X-post: Merge Announcement: Plugins & Themes Auto-Updates

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SimplePie Updated for WordPress 5.5

An early commit for WordPress 5.5 (which isn’t even in betaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process., don’t get scared) is a long awaited update to SimplePie! That’s right #36669 has finally gone through.

The library has been updated in WordPress trunk from version 1.3.1 to version 1.5.5. Trunk always contains the bleeding edge, unreleased WordPress code that is being worked on for the next releaseRelease A release is the distribution of the final version of an application. A software release may be either public or private and generally constitutes the initial or new generation of a new or upgraded application. A release is preceded by the distribution of alpha and then beta versions of the software.. When you have a chance, please take the time to test your pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party on trunk to ensure you do not experience any issues or unintended behavior after this update.

Here are some resources that may help you:

  • A full list of changes in the library: https://github.com/simplepie/simplepie/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md
  • The changeset updating SimplePie in WordPress: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/47733

Later, we will be emailing people whom we feel would be directly impacted by this change, but for now if your plugin uses RSS feeds in any way, or directly integrates with SimplePie, we ask you take the time to check if everything is still working.

#updates #simplepie

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Technically you always could, but…

Technically you always could, but now you can officially change the owner of a pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party.

For most of you, this is going to be a “Meh, who cares†change. For me? Well, it’s always nice to let people take agency of their own plugins 🙂

In the newly renamed ‘Danger Zone’ of the advanced tab, we have a way for you to transfer ownership to someone. This must be done by the actual owner of the plugin, and they need to select the new owner from the drop down, which looks like this:

transfer

Why would I want to do this?

It’s pretty rare, but sometimes people want a specific account to be THE official owner of a plugin. Usually this relates to company-owned plugins.

Who’s the owner now?

The page will tell you who, but in most cases it’s whomever submitted the plugin.

Does it matter who owns a plugin?

Actually yes. At the end of the day, the owner accepts responsibility of everyone else who does things in the name of the plugin.

If I change the owner by accident, will you change it back?

You can ask, but we’ll have to talk to the new owner to make sure this was actually a mistake and not something else.

#features

You Are Now Able to Close Your Own Plugins

Edit: We tweaked the page to try and make it more clear that your pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party is OPEN (which is why you have the option to close it — can’t close a closed plugin right?). If you have recommendations or suggestions about a better way to phrase things, please leave a comment with your ideas 🙂

I am well aware of the confusion caused by releasing this today, but this isn’t a joke.

Starting April 2020 you have the ability to close your own plugin without having to email us and explain why!

How do I close a plugin?

Log in with a committer account and go to the ADVANCED tab on your plugin. There, you will see a CLOSE THIS PLUGIN section that looks like this:

Read the warning. If you understand that the change is permanent, and you still want to close the plugin, press the button. Like magic, your plugin will be closed.

Who can close a plugin?

Anyone who has COMMIT access to a plugin. So now is the time for you to check who you gave commit access to, and prune the list. Please keep in mind, if you are managing a company plugin, it needs to be owned by a company account who has commit access. This is for your own legal protection.

Can I reopen the plugin?

Not without emailing the plugins team ([email protected]) and explaining why you changed your mind.

The purpose of this requirement is to limit abuse (it does warn you the closure is intended to be permanent) and create a better experience for users. If people are constantly closing and reopening plugins, it makes users doubt the stability and security of the plugin.

What if I don’t have access to a commit account? How can I close my plugin?

Email [email protected] and explain what the situation is, we’ll help you sort it out.

#close, #features

X-post: Updating the Coding standards for modern PHP

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X-post: Get Involved Table at WordCamp Asia 2020

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