WordPress.org

• Extend Home
• Plugins
• Themes
• Ideas
• Kvetch!

Remove Sponsored Themes from WordPress.org

31. Turtlestack
    Member

    Matt:

    I did not know that. As you can see I'm rather new but I should have done my homework better :)

    In dealing with ad sponsored themes I have to say I am against the idea because I should be able to maintain control of the content on my own site.

    Blogging is a social exercise. We all post our thoughts, fears, hopes and a myriad other ideas so therefore our blog sites are an extension of our own identities and personalities. We need to have control over how we choose to represent ourselves because we are really talking about personal expression.

    If I choose to put a link on my site to the company that makes my rock climbing equipment I should be allowed to do that, but what if the people who make a sponsored theme are also part of a company that makes rock climbing equipment for a company that I feel makes an unsafe product? Would that link cause people to say "Hey, Dan links to this other company that makes climbing gear and since he is a rock climber then he must feel they make good equipment." Since I feel that company makes a poor product and someone then buys it and is badly injured because of it, could I be held responsible somehow?

    Now I know that's a pretty extreme example but we all know what kind of world we live in and someone might be able to find a way to take legal action against me. We could all then be forced to put link disclaimers on our site to protect us from other frivolous lawsuits.

    Posted: 2 years ago #

32. Indyan
    Member

    12345

    I dont mind sponsored themes as long as :
    i) There is a clear disclosure of that fact
    ii) The link itself isnt objectionable.
    iii) Users are free to remove the link, and the link isnt being hidden etc.

    Possibly instead of banning theme the official theme viewer should warn the user in someway, that the theme is sponsored.

    Posted: 2 years ago #

33. h4x3d
    Member

    12345

    My personal feeling is that I hate them and when I see them in a blogger's theme I feel like writing them and asking if they need help removing it.

    - applies to me as well, it just gives me the creeps!
    and tomk32 I dont get your point.

    Posted: 2 years ago #

34. RevLimit
    Member

    Ban the slime bags!

    Posted: 2 years ago #

35. ektz
    Member

    12345

    okay. if i have to look at it from Matt's point of view, i should say it is okay if he doesn't want the sponsored themes on wordpress.org.

    but do you think that would be the end? I mean, if sponsored links wouldn't be allowed, themes will be sponsored in another way where the designer would rather not put his link in the footer and put just one link of the sponsor as the designer of the theme. Would it be okay theoritically then?

    Or may be we should go with the idea of no links in footer at all. Would it be fair to the designers then?

    I know we are talking about a fine line here. but then isn't it better to just make people aware of it, rather than rubbing everything off from the other end.

    well, I just suggest that rather than sitting here talking about this issue in circle, the ones who are so ready to talk about removal of sponsored themes, should volunteer to help run the theme viewer and also the moderation of submitted themes should become strict for the hidden sponsored links and all.

    Just my two cents worth..

    Posted: 2 years ago #

36. drig
    Member

    12345

    My blog uses a sponsored theme and without advertisers, we wouldn't be having the quality themes produced that we have now. Its really not that hard to delete the links if it is really necessary.

    Posted: 2 years ago #

37. TomK32
    Member

    12345

    @h4x3d: I think themes will be sold as a whole so sponsors will release them and no one will notice it's actually a sponsored theme. Or themes that will be sponsored a few weeks/months after the first release.

    about the google thing: Google is acting like a dictator here. Nonetheless there are dozens if not hundrets of links in an average blog and one link more will not make much weight.

    Posted: 2 years ago #

38. Turtlestack
    Member

    If keeping sponsored themes off .org means I need to volunteer some of my time to help out with the theme viewer then I just have one question ... "Where do I sign up to volunteer to help out with the theme viewer?"

    Posted: 2 years ago #

39. ConnieVeneracion
    Member

    12345

    The issue is NOT about the ethics, per se, of installing sponsored links on free Wordpress themes although the comment thread seems to be leading towards that direction. Ethical standards will vary from one person to the next.

    The only question here is whether, in the interest of the Wordpress community, themes with sponsored links should be banned from Wordpress.org because of their sleazy (non-transparent) nature and considering how they affect unwary Wordpress users.

    Not every Wordpress user is as tech savvy as many would like to think. Labeling certain themes as "containing sponsored links" may make sense to people with a working knowledge of SEO and issues about placing keyword links in one's site. But for a lot of bloggers out there, a theme is a theme is a theme. They will judge the theme based on the visual appeal and install it.

    I would be the last to say that individual theme users should be freed from the responsibility of learning every aspect of blogging -- including the use of free themes. We should all be responsible for our own sites. BUT that does not lessen the responsibility of Wordpress.org to its users. And part of that responsibility includes protecting the users from being taken advantage of.

    Posted: 2 years ago #

40. Ajay
    Member

    12345

    I'm all for removing the sponsored themes from WordPress.org and not just .org, but also the Theme Viewer as well.

    And if that is not possible, they should be brightly labelled as sponsored. Anyone who doesn't do this should be banned instantly.

    Even a year back, there weren't that many sponsored themes and authors happily released them. Today more than fifty percent of the theme releases are sponsored.

    And, I've found many non-sponsored themes to be much better than sponsored ones, because quality goes into them and not just quantity.

    Posted: 2 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Topic Closed

This topic has been closed to new replies.