[wp-meta] [Making WordPress.org] #3592: Dashboard Event Widget: Display 5 meetups instead of 3

[Making WordPress.org]

#3592: Dashboard Event Widget: Display 5 meetups instead of 3
-------------------------+---------------------
 Reporter:  Nao          |       Owner:  (none)
     Type:  enhancement  |      Status:  new
 Priority:  normal       |   Milestone:
Component:  Events API   |  Resolution:
 Keywords:               |
-------------------------+---------------------

Comment (by hlashbrooke):

 Replying to [comment:11 KestutisIT]:
 > There is often a VERY STRONG unofficial meetups, that have a lot of
 contributors of WordPress as well. So I also suggest to create a feature,
 to submit unofficial EventBrite.com meetup events, Meetup.com events (ran
 by Meetup.com group), or Facebook.com events (ran by Facebook group), and
 list them in sub section, or in different color with a sub-text
 “Independently organized event (unofficial)”.

 It's great that there are some very strong unofficial meetup groups - I
 love that the open-source nature of WordPress allows for that sort of
 thing to happen! The problem with promoting those in an 'official' way
 (even if we indicate that they are not actually official meetups) is that
 it lends credence and validation to those meetup groups, when we actually
 have no way of confirming whether they are upholding the core principles
 of the WordPress project or following the rules that meetup organisers are
 expected to adhere to. For example, many unofficial groups remain
 unofficial because they want to highlight and promote WP products that are
 not 100% GPL - that's not something that we can support in any central or
 official channel.

 From a technical perspective, it would also mean using APIs from a whole
 bunch of different providers (you already mentioned Eventbrite and
 Facebook, but there would definitely be other platforms) and that would be
 a huge amount of work to not only build, but also maintain and update as
 those APIs change. Not to mention that the API queries would need to be
 based on searches for mentions of "WordPress" rather than any centralised
 set of groups like we have with the official Meetup.com chapter program.

 > As for over 90% of WordPress users it is important to get help and
 support, as well as latest information, and they don’t really care if
 WordPress.org pays for that Meetup.com group monthly fee and buys cups, or
 that is done by a meetup organizer independently. This is exact case of
 city of Vilnius (capital of Lithuania). Where we have a successful meetup
 group, as well as we control all major developers and designers
 communities (websites, Facebook groups) in the country. And feeling banned
 / ignored puts a shade here on WordPress as a brand, which I believe, is
 not the thing what WordPress is all about. So I suggest more flexibility
 here, and more respect to those, who do contribute to WordPress a lot,
 despite they fact are they official (paid by Automattic) or non-official
 (self-sponsored).

 You know why the Vilnius meetup group that you organise is not part of the
 official chapter program, and given my explanation above, you should be
 able to see why it is not an option for it to appear in the events widget.
 No one is being ignored or banned in any way - there are clear rules that
 organisers must agree to and some groups do not agree with those rules.

 Going forward, let's keep this ticket focussed on the original question
 being asked and not on other topics. If you feel strongly about something
 related then are free to open a new ticket to discuss it, but be aware
 that there are no plans to support or include unofficial meetup groups in
 any way.

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/3592#comment:12>
Making WordPress.org <https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/>
Making WordPress.org