For the past six months I have been sponsored by Automattic for 2 days a week to focus on the default theme task force. First, I want to say thank you to everyone that supported and enabled this focus work.
Stats
When my sponsorship focus started the default theme queue had over 400 tickets and as of writing this there are 198 tickets. Whilst this isn’t just down to myself, it shows the importance of focus in this area.
In this time I have brought to commit more tickets probably than ever in my history as a committer. I had to check but this also out paces in time phase one work I did on the editor. This shows how giving a contributor the ability to focus in one area can benefit the project and use them effectively.
- Commits: 103
- Updates: (comments, feedback and interactions on tickets) 965
- Closed: 290
It wasn’t just about tickets though. Monthly update posts were made to make/updates and also bi-weekly triage sessions run. A repo was also set up to explore co-ordinated approaches across tickets and a community theme experiment explored.
For a more details see my last review.
Reflections
Stats are only number stories, but they are important to tell as a starting point. I have already shared some reflections but I am going today to give some more. Overall, having a focus was incredibly rewarding and whilst it is over, I am now looking to see what opportunity is next for a similar one. These reflections are around specifically sponsorship.
Sponsoring is important
I am currently self-sponsored, but I want to highlight how important that is. I still consider my own Five for the Future commitment as part of my work. However, having additional support would allow me to focus in ways that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. Every sponsor makes a difference. Thank you, Aaron Jorbin, for sponsoring me on GitHub. It allows contributors like me to continue thriving while working as committers.
Focus is critical and tempting
In the past few months, my focus has narrowed even more as I tackled the huge queue. If I continue my sponsorship in this area, it will be to address the longer-term issue of default themes. Only time will tell if I have prevented future fires.
Support committers
Many assume WordPress committers are sponsored, but this isn’t always true. I am not saying committers are the most important, every contribution counts. They can unblock and improve areas, and it’s valuable to retain their expertise within the project. Supporting existing committers can create opportunities for new contributors, with the added benefit of knowledge sharing through mentorship.
Selling what you do is hard
I find it hard to sell my work as a form of contribution, and I suspect others do too. Reflecting on my work, I realized how much I’ve overlooked in past interactions. It’s difficult to justify why you deserve sponsorship and effectively sell your work. This therefore often results in less sponsorship and we lose contributors that way.
Next?
I am looking to continue focusing, but I am open to where it is. I am no longer an outside sponsored contributor and welcome discussions, so please reach out. Specifically, I would love to do something similar, focusing for six months in another area. Here are some of my current ideas:
- Admin-style sprint: a six-month focus. First, identify, triage and fix bugs in the existing CSS. Then, bring in new system work to the existing admin where can and updating without breaking.
- Default Themes Task Force Part Two: The next phase could involve exploring a community theme reflecting past default theme styles and transitioning from classic to block tools for a seamless, user-friendly experience.
- Component adoption: Sponsor me to adopt a component and do the same thing I did for default themes. This also extends to the editor, where I am also very open to jumping in as a focus again.
- Documenting and making the design system visible: The design system is a powerful tool, and I am excited about its potential. The documentation could be better, but I am eager to focus on making all our hard work visible and truly showcasing the system’s capabilities.
- Your idea: I am open to discussing any area you think I should focus on.
I would love to talk more to anyone about these ideas or anything else around sponsoring my contribution. You can also sponsor me through GitHub. Beyond that, I would love to talk to anyone about these areas I am looking to focus on, I will be focusing on them one by one through my own work, this isn’t the end of my contribution. However, being sponsored speeds up the time I get to focus on them.