Moderator
Jan Dembowski
(@jdembowski)
Forum Moderator and Brute Squad
There’s plugin display names and plugin slugs. The slugs are set in stone (as I understand it) but the display names can be changed.
Plugin slugs are set at the initial new plugin submission and have to be approved. If there’s a plugin slug called example-plugin and someone later submits example-plugin-pro then that may be forbidden. Or not, I think it would really depend on the specific name and circumstances.
Check with the plugins team via plugins [at] wordpress.org if you have an actual tangible example. If you’re just asking in advance for some sort of “policy ruling” then you may be disappointed. 😉
Edit: Also other developers consent isn’t part of that decision process. How could it be? There are 37,000+ plugins in the repo and the plugin reviewer makes the determination of what is allowed or not based on the plugin guidelines.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/about/guidelines/
Hello Jan,
Thank you for the insight.
Actually, I was thinking about creating an extension for one of my plugins and I looked for any kind of plugin naming guidelines and was surprised to find nothing. 🙂
I think it would really depend on the specific name and circumstances.
But who is to decide? Based on what? This is what I am talking about. Apparently there is some kind of policy behind the scenes, but my guess is that such policy or better “Plugin Naming Guidelines” should be a public document.
Also thanks for pointing me to the email address above. I might send them an email in order to raise awareness that some public guidelines would actually be a useful thing to add to the plugin submission form.
George
Also other developers consent isn’t part of that decision process. How could it be?
There are many ways to implement something. For instance the developer usernames, which would have permission to to use the exact plugin slug in their plugin’s slug, could be added just like the committers are added.
My concern about this issue has to do with minimizing user confusion as a result of plugin name exploitation. It also seems a bit awkward that a public document with naming guidelines does not exist. That’s all. 🙂
Moderator
Jan Dembowski
(@jdembowski)
Forum Moderator and Brute Squad
But who is to decide? Based on what? This is what I am talking about.
*Drinks more coffee*
When you (the developer of a plugin) submit your new plugin, you decide the slug. It gets reviewed and approved by the plugins team (the whole plugin). That approval part they decide.
I know you get all that, I’m just trying to be complete. 😉 Also be aware that I am not on the plugins team. They work really hard for the community.
My concern about this issue has to do with minimizing user confusion as a result of plugin name exploitation.
If that happens then the plugins team will make another decision. With that many plugins and limited resources on the plugins team that scenario will likely occur, if it hasn’t already.
It also seems a bit awkward that a public document with naming guidelines does not exist. That’s all. 🙂
Welcome to the world of volunteer and community driven open source projects. 😀
With a project like WordPress it would not be helpful to have a Set In Stone™ Policy And Rules©. You want to have flexibility for the authors and users. That doesn’t mean that plugin authors (or anyone) can just submit what they want as a name or plugin slug.
It does mean that when there’s a concern/problem/misunderstanding that the plugin authors and the plugin reviewers will sort it out. Everyone involved has good intentions and is expected to deal with these issues like responsible adults.
That said, the plugins team is the final decision maker in any plugin dispute here in WordPress repo.
Welcome to the world of volunteer and community driven open source projects. 😀
Well, I’ve been in that world for at least 12 years 🙂 I can tell you that these matters have the same importance both in the FLOSS world and the rest of the world. In fact, I’d say that such guidelines are totally irrelevant to the license of the software and only have to do with the better organization of the community and the ecosystem of plugin development. 🙂
It does mean that when there’s a concern/problem/misunderstanding that the plugin authors and the plugin reviewers will sort it out. Everyone involved has good intentions and is expected to deal with these issues like responsible adults.
IMHO, this is not good enough. Any general logic/policy/rules/guidelines upon which their decision making is based should be outlined in a publicly available document. Arguing about such a thing is IMHO nonsense 🙂
Anyway, I just wanted to express my concerns about something that is obviously missing. I know the community managers/mods are doing their best and there is no question or concern about that.
I might send an email to the plugins team about this. Thank you for the insight.
Best Regards,
George
