that were in experiments and have now been released. Now, the newer experiments is all about the data. So you can have an easier way to use the core data store.</p>



<p>And structure it&#8217;s definitely very developer centric, of course, and there are other considerations. So the experiments and the PRs have all the discussions in there, and it might be really helpful for community developers like agency developers or plugin developers to take a look at that and see what would be a way to solve these, or is there a need of any changes Adam Selinsky has done the experimental work there, the pioneer work to have the entity record hooks in there. So check it out. It&#8217;s a new API.&nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>Documentation</strong></h3>



<p>And of course the documentation has changed. Some of the handbook includes now all the additional information about the pattern fields for the theme.json also the contextual patterns and pattern transformations and the semantic pattern documentation. So there is definitely some reading materials for you over the weekend. So there&#8217;s one, if you are a developer who also wants to contribute in creating releases, there&#8217;s a new NPM package available now to automate the cherry picking to WordPress trunk commits during publishing. So there are some hiccups that were before that were manually solved are now automated. So that&#8217;s, this part also gets easier and easier.</p>



<p>Okay. And I like that the release notes always also show now the first time contributors thank you for making the jump to contribute to WordPress Gutenberg, to the Gutenberg repo and Dave Smith. Also now solved has written the script to add all contributors to the end of the GitHub release notes for each Gutenberg plugin. So that&#8217;s also great. So people get recognition beyond the GitHub repo. So it&#8217;s in the WordPress make blog as well. All right. Anything else that stands out for you, Mary from this release?</p>



<p><em>Mary Job</em>: No, not at all.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Not at all. Good. So we covered everything that is good. I&#8217;m really excited about the multi block selection, the list view, and then margins reports for the group, of course, and the block transformation now retains classes. That&#8217;s certainly something and you can register patterns from the directory. So there are quite a few new features in there that make working with it much easier.&nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>What’s in Active Development or Discussed</strong></h3>



<p>So Justin, so now can we come to the section of what&#8217;s discussed and Justin Tadlock from the WebPress from the WP Tavern has found that the word web funds API has finally arrived and historically it was punted from the WebPress 5.9 release just because it didn&#8217;t seem ready and needed a little bit more testing through a good more plugin releases instead of going right into 5.9. That&#8217;s the way to add web fonts to your web install and have a standardized API to do that.</p>



<p>So not every plugin and every theme and every yeah, loads, additional web fonts, it all goes through this API and there is no duplication of that. And now you can also, it does not have a theme.json support yet, but that is right now, it&#8217;s only available through PHP. So you definitely need to look at that beforehand, for your theme, Aris Stratus, one of the developers, the initial road about the privacy issues that are there because Germany and some other countries are it&#8217;s about the Google font providers or providing Google fonts in, through a CDN that has some privacy issues there. And now it looks like that local fonts are officially supported, but theme and plugin authors must register the custom providers. So it&#8217;s getting, getting complicated. That&#8217;s a standardized API is really, really helpful for. So there are some privacy issues with the web funds from certain providers.</p>



<p>The pull request has PHP examples somehow to do that, the theme.json keys and values are corresponding with the font phase rules and Justin Tadlock looked did a great job in putting all the details together in one post. So you don&#8217;t have to read through the make blog posts to find all the different details about it. And I&#8217;m sure the documentation team is working on that right now. You cannot do this now with 12.7, it&#8217;s slated for 12.8, or you can use the good work nightly from the good work times. Gutenburg nightly plugin that is always created from trunk. So it has the newest merged PRs in it. Yeah.&nbsp;</p>



<p>That brings us to the end of this good book change log. It&#8217;s a little shorter today and that&#8217;s sometimes a relief anyway for our listeners. And before the end of the show, I just wanted to remind everyone, March 8th and March 22nd, or the Gutenburg developer hours. And there is a call for testing called hyping headers. The number 12 call for testing for the full site editing program. Do you have anything that you want the people to know Mary?</p>



<p><em>Mary Job</em>: No, not yet.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Okay. So you survived the first episode.</p>



<p><em>Mary Job</em>: Yes. I feel like I have a lot to learn.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Well, you also know a lot. And so as always, the show notes will be published on gutenburgtimes.com/podcast. gutenburgtimes.com/podcast. And this is number 62. And if you have questions or suggestions or news you want us to include, then send them to <a href="mailto:changelog@gutenbergtimes.com">changelog@gutenbergtimes.com</a> that&#8217;s <a href="mailto:changelog@gutenbergtimes.com">changelog@gutenbergtimes.com</a>. Email address, or just ping me or Mary on Twitter, private chat, or even on the public chat. So thank you, Mary, for being with me today and making the show with me and thank you all for listening. And I&#8217;ll talk to you in two weeks.</p>



<p><em>Mary Job</em>: Yes. Thank you. Be thank you everyone for this. And I&#8217;ll see again in two weeks.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: All right. Take care. Bye bye.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sun, 06 Mar 2022 01:18:17 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:18:"Birgit Pauli-Haack";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:43;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:111:"Gutenberg Times: Block Editor: Kid tested, – Custom posts and FSE and Gutenberg 12.7 – Weekend edition #205";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?p=20608";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:111:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/block-editor-kid-tested-custom-posts-and-fse-and-gutenberg-12-7-weekend-edition-205/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14232:"<p>Howdy, </p>



<p>It&#8217;s astonishing how the WordPress community comes together to support people in need and despair. You do what you can with the means you have. The article by Sarah Gooding <a href="https://wptavern.com/how-the-wordpress-community-is-supporting-ukraines-resistance-against-russian-invasion">lists many initiatives you can support to help people in Ukraine and its refugees.</a> Don&#8217;t overlook the comments either. </p>



<p>I hope you can pull yourself away from the doom scrolling on Twitter and other sites, and distract yourself from the horrifying updates by reading through this newsletter. There is also wonderful work being done on Gutenberg and the block editor. And don&#8217;t forget to check out the upcoming events in WordPress Social Learning Space below.  </p>



<p>Yours, 💕<br />Birgit</p>



<p>PS: If you are a developer, I hope to see you at the <a href="https://www.meetup.com/wordpress-social-learning/events/284178232/">next Gutenberg Developer Hours on March 8th 11:00 ET / 16:00 UTC</a> withe fabulous Tammie Lister, Fabian Kägy, and Grzegorz Ziolkowski as expert panelists. </p>



<a href="https://www.meetup.com/wordpress-social-learning/events/284178232/"><img /></a>



<div class="wp-container-6 wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container">

<div class="wp-container-5 wp-block-group has-light-background-background-color has-background"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container">
<p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p>



<div class="wp-block-sortabrilliant-guidepost"><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-g">Gutenberg 12.7 release</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-block-editor-for-content-creators-and-nocode-site-builders">Block Editor for content creators and #nocode site builders</a><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#1-ht">53 Block Themes in WordPress Directory</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#1-b">Block and Theme Building</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#3-word-press-social-learning-events">WordPress Social Learning Events</a></li></ul></div>
</div></div>

</div></div>



<h2 id="0-g">Gutenberg 12.7 release</h2>



<p><strong>Carlos Bravo</strong> spearheaded the plugin release and in his notes <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/03/02/whats-new-in-gutenberg-12-7-2-march/"><strong>What’s new in Gutenberg 12.7? (2 March)</strong></a> he highlighted: </p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/03/02/whats-new-in-gutenberg-12-7-2-march/#improving-the-patterns-experience">Improving the Patterns experience</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/03/02/whats-new-in-gutenberg-12-7-2-march/#list-view-improvements">List View Improvements</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/03/02/whats-new-in-gutenberg-12-7-2-march/#changes-to-frontend-html-when-using-layouts-and-image-blocks">Changes to frontend HTML when using layouts and image blocks</a></li></ul>



<p>There are also some change to data-align and div tags from blocks that might need adjustments from Theme developers (again)</p>



<p><strong>Justin Tadlock</strong> put it out for a spin <a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-12-7-adds-multi-block-selection-in-list-view-and-brings-margin-support-to-group-blocks">Gutenberg 12.7 Adds Multi-Block Selection in List View and Brings Margin Support to Group Blocks</a></p>



<div class="wp-container-7 wp-block-group has-light-background-background-color has-background"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container">
<p><strong>🎙️ </strong> New episode: <strong><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-62-gutenberg-12-7-a-new-call-for-testing-the-web-fonts-api-arrival/">Gutenberg Changelog #62 – Gutenberg 12.7, a New Call for Testing, the Web Fonts API Arrival</a></strong> with co-hosts Birgit Pauli-Haack and Mary Job </p>
</div></div>



<h2 id="0-block-editor-for-content-creators-and-nocode-site-builders">Block Editor for content creators and #nocode site builders</h2>



<p><strong>Eric Karkovack</strong> shared in his interview with <strong>Bob Dunn</strong> on <a href="https://dothewoo.io/writer-developer-woocommerce-builder/"><strong>the Do-the-Woo Podcast</strong></a>, the story of his 12-year-old daughter getting acquainted with WordPress. After a couple of minutes of instructions, the dad was sent away: &#8220;Dad, you can go now. I&#8217;m fine.” When Eric came back an hour later, and she&#8217;s already got it figured out.<em> The Block Editor: Kid Tested</em></p>





<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



<p>Earlier this year, Google updated the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/material-design/">Material Design plugin</a>, to enabled <a href="https://material.io/blog/material-design-wordpress-plugin-030"><strong>Using Block Patterns with Material Design for WordPress</strong></a>. It&#8217;s the accompanying plugin with blocks for the <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/material-design-google/">Material Design Theme</a>, a classic theme. </p>



<p>In this post, <strong>Eric Karkovack</strong> takes you with him <a href="https://speckyboy.com/wordpress-block-pattern-directory/"><strong>Exploring the WordPress Block Pattern Directory</strong></a>. Learn how do you navigate the directory, how do you preview patterns and how to add them to you website. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />




<p><strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8220;Keeping up with Gutenberg &#8211; Index 2022&#8221;</a>&nbsp;</strong><br />A chronological list of the WordPress Make Blog posts from various teams involved in Gutenberg development: Design, Theme Review Team, Core Editor, Core JS, Core CSS, Test, and Meta team from Jan. 2021 on. Updated by yours truly.  <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index-2020/"><em>The index 2020 is here</em></a></p>




<h3 id="1-ht">53 Block Themes in WordPress Directory</h3>



<p>Today&#8217;s count of Block Themes for Full-site Editing is <strong>53. </strong></p>



<p>A new theme by Brian Gardner, called <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/avant-garde/">Avant-Garde</a> is now available in the WordPress repository. &#8220;An experimental block theme for those who love simplicity&#8221;</p>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/vikasprogrammer"><strong>Vikas Singhal</strong></a>, builder of themes at  announced the update for their <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/gutena/"><strong>Gutena Block Theme</strong></a>, with additional block patterns. </p>



<h2 id="1-b">Block and Theme Building</h2>



<p>In this week&#8217;s Twitch Stream, Ryan Welcher covered <strong><a href="https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1414059025">Integrating a custom post type into Gutenberg and Full Site Editing</a></strong>.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



<p>In her post <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/03/03/core-editor-improvement-choose-your-style/"><strong>Core Editor Improvement: Choose your Style</strong></a>, <strong>Anne McCarthy</strong> introduces us to the new feature of having multiple set of Global Styles with your theme. Now site owners can switch out color schemes and overall font styles without having to change themes or worry about losing content. McCarthy also shared links to documentation and examples. </p>




<p><strong><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/need-a-zip-from-master/">Need a plugin .zip from Gutenberg&#8217;s main (trunk) branch?</a></strong><br />Gutenberg Times provides daily build for testing and review. <br />Have you been using it? Hit reply and let me know.</p>



<p><img alt="GitHub all releases" src="https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/bph/gutenberg/total" /></p>




<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



<p>Learn how to add a <a href="https://www.billerickson.net/color-palette-with-acf-custom-blocks/"><strong>Color Palette with ACF custom blocks</strong></a> with <strong>Bill Erickson</strong> with code examples and variation for different use cases. &#8220;When registering a new block with&nbsp;<code>acf_register_block_type()</code>, you can use the ‘supports’ array to specify which block editor features this block supports.&#8221; Erickson wrote.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



<p>Ben Dwyer, theme wrangler on the Themes team,  shared a few <strong><a href="https://themeshaper.com/2022/02/28/block-theme-building-tips/">Block Theme Building Tips</a> </strong>on <em>ThemeShaper.</em> They range from avoiding using CSS, to reusing patterns, and theme.json over block settings. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



<p>In her post, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/02/28/design-share-feb-14-25/">WordPress Design Share</a>, <strong>Channing Ritter</strong> shared what the design team has been working on<br />🎛️ Site Editor navigation &#8211;<br />🖼️ Cover block and how to place layers options<br />🔓 User-level Block Locking<br />📒 Documentation and more</p>



<p>Most is still work in progress and could use your review and input. Check &#8217;em out! </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



<p>Jason Bahl, founder and maintainer of WPGraphQL plugin succeeded in <strong><a href="https://www.wpgraphql.com/2022/02/17/adding-end-2-end-tests-to-wordpress-plugins-using-wp-env-and-wp-scripts/">Adding End 2 End Tests to WordPress plugins using wp-env and wp-scripts</a></strong> and shared how he did it. It&#8217;s an in depth look at configuration and execution of e2e testing with WordPress native tools. Bahl also posted an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBBwWSk3kxg"><em>accompanying video on YouTube </em></a> </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



<p>Andrew Serong, published on BuildBetterBlock.com the article <a href="https://buildbetterblocks.com/2022/03/03/block-supports-global-styles-and-work-to-consolidate-style-generation-in-gutenberg/"><strong>Block supports, global styles, and work to consolidate style generation in Gutenberg</strong></a>. It&#8217;s an in-depth look into the Gutenberg codebase and the discussions happening around Styles, themes and user options. Serong has been working actively on the new Style Engine project, and this is a great report on the current stage of the work. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



<p>Last year, Helen Hou-Sandí wrote a tutorial on <a href="https://helen.blog/2021/02/updating-a-wordpress-plugin-with-a-publish-metabox-field-for-the-block-editor/"><strong>&#8220;Updating a WordPress plugin with a publish metabox field for the block editor&#8221;</strong></a>. It a great real life use case on adopting development for the block editor one metabox at a time. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



<h2 id="3-word-press-social-learning-events">WordPress Social Learning Events</h2>



<p><br /><strong>March 8, 2022, at 11:00 AM&nbsp;ET / 16:00 UTC</strong><br /><strong><a href="https://www.meetup.com/wordpress-social-learning/events/284178232/">Gutenberg Developer Hours</a></strong> with Fabian Kägy, Tammie Lister and Grzegorz Ziolkowski </p>



<p><strong>March 10, 2022 at 10:30 am ET / 15:30 UTC</strong> <br /><strong><a href="https://www.meetup.com/wordpress-social-learning/events/284226712/">Honey, I Broke My Website! What To Do When Site Editing Goes Wrong</a></strong> with Sarah Snow</p>



<p><strong>March 10, 2022 at 12 pm ET / 17:00 UTC</strong> <br /><a href="https://www.meetup.com/wordpress-social-learning/events/284383383/"><strong>Builder Basics: Designing with Columns, Group, and Row Blocks</strong></a> with Nick Diego</p>



<p><strong>March 15, 2022 at 9:30 am ET / 14:30 UTC </strong><br /><a href="https://www.meetup.com/wordpress-social-learning/events/284252434/"><strong>Beginner&#8217;s Guide to Full Site Editing </strong></a>with Sarah Snow</p>



<p><strong>March 22, 2022 at 3 am ET / 8:00  UTC </strong><br /><a href="https://www.meetup.com/wordpress-social-learning/events/284320854/"><strong>Intro to Theme Blocks</strong></a> with Wes Theron</p>



<p><strong>March 23, 2022 at 1pm ET / 18:00 UTC </strong><br /><a href="https://www.meetup.com/wordpress-social-learning/events/284383346/"><strong>Builder Basics: Exploring Block Layout, Alignment, Dimensions, and Spacing</strong> </a>with Nick Diego </p>



<p><strong>March 28, 2022 at 11 am ET / 16:00 UTC </strong><br /><strong><a href="https://www.meetup.com/wordpress-social-learning/events/284387767/">Hello Blocks! Coding a custom block</a></strong> with Wes Theron and Ryan Welcher</p>



<p><strong>March 29, 2022 at 3 pm ET / 20:00 UTC </strong><br /><strong><a href="https://www.meetup.com/wordpress-social-learning/events/284252760/">Beginner&#8217;s Guide to Full Site Editing </a></strong>with Sarah Snow</p>




<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



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<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 05 Mar 2022 06:26:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:18:"Birgit Pauli-Haack";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:44;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:77:"WPTavern: Play the Piano and Other Instruments via the WordPress Block Editor";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=130691";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:88:"https://wptavern.com/play-the-piano-and-other-instruments-via-the-wordpress-block-editor";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4135:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Tetsuaki Hamano released the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/piano-block/">Piano Block</a> plugin for WordPress on Monday. It allows users to insert a piano-based interface into the editor for playing music. Mostly, it is just a lot of fun.</p>



<p>Hamano <a href="https://wptavern.com/highlight-underline-and-control-font-size-with-richtext-extension">launched  RichText Extension</a>, his first submission to the WordPress plugin directory, in the spring of 2020. At the time, block-related plugins were still scarce, but he has continued contributing extensions since that initial release. <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/flexible-spacer-block/">Flexible Spacer Block</a> is invaluable for responsive vertical spacing. <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/flexible-table-block/">Flexible Table</a> does the same for table elements, and his <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/custom-html-block-extension/">Custom HTML Block Extension</a> is handy for anyone writing code regularly from the editor.</p>



<p>While his previous outings covered several vital features for different user groups, his latest is a bit more on the lighter side of things. More than anything, it serves as a brief distraction, a way to break up the day for people who spend a lot of time in the WordPress content editor.</p>



<p>One thing that I love about blocks is that they do not have to serve a vital function in producing content for a site. Sometimes, their purpose is to simply bring a little joy into our lives. That is what Piano Block does.</p>



<p>Hamano noted in the plugin description:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>This plugin does not add any useful features to WordPress, nor does it add any useful blocks to help you write posts. Let&#8217;s insert this block and enjoy the music if you are stuck in writing an article or just want a little distraction.</p></blockquote>



<p>The plugin merely adds a web-based musical instrument to the block editor, offering a change of pace from building content. It does not appear on the front end of the site.</p>



<img />Piano Block in the editor.



<p>The block offers a range of 14 instruments. The default is an acoustic piano, but users can switch between various keyboard, string, brass, and woodwind options. Plus, there is a xylophone.</p>



<p>Users can move up or down two octaves, change the volume, or toggle the sustain pedal on and off. Other than that, there are no other block-specific options.</p>



<p>The block&#8217;s keyboard mapping threw me off at first. I peeked under the hood and found the JavaScript code for assigning each key. I was tempted to clone the plugin&#8217;s GitHub repository, set up the build tools, and customize it. However, that seemed like a lot of work for a block meant to be a momentary distraction. It was not time for me to put on my developer hat.</p>



<p>So, I tickled the plastic keys of my laptop, trying to rewire my brain to a layout that did not match an actual piano.  I just had fun with it, and that is kind of the point.</p>



<p>I rarely record videos, being much more comfortable tapping my laptop&#8217;s keys than doing anything on camera. Therefore, Tavern visitors are in for something of a treat today. I put together a short clip of me playing a song via the Piano Block:</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">

</div>



<p>That was tougher than it looked with the keys in odd places. Apologies if I missed any notes or lines. It has been a while since I have heard <em>Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star</em>. I believe it goes a little something like that.</p>



<p>I am continually amazed at what some developers create on top of the block system.  More than anything, I want to see some of the talented musicians in the WordPress community &#8212; I know some of you are out there &#8212; record themselves playing something with Piano Block.  <em>A little jazz, perhaps?</em></p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/piano-block/">Piano Block</a></blockquote>
</div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 05 Mar 2022 01:03:12 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:45;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:78:"WPTavern: WordPress 6.0 to Introduce Performance Improvements for Custom Pages";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=130920";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:89:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-6-0-to-introduce-performance-improvements-for-custom-pages";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2910:"<p>WordPress core committer Jonny  Harris <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/10886?utm_source=Post+Status+Newsletter&utm_campaign=c4852581a1-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_01_27_08_35_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_afc03177a6-c4852581a1-104953921&mc_cid=c4852581a1&mc_eid=ad602f9b49#comment:39">merged a patch</a> into WordPress core for a 12-year-old <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/10886">ticket</a> that he says has the potential to bring &#8220;a massive effect on performance for custom pages.&#8221; The change, which will be included in the upcoming 6.0 release, stops unnecessary queries when developers are using the&nbsp;<code>do_parse_request</code>&nbsp;filter, thanks to a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/pull/2032">refreshed patch</a> from contributor Paul Bearne.</p>



<p>Harris summarized the problem and how the change improves performance in the commit message:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>Developers of plugins and themes can use the&nbsp;<code>do_parse_request</code>&nbsp;filter to hot-wire requests and hook in early to render custom pages. However, even through these request may not need post queries and 404 lookups to be run, they run anyway. This can results in unnecessary SQL queries running on these requests. By adding a return value to the&nbsp;<code>parse_request</code>&nbsp;method of the&nbsp;<code>WP</code>&nbsp;class, these queries can now be skipped.</p></blockquote>



<p>WordPress core contributor Konstantin Kovshenin detailed the need for this change in a Twitter thread he published in 2021, when soliciting help for the ticket:</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I don't usually tweet about <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SEO?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SEO</a>, but this is important. Is a static robots.txt file good for WordPress performance? Let's find out!<br /><br />To display the default robots.txt, a fresh WordPress install will: <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/1f9f5.png" alt="🧵" class="wp-smiley" /></p>&mdash; Konstantin Kovshenin (@kovshenin) <a href="https://twitter.com/kovshenin/status/1466732748517822464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2021</a></blockquote>
</div>



<p>Harris performed a quick review of <a href="https://wpdirectory.net/search/01FSC39908QH1NKEMG4B9PT6JR">plugins that use the filter</a> and said he does not anticipate breakages. The search found 133 plugins using the filter. Some of the most popular ones include Google&#8217;s Site Kit plugin (1M+ installs), The Events Calendar (800K installs), and AMP (500K installs). Harris suggested the change requires a dev note, as it may have unanticipated side effects. The dev note is likely to be published closer to the time of release. WordPress 6.0 is currently scheduled for release on May 24, 2022.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 04 Mar 2022 23:52:03 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:46;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:96:"WordPress.org blog: WP Briefing: Episode 26: Matt Mullenweg on Ukraine, Community, and WordPress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:53:"https://wordpress.org/news/?post_type=podcast&p=12415";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:96:"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/03/episode-26-matt-mullenweg-on-ukraine-community-and-wordpress/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6331:"<p>Matt Mullenweg speaks to WordPress contributors worldwide on this special edition of the WP Briefing podcast with Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Join us to hear Matt’s thoughts on Ukraine.</p>



<p><strong><em>H</em></strong><em><strong>ave a question you&#8217;d like answered? You can submit them to <a href="mailto:wpbriefing@wordpress.org">wpbriefing@wordpress.org</a>, either written or as a voice recording.</strong></em></p>



<h2 id="credits">Credits</h2>



<ul><li>Hosts: <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chanthaboune/">Josepha Haden Chomphosy</a> and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/matt/">Matt Mullenweg</a></li><li>Editor:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dustinhartzler/">Dustin Hartzler</a></li><li>Logo:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/beafialho/">Beatriz Fialho</a></li><li>Production:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cbringmann/">Chloé Bringmann</a> &amp; <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/santanainniss/">Santana Inniss</a></li></ul>



<h2>How You Can Help</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/unicef-children-crossfire-ukraine-crisis/39542?utm_campaign=20220225_Emergencies&utm_medium=Organic&utm_source=UkraineWebStoryChildrenFeb2022&utm_content=LearnMoreUkraineWebStoryChildrenFeb2022&ms=Organic_PRL_2022_Emergencies_20220225_UkraineWebStoryChildrenFeb2022_LearnMoreUkraineWebStoryChildrenFeb2022_none_none&initialms=Organic_PRL_2022_Emergencies_20220225_UkraineWebStoryChildrenFeb2022_LearnMoreUkraineWebStoryChildrenFeb2022_none_none">UNICEF</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/countries/ukraine">Médecins Sans Frontieres</a>&nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://www.icrc.org/en/where-we-work/europe-central-asia/ukraine">International Committee of the Red Cross</a>&nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://help.rescue.org/donate/ukraine-acq?ms=gs_ppc_fy22_ukraine_mmus_feb&initialms=gs_ppc_fy22_ukraine_mmus_feb&gclid=CjwKCAiAjoeRBhAJEiwAYY3nDHNlEUUNRM4wKl1bY0ploy1RNl0M7G1OlLTqawZdg_XhrJ0TircZ_RoCfh8QAvD_BwE">International Rescue Committee</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.unrefugees.org/what-we-do/">UN Refugee Agency</a>&nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://donate.wck.org/give/236738/#!/donation/checkout">World Central Kitchen</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.techtotherescue.org/tech/tech-for-ukraine">Tech For Ukraine</a></p>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wp4ukraine">#WP4Ukraine</a></p>



<h2>Transcript</h2>



<span id="more-12415"></span>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy&nbsp; </strong>00:00</p>



<p>Hello, everyone, and welcome to a special edition of the WordPress Briefing. I have Matt here with me today because we want to acknowledge that we are once again at the start of a very difficult time. Neither of us would presume to know what it&#8217;s like to be at the heart of such massive disruption in our lives. But who would we be if we didn&#8217;t stop and check in with you all, the project that we hold so dear? And with that, I&#8217;ll hand it right over to you, Matt.</p>



<p><strong>Matt Mullenweg&nbsp; </strong>00:27</p>



<p>Hello everyone. First, I want to thank Josepha for inviting me to join the WordPress Briefing to share what’s been on my mind in light of recent global events.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Matt Mullenweg&nbsp; </strong>00:37</p>



<p>I&#8217;ve been listening and watching events escalate in Ukraine, often in a state of shock. The scale alone is hard to take in. I mean, in the last 7 days, more than 500,000 people have fled their homes, more refugees are expected every day. The downstream humanitarian crises of the invasion are unimaginable.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Matt Mullenweg&nbsp; </strong>00:56</p>



<p>And seeing destruction in the world we live in is confusing, disconcerting, and difficult. In my experience, open source and WordPress bring people together; people from other countries and cultures, people that we know as friends and colleagues. Technology connects us, regardless of where we are. Nothing can negate the bad things happening in the world, but when I see how this community of contributors collaborates, regardless of borders, you all remind me of the good in the world every day.</p>



<p><strong>Matt Mullenweg&nbsp; </strong>01:30</p>



<p>I firmly believe that the web can be an equalizer and a force for good in the world. To me, the WordPress project is the epitome of goodness—everyone has a voice, a platform, and a community. You have the power to make your corner of the world, and the web, a sanctuary for those who need it—especially now.</p>



<p><strong>Matt Mullenweg&nbsp; </strong>01:45</p>



<p>If you or someone you know is affected by this war, I encourage you to be present as the ramifications unfold. While we may all feel fatigued and have a sense of languishing from the past two years of the Covid pandemic, the gift of time and support for one another cannot be overstated. I&#8217;m confident that every single person in the WordPress community will approach the situation in Ukraine with sensitivity and understanding.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Matt Mullenweg&nbsp; </strong>02:07</p>



<p>I invite you to join me in standing with those in the world working to end conflict and working toward a world of peace, promise, and opportunity. If you&#8217;re looking for a way to help support the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, I will offer some suggested NGOs, or Non-Governmental Organizations, that provide assistance to local peacebuilders in the region.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Matt Mullenweg&nbsp; </strong>02:26</p>



<p>In closing, please know that my thoughts are with everyone in our community. I know that my words here can’t change anything there, but I hope that we all remember that words of support are never unwelcome. And we can never know when a little human kindness can help someone share the invisible heaviness in their heart.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy&nbsp; </strong>02:44</p>



<p>Thanks for that, Matt. My friends, there are links in the show notes to some of the groups that Matt referenced. And that is it for this special edition of the WordPress Briefing. I&#8217;m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Be safe, be kind to yourself and others, and I&#8217;ll see you again in a couple of weeks.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 04 Mar 2022 21:39:46 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15:"Chloe Bringmann";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:47;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:60:"WordPress.org blog: The Month in WordPress – February 2022";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=12411";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:72:"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/03/the-month-in-wordpress-february-2022/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11736:"<p>There’s a lot going on in the world right now, and safety is top of mind for everyone in the WordPress community. If you don&#8217;t know where to begin, or how to support your peers, Executive Director <a href="https://josepha.blog/2022/02/25/to-my-global-community-start-small/">Josepha Chomphosy’s advice</a> to the global community is to start small.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Overall, February has been a busy month for WordPress. To begin with, it was thrilling to see the enthusiasm for the release of WordPress 5.9 Joséphine from January continue last month, and that’s not all.&nbsp;</p>



<p>We have many exciting updates to share, so keep reading to learn about the latest achievements from the WordPress community.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator" />



<h2>WordPress 6.0: May 24, 2022 is the proposed release date</h2>



<ul><li>The proposed <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/02/16/wordpress-6-0-planning-roundup/">release schedule for WordPress 6.0</a>, the second major release of 2022, has been published.</li><li>While we’re waiting for 6.0, check out the <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2022/02/wordpress-5-9-1-maintenance-release/">WordPress 5.9.1 maintenance release</a> which was released on February 22, 2022.</li></ul>



<div class="wp-container-1 wp-block-buttons">
<div class="wp-block-button aligncenter"><a class="wp-block-button__link" href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C02RQBWTW" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Are you interested in contributing to WordPress core?</strong> Join the #core channel in Slack. Also, don&#8217;t miss the Core Team’s weekly developer chat on Wednesdays at 8 PM UTC.</a></div>
</div>



<h2>Gutenberg releases: Versions 12.5, 12.6, and 12.7 were released</h2>



<p>The Core Team launched three new versions of Gutenberg last month. All come with new features, code quality improvements, and bug fixes.</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/03/02/whats-new-in-gutenberg-12-7-2-march/">Gutenberg 12.7 </a>is available to download. This version improves the Patterns experience, allows you to add border styles to column blocks, and includes other new features.</li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/02/16/whats-new-in-gutenberg-12-6-16-february/">Gutenberg 12.6</a> was launched on February 16, 2022. This release includes a new color panel, updated color controls, a new Post Author Biography block, Read More block, and plenty of other exciting updates!</li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/02/03/whats-new-in-gutenberg-12-5-february-2nd/">Gutenberg 12.5 </a>was released on February 2, 2022. This version allows switching theme styles variations, custom taxonomies filtering, and more.</li></ul>



<div class="wp-container-2 wp-block-buttons">
<div class="wp-block-button aligncenter"><a class="wp-block-button__link" href="https://make.wordpress.org/chat/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Want to get involved in developing Gutenberg? </strong>Contribute to Gutenberg on GitHub, and join the #core-editor channel in the Make WordPress Slack. Follow the #gutenberg-new tag for details on the latest updates.</a></div>
</div>



<h2>WordPress News gets a new look</h2>



<p>The redesign of <a href="https://wordpress.org/news">WordPress News</a>, which was first announced by Matt Mullenweg, Co-Founder of WordPress, in State of the Word 2021, went live on February 16, 2022.</p>



<div class="wp-container-3 wp-block-buttons">
<div class="wp-block-button aligncenter"><a class="wp-block-button__link" href="https://wordpress.org/news/2022/02/a-new-wordpress-news/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Read the redesign announcement </strong>to learn more about the inspiration behind the new look.</a></div>
</div>



<h2>Team updates: #WP Diversity, a new blog for developers, and more</h2>



<ul><li>The #WPDiversity working group, which is part of the Community Team, hosted an open Zoom meeting with volunteers on February 23, 2022. If you’re interested in contributing, read the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/02/24/recap-of-the-diverse-speaker-training-group-wpdiversity-on-february-23-2022/">recap of the meeting</a> to view available roles.&nbsp;</li><li>The Core Team shared a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/02/25/proposal-to-start-a-news-blog-on-developer-wordpress-org/">proposal to start a blog</a> on developer.wordpress.org to share news and updates relevant to developers.&nbsp;</li><li>The first Gutenberg Developer Hours session hosted on February 8th by the Core Team was successful. Head over to <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/02/24/february-8th-gutenberg-developer-hours-session-evaluation/">this page</a> to learn more about the participants’ feedback.</li><li>The Core Team published “<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/02/24/feature-project-plugin-dependencies/">Feature Project: Plugin Dependencies</a>,” where they identified the problems with plugin dependencies and suggested potential solutions to improve the plugin experience.</li><li>The WordPress Photo Directory has a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/photos/">new Make team</a>. There is currently an open <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/photos/2022/02/23/photo-directory-team-rep-nominations-for-2022/">call for team reps</a> and collaboration is happening at the new <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/messages/photos/">#photos</a> channel of the Make WordPress Slack.</li><li>The Polyglots Team shared a proposal for a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2022/02/01/proposal-milestone-template-for-polyglots-locale-teams/">milestone template </a>for the Polyglots Locale Teams.</li><li>The Community Team published a proposal for <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/02/16/proposal-refurbishing-camera-kits/">refurbishing camera kits</a>.</li><li>The <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/02/21/2022-global-sponsors-announcement/">Global Community Sponsors for 2022</a> have been announced.</li><li>The February 2022 edition of the monthly <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/02/15/meetup-organizer-newsletter-february-2022/">Meetup Organizer Newsletter</a> has been published.</li><li>The latest edition of People of WordPress highlighting <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2022/02/people-of-wordpress-tonya-mork/">Tonya Mork</a> was published on February 28, 2022. Read Tonya’s story to learn more about how WordPress helped her find herself again after a health crisis.&nbsp;</li><li>The February 2022 edition of the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2022/02/22/polyglots-monthly-newsletter-february-2022/">Polyglots Monthly Newsletter</a> has been published.</li></ul>



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<div class="wp-block-button aligncenter"><a class="wp-block-button__link" href="https://wordpress.org/news/feed/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>The Community Team published a discussion on diversity in WordPress events.</strong> If you’re comfortable sharing your experience, you can still comment on the post.</a></div>
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<h2>Feedback/Testing requests: WordPress iOS 19.3 and Android 19.3 </h2>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/2022/02/22/call-for-testing-wordpress-for-ios-19-3/">WordPress for iOS 19.3</a> beta is available for testing, along with <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/2022/02/22/call-for-testing-wordpress-for-android-19-3/">WordPress for Android 19.3</a></li></ul>



<div class="wp-container-5 wp-block-buttons">
<div class="wp-block-button aligncenter"><a class="wp-block-button__link" href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2022/02/08/call-for-early-testers-glotpress-feedback-feature/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Test and share your feedback</strong> on the GlotPress feedback feature.</a></div>
</div>



<h2>WordCamp Europe 2022 announces steps to ensure a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming event</h2>



<ul><li>WordCamp Europe 2022 <a href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2022/diversity-at-wceu/">announced a plan</a> to ensure more diversity and inclusion in events moving forward.</li><li>The WordPress Foundation published a post on how <a href="https://wordpressfoundation.org/news/2022/open-source-software-good-for-business/">open source software is good for business</a>.</li><li>In a recent episode of WP Briefing titled “<a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2022/02/episode-25-five-cents-on-five-for-the-future/">Five Cents on Five for the Future</a>,” Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy talks about future-proofing the WordPress project with the Five for the Future pledge.</li><li>The Training Team is hosting several WordPress Social Learning Meetups <a href="https://www.meetup.com/wordpress-social-learning/events/">in March 2022</a>.</li><li>Don’t miss the following upcoming WordCamps:<ul><li><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/1f1e8-1f1ed.png" alt="🇨🇭" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://geneve.wordcamp.org/2022/">WordCamp Genève</a>, Switzerland on April 9, 2022 (in person)</li><li><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/1f1ec-1f1f7.png" alt="🇬🇷" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://central.wordcamp.org/wordcamps/wordcamp-athens-attica-greece-2022/">WordCamp Athens</a>, Greece between April 9 and 10, 2022 (in person)</li><li><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/1f1e6-1f1f9.png" alt="🇦🇹" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://vienna.wordcamp.org/2022/">WordCamp Vienna</a>, Austria from April 23 to 24, 2022 (in person)</li><li><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/1f1ea-1f1fa.png" alt="🇪🇺" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2022/">WordCamp Europe</a> in Porto, Portugal from June 2 to 4, 2022 (in person)</li><li><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/1f1fa-1f1f8.png" alt="🇺🇸" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://montclair.wordcamp.org/2022/">WordCamp Montclair</a> in New Jersey, USA June 25 (in person)</li><li><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/1f1fa-1f1f8.png" alt="🇺🇸" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/">WordCamp US</a> in San Diego, California from September 9 to 11, 2022 (in person)</li></ul></li></ul>



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<div class="wp-block-button aligncenter"><a class="wp-block-button__link" href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2022/call-for-volunteers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>It’s not too late to be a volunteer at WordCamp Europe 2022. </strong>If you’re interested, head over to this page to apply.</a></div>
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<hr class="wp-block-separator" />



<p><strong><em>Have a story that we could include in the next ‘Month in WordPress’ post? Let us know by filling out </em></strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/month-in-wordpress-submissions/"><strong><em>this form</em></strong></a><strong><em>.</em></strong></p>



<p><em>The following folks contributed to this Month in WordPress: </em><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/anjanavasan/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>anjanavasan</a><em> </em><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/harishanker/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>harishanker</a><em> </em><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rmartinezduque/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>rmartinezduque</a> <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mysweetcate/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>mysweetcate</a></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 04 Mar 2022 17:40:49 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12:"Anjana Vasan";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:48;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:68:"WordPress Foundation: How is open source software good for business?";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:41:"https://wordpressfoundation.org/?p=229098";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:81:"https://wordpressfoundation.org/news/2022/open-source-software-good-for-business/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3866:"<p>In the late 1970s, staff programmers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology <a href="https://opensource.com/article/18/2/pivotal-moments-history-open-source">sparked a movement</a>. Little did they know that a jammed printer would lead to the beginning of an era: the free software movement. </p>



<p>If you&#8217;ve ever heard the phrase, &#8220;free as in freedom, not beer,&#8221; this is what it means:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>&#8220;Free software&#8221; means software that respects users&#8217; freedom and community. Roughly, it means that the users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. Thus, &#8220;free software&#8221; is a matter of liberty, not price.&nbsp;</p><cite>The <a href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.en.html">GNU Project</a> and Free Software Foundation</cite></blockquote>



<p>The WordPress Foundation&#8217;s philosophy requires that all projects and software we support be licensed under the <a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html">GNU Public License</a>, a free, copyleft license—this is intentional. If you mistakenly think open source has no place in business purely because there’s no monetary value attached to the software, we urge you to think again.</p>



<h2>The path to innovation and progress</h2>



<p>Open source software offers a low-cost entry to the market and paves an efficient way for innovation. These projects harness the power of diverse knowledge, skills, and community to create the best software. <strong>But what does this mean for businesses?&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>&#8220;Companies who wish to create wealth are always interested in productivity. Productivity includes being able to innovate effectively [&#8230;] Effective innovation is not merely being able to invent and improve, but also being able to determine what to invent and how to improve,&#8221; said <a href="https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Innovation_Happens_Elsewhere/2VElII9QeakC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover">Richard P. Gabriel and Ron Goldman</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Most individuals recognize Apple as an innovative and successful technology company. However, few people outside the developer community may know MacOS X was based on <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2021/06/01/explore-some-of-the-most-memorable-moments-in-wwdc-history-as-we-approach-apples-32nd-conference/">Darwin</a>, an open source project. Many of <a href="https://developer.apple.com/opensource/">Apple’s platforms</a> draw inspiration from open source, and plenty of other companies have done the same.</p>



<p>With open source software, organizations have access to the latest updates and bug fixes, thanks to frequent and reliable releases. Put simply, building on that existing work rather than reinventing the wheel puts them on the fastest path to creating a better product for their customers.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Moreover, business strategies based on open source can level the playing field. Small organizations that rely on open source projects for their products can leverage ubiquity to build brand equity, as Gabriel and Goldman explain. This makes the companies more trustworthy to the customer, allowing them to compete fairly with organizations with extensive resources. There’s also a low risk of the software being discontinued and affecting the business. Even if the original programmers leave the project, the maintenance and development of open source software will go on.</p>



<p>We’re only scratching the surface of how open source software is good for business. The reality is that the work done in open source projects benefits the society at large—they help create a better world through technology. The best way businesses can support that future is by adopting open source technologies and contributing to such projects.&nbsp;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 04 Mar 2022 16:51:39 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12:"Anjana Vasan";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:49;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"Post Status: Post Status Notes #488";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://poststatus.com/?p=94063";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:45:"https://poststatus.com/post-status-notes-488/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12431:"<p class="has-medium-font-size">Core releases. Static robots.txt for faster load time. Self-care. Health check. Which metric is lying to you? Dev notes and bottom lines.</p>



<h2 id="h-core-concerns">Core Concerns</h2>



<p>A <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2022/02/wordpress-5-9-1-maintenance-release/">WordPress 5.9.1 Maintenance Release</a> is out, so make sure your sites are updated. There are quite <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/02/16/wordpress-5-9-1-rc-1/">a lot of bug fixes</a> in this release — over 80!</p>


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<p><strong>Gutenberg 12.7</strong> <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/03/02/whats-new-in-gutenberg-12-7-2-march/">has been released</a>. Patternmaking is easier to discover now. There are some list view improvements and smaller enhancements, bug fixes, and new APIs.</p>


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<p><strong>Jonny Harris</strong> <a href="https://twitter.com/thespacedmonkey/status/1499044349371371520">announced</a> that he has <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/10886">merged a patch</a> into WordPress core for a 12-year-old ticket that &#8220;could have a massive effect on performance for custom pages.&#8221;</p>



<p><strong>Konstantin Kovshenin</strong> <a href="https://twitter.com/kovshenin/status/1466732748517822464">explained how this works</a> with an example on Twitter back in December 2021: &#8220;To display the default <code>robots.txt</code>, [which is <em>not</em> static] a fresh WordPress install will run 15 SQL queries&#8221; and trigger over &#8220;42,000 function calls at 5.46 megs peak memory, about 100 ms wall time.&#8221; (Wall time is the actual duration elapsed, possibly beyond CPU time due to disk access.)</p>


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<h2 id="self-and-health-checks">Self and Health Checks</h2>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden&nbsp;Chomphosy</strong> says when it comes to <a href="https://josepha.blog/2022/02/25/to-my-global-community-start-small/">supporting your community</a>, &#8220;start small&#8221; and realize that &#8220;you do not personally hold all the responsibility for &#8216;making things work' today.&#8221;</p>



<p>Josepha is <a href="https://developer.wordpress.com/2022/03/01/automattic-women-josepha-haden-chomphosy/">also featured</a> in a recent <strong>Automattic Women</strong> post sharing what a typical day for her is like and what drew her to <strong>Automattic</strong>. Notably, Josepha is identified as &#8220;community steward&#8221; instead of &#8220;Executive Director&#8221; of WordPress (.org). We haven't seen that before, but it appears on <a href="https://www.guidestar.org/profile/20-5498932#summary">the WordPress Foundation's profile</a> at <strong>GuideStar</strong>.</p>


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<p><strong>Tonya Mork</strong> talks about <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2022/02/people-of-wordpress-tonya-mork/">some personal and health challenges in her life</a> and how WordPress helped her &#8220;find [herself] again.” Tonya was both the Core Tech Lead and the Release Coordinator for <strong>WordPress 5.9</strong>, and now she is moving on to new adventures — in teaching. </p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>“I’m on a mission to give back and make a difference. Teaching is how I will do it.&#8221;</p></blockquote>


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<h2 id="plugin-updates">Plugin Updates</h2>



<p><strong>Marius Jensen</strong> says the <strong>Health Check</strong> plugin — which he has maintained since 2017 — needs updating. He shares <a href="https://clorith.net/the-need-for-feature-removals-in-the-health-check-plugin/">some possible solutions</a> for the need to maintain backward compatibility and feature parity between WordPress core and Health Check.</p>


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<p><a href="https://wpexperts.io/">WPExperts</a> has acquired the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/post-smtp/">Post SMTP plugin</a> from its former developer, <strong>Yehuda Hassine</strong>. <strong>Sarah Gooding</strong> <a href="https://wptavern.com/wpexperts-acquires-post-smtp-plugin">covers the story</a> and notes that current users &#8220;can expect development and support from a much larger team of professionals, as well as new commercial add-ons in the near future.&#8221;</p>


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<p><a href="https://wpconcern.com/">WP Concern</a> has <a href="https://twitter.com/maneshtimilsina/status/1499707237493002247">acquired</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/WebFactoryLtd/status/1499699197469204481">WebFactory</a>&#8216;s <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/nifty-coming-soon-and-under-construction-page/">Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode Page plugin</a>. This is <a href="https://poststatus.com/acquisitions/">the seventh acquisition</a> we've heard of this year. </p>


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<h2 id="dev-notes">Dev Notes</h2>



<p><strong>Julia Evans</strong> compiled <a href="https://jvns.ca/blog/2022/02/20/things-that-used-to-be-hard-and-are-now-easy/">a list of responses</a> she got on <strong>Twitter</strong> to <a href="https://twitter.com/b0rk/status/1494301227533967369?s=20&t=M_RYvWzEOymZ--YjE9jvpQ">the question</a> of what in programming used to be hard but now is &#8220;easy.&#8221; If you've been in programming and tech long enough, this is a fun trip down memory lane — if you don't mind feeling old.</p>


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<p><strong>Rebecca Monteleone</strong> and <strong>Jamie Brew</strong> explore <a href="https://pudding.cool/2022/02/plain/">what makes writing more readable and how algorithms try to assess readability</a>. They feel it's a &#8220;real possibility that plain language will be outsourced to blackbox technologies that are grounded in antiquated data,&#8221; which will hurt accessibility:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>&#8220;Ultimately, the effectiveness of plain language translations comes down to engagement with your audience. Engagement that doesn’t make assumptions about what the audience understands, but will instead ask them to find out. Engagement that’s willing to work directly with people with disabilities or limited access to education, and not through intermediaries. As disabled <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTXg9Yki9Eg&ab_channel=aucdnetwork">advocates</a> and <a href="https://autisticadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/One-Idea-Per-Line.pdf">organizations led by disabled people</a> have been saying all along: “Nothing about us without us.”</p></blockquote>


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<h2 id="bottom-lines">Bottom Lines</h2>



<p><strong>Jason Cohen</strong>, CTO of <strong>WPEngine</strong>, offers <a href="https://blog.asmartbear.com/whos-lying.html">a reliable way to check for bad data and misleading metrics</a> that impact your bottom line: look at more than one indicator and ask &#8220;Who's lying?&#8221; </p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>&#8220;If a metric is important enough to watch it every day, and to act if its behavior deviates from expectation, then it’s important enough to be double-checked. Both for accuracy, and for completeness of comprehension.&#8221;</p></blockquote>


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<p>Does the existence of &#8220;developer pricing&#8221; mean developers are cheap? Developers <em>are</em> cheap says <strong>Keith Casey</strong>, <a href="https://caseysoftware.com/blog/the-secret-of-developer-pricing">but that's not why developer pricing is needed</a>. &#8220;<em>The real purpose of developer pricing is to let developers build without doing paperwork.</em>&#8220;</p>


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<p>Is it <a href="https://masterwp.com/should-you-raise-your-rates-because-of-inflation/">time to raise your rates due to inflation</a>? <strong>Rob Howard</strong> thinks so, but he also says there's a right way to do it. You can offer updated rates to new clients who are probably seeing inflation-related price increases everywhere and raising their own rates.</p>


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<p><a href="https://twitter.com/theryanking">Ryan Breslow</a> started a worthwhile <a href="https://twitter.com/theryanking/status/1497732269632598018?s=21">Twitter thread</a> with the assertion that &#8220;<strong>Shopify</strong> is eating their ecosystem.&#8221;  Shopify has become the second biggest CMS and the biggest competitor to <strong>WooCommerce</strong>. Ryan takes a look at Shopify's tactics for growth and how it's treating its developers.</p>


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<p><strong>Tom Willmot</strong>, co-founder and CEO of <strong>Human Made</strong>, <a href="https://humanmade.com/2022/03/03/human-made-in-2021/">shares how the company did in 2021</a>: 25% employee growth with almost 100 employees, 3 clients with $50B+ in revenue, and growth for the <strong>AltisDXP</strong> digital experience platform. Not too shabby!</p>


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<p class="has-theme-palette-7-background-color has-background">For a digest of everything happening in core this week, see <a href="https://poststatus.com/this-week-at-wordpress-org-february-28-2022/">This Week at WordPess.org</a> for <strong>February 28</strong>.</p>


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