Chip Bennett
Forum Replies Created
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Forum: Hacks
In reply to: How to remove title and content boxes from a custom post type?You’re on the right track with using the
supportsparameter; you just need to pass it the booleanfalse:'supports' => falseForum: Everything else WordPress
In reply to: GPL enforcement – definitive answer?The current stance of the WordPress Foundation (WPF) stems from a letter written by FSF counsel, and not on any precedent case law. I believe you are correct, that the question of WordPress API usage versus actual code incorporation has not been challenged, much less settled, in court. In fact, from my own research, I agree with you.
That said: whether you choose to develop a Plugin distributed under a proprietary license is one that only you can make, based upon your own counsel and that of your attorney. The potential risks you would incur include both a potential legal challenge from WPF, and certain exclusion from the WordPress “community” (an ephemeral term, but certainly including the WordPress project; the WPORG website, Plugin/Theme directories, and support forums; and WordCamps). Whether those risks are sufficiently countered by any rewards is a decision that only you can make.
My personal opinion is that you have the right to weigh that risk and reward, and make the decision – but at the same time, the WPF and WordPress community have the right to make policy decisions regarding whom will be included in that community based on licensing.
I don’t personally like the policy, because I believe it is based on a faulty legal interpretation unsupported by precedent case law; and I believe that business owners should retain the freedom to use the business model that best suits them. No business model works in every circumstance, including a GPL-based business model.
But I’m in the fortunate position of it not mattering for me personally. I don’t have any pre-existing code or business models that might be impacted by moving to GPL. I’m happy to distribute any code I write under GPL, regardless of the correct legal interpretation of a derivative work, because it’s all written as a contribution.
That said: even in your case, there may be workarounds. Is your application such that you can set up an API or SaaS solution, where the WordPress Plugin merely acts as an API client wrapper?
Forum: Themes and Templates
In reply to: LicenseHi Michelle,
You are correct: anything and everything available for download directly through wordpress.org will be 100% GPL (or 100% GPL-compatible): WordPress core, Themes in the Themes directory, and Plugins in the Plugins directory. If you get it from this site, it will be free of charge and GPL-compatible.
WordPress copyright interpretation is that Themes and Plugins are derivative of WordPress, and therefore must be distributed under GPL-compatible licenses. That said: others disagree with that interpretation, and you can find Themes an Plugins outside of wordpress.org that are distributed under non-GPL-compatible licenses.
Further, WordPress policy is only to promote Themes and Plugins distributed under GPL-compatible licenses, and only to support free Themes distributed via the official Theme and Plugin directories.
So, while you can get free (or commercial) Themes and Plugins elsewhere: caveat emptor.
If you have other licensing questions, feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer.
Forum: Plugins
In reply to: [Update Control] Does plugin auto update really work?By chance: are you running in a multisite network environment?
Forum: Plugins
In reply to: [Update Control] Does plugin auto update really work?I’ve watched several automatic Plugin updates fire on several hosts.
Are you sure you have Plugin Updates enabled?
Forum: Plugins
In reply to: [Update Control] Does plugin auto update really work?Do core automatic updates work for you?
If so: just give it more time. It will perform the update eventually.
Forum: Plugins
In reply to: [Update Control] plugins auto update doesn't workWhich update: core, or Plugin/Theme/Translation?
Please refer to the FAQ:
Why don’t automatic updates happen right away?
You may find that you receive an update notification, but automatic updates don’t happen right away. That’s okay! WordPress performs automatic updates according to timing based on certain transient values, and it is possible for the update check to happen some time before the automatic update routine executes. The Plugin doesn’t modify the timing of the automatic update routine; rather, it just tells WordPress which update types are enabled.Also, core now has two separate types of updates: manual updates and automatic updates. When you see the manual upgrade notice, WordPress has received the manual update offer, but has not yet received the automatic update offer. The two offers are fetched based on two different transients, and do not happen at the same time. Automatic core updates are served on a staggered rollout, which means that it may take up to 36 hours for the automatic update to execute after receiving the manual upgrade notice. For Plugins and Themes, you should normally see the automatic update routine execute within 12 hours of receiving the manual upgrade notice.
Forum: Plugins
In reply to: [Update Control] will major updates option also update minor updates?Yes they will. Minor updates are enabled in core by default. The Plugin options merely allow you to enable major releases and/or nightlies, in addition to the core-enabled minor releases.
The only way to disable minor-release updates is to disable updates entirely.
Forum: Reviews
In reply to: [Update Control] great to have these optionsGood suggestion! I’ll add a Settings quicklink in the next version. (I guess not everyone reads the readme? 🙂 )
Forum: Plugins
In reply to: [Update Control] TranslationThank you for that. As soon as I’m sure the strings are not going to change any more, I’ll add the POMO files and will gladly accept language contributions!
Forum: Plugins
In reply to: [Update Control] MulitisiteJust committed version 1.3, which adds multisite awareness (Plugin will only do anything on the main site of a multisite network).
This Plugin intentionally does not add a separate settings page, which precludes the ability to put its settings in network settings. Settings must be configured from the main site in a multisite network.
The Automatic Updater Plugin is a great option, if you need a Plugin that has its own settings page (and additional options/features).
Forum: Plugins
In reply to: [Update Control] Update InitiationJust FYI: looks like core updates could take up to 36 hours to fire automatically after first receiving the upgrade notice. This first one is being intentionally slow-rolled, but should be faster in the future.
Forum: Plugins
In reply to: [Update Control] Update InitiationThe Plugin doesn’t modify the core update behavior or timing; it merely tells core that it can or cannot perform the specified updates.
The timing is based on transients within core itself, that determine when the update routine actually gets fired. I’ll add some wording to the FAQ in the readme, though. Good suggestion.
Forum: Plugins
In reply to: [Update Control] Thank youThanks for the kind words! George did a great job creating the Plugin; I’ll do my best to keep it up-to-date.
Though, I would strongly recommend that you consider allowing at least minor core updates, as they have a near-zero percent chance of breaking anything (no API changes), and are almost always important security and/or bug fixes.
Forum: Plugins
In reply to: [Update Control] MulitisiteYeah, I’m going to add in a conditional check to bug out if
is_multisite()and! is_main_site(). Using Options -> General is still appropriate, since the Plugin does not have its own settings page (by design).