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Coen JacobsI've been contemplating to write this post for months. The reason I haven't is the exact thing I want to write about. And that's just silly. So here goes: Fear of voicing the unpopular opinion within the WordPress ecosystem https://coenjacobs.com/blog/fear-voicing-unpopular-opinion-within-wordpress-ecosystem/
Ross Wintle@coenjacobs This is very good. Thank you. I do have very good reasons for keeping opinions to myself. The one I will talk about is that I see no point. I donāt think what I say or do will influence the project. Iāve believed that for a long time. So I talk about other things where I can have a positive influence.
@ross Fair enough. While at the same time, isn't this the same form of self-censorship that I'm talking about, although stemming from a different emotion and/or feeling?
@ross Also, you're very welcome. š
@coenjacobs Itās a good post. I appreciate it a lot. I hope it has an impact. Perhaps if others follow and that results in change, Iāll change my mind. I will watch with interest.
Ray Gulick, he/him/wtf šŗš¦ āšRoss works for WP Engine, so he's already in the 'enemy camp.'
@rgulick @coenjacobs Thatās the main āgood reasonā to keep my opinions to myself.
@coenjacobs Actually, re-reading your post, it is the same thing: āItās the belief that my voice doesnāt matter enough to justify the discomfort of using it.ā
You seem to think that your voice can have an impact. Which is great.
My experiences and observations tell me that, risky or not, speaking out doesnāt have any impact.
Even if it was comfortable thereās no point. WordPress is just gonna WordPress. Itās not actually a community driven project any more.
Gosh, Iām jaded!
@ross Bit of a stretch, but while writing (and that specific sentence you quote in particular) it reminded me of this: "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say" - so I guess I'll keep at least putting my voice out there.
@coenjacobs And you should! Thatās why I praise your writing. And you _have_ challenged my position. I DO care. I will be thinking. Thank you.
Brian J. Link@mrwweb I don't think any of my opinions are unpopular. I think they are irrelevant.
Everything is driven by the needs and wills of Automattic and its investors. Their opinions are the only ones that matter or impact change to WordPress.
Five years ago I told anyone interested in software development to start with a WordPress plugin. I wouldn't recommend that today.
Simon Jones@coenjacobs thatās a good post. I think itās important to voice your concerns. I agree there isnāt really a solution to the WordPress problem. I think itās good to see other big players like WP Engine supporting important parts of open source (WP Packagist). It is sad to see hosting companies wouldnāt back the FAIR project publicly.
@simonrjones Thank you and yes, I agree that there isn't really a solution. That's why you see third parties (like WP Engine, for example) take on initiatives outside of the core WordPress circle of influence. I expect this to happen more in the future.
@coenjacobs it is open source and businesses are free to do that.
Letās hope there is more of that sort of thing in the future. There are a lot of great people working in the WordPress industry :)
Anneke
Luc Princen@coenjacobs This needs saying and repeating, Coen. Thanks for writing it.
@lucp Thank you. š«¶
Paul van Buuren š@coenjacobs Excellent, Coen. Excellent. "Iād rather be the person who said the uncomfortable thing than the person who stayed quiet and watched.ā This goes for a lot of other ācontroversialā topics. Once you take the first courageous step, there is comfort in taking the second, and the third. Excellent. @lucp