[theme-reviewers] Theme Options and Functions

[Demetris Kikizas]

On Wed, Oct 20, 2010 at 8:24 PM, Chip Bennett <chip at chipbennett.net> wrote:
> On Wed, Oct 20, 2010 at 12:08 PM, Demetris Kikizas <kikizas at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>>
>> On Wed, Oct 20, 2010 at 7:44 PM, Jon Cave <jon at lionsgoroar.co.uk> wrote:
>> > On Wed, Oct 20, 2010 at 5:38 PM, Demetris Kikizas <kikizas at gmail.com>
>> > wrote:
>> >> For example, why serialization of options should be even a
>> >> recommendation?
>> >
>> > It's not, that was just suggested in Chip's first email and, from what
>> > I can see, it was decided not to be included in the recommendations.
>> > Only prefixing functions/options was agreed upon.
>> >
>> It may not become a recommendation, but it shows the way of thinking
>> that brought us to this point.
>>
>> This way of thinking is perverse.
>
> Or, it is merely the Review Team bringing up a potential issue, and
> discussing whether it is worth addressing, and if so, how it should be
> addressed.
>
Making browsing of database tables difficult for someone who activates
dozens of new themes per week is not an indication of a potential
issue.  Not the way I understand what an issue is in a WordPress
theme.

I am not saying this because I am not sympathetic.  On the contrary:

I look at themes and plugins myself all the time.  I have all plugins
and themes from WordPress Extend on my desktop and on my laptom (local
checkouts).  Sometimes I activate 100 or 150 plugins at once to see
how latest trunk behaves, and if there are any obvious breakages.  So,
I understand what you say.  But that’s an edge case. Few people use WP
like that.

>>
>> Instead of looking for solutions to practical problems, it comes up
>> with solutions for problems that do not exist.
>>
>> Recommendations and requirements for themes should only be there if
>> they solve practical problems.
>
> Given that you have yet to review any Themes, how would you know what
> "practical problems" exist?
> You see, one of the "practical problems" with which we as a diverse Review
> Team must deal is the fairness and objectiveness of our reviews. If one of
> us finds that we are making similar comments on several Themes, regarding
> issues that are either not addressed in the Guidelines, or else are not
> addressed clearly enough, we bring such issues up to the Team as a whole, to
> determine how we can ensure that we are all handling such issues fairly and
> objectively.
> But since you've not contributed any Theme reviews, you wouldn't really have
> any idea of the kinds of issues that we see come up frequently in submitted
> Themes.

So, you are saying that only members of this review team know about
the issues commonly found in WP themes?

Are you serious?

>>
>> For example:
>>
>> Never hardcode the URI of your theme’s stylesheet.  It is not allowed
>> for this or that reason.
>>
>> Or:
>>
>> wp_head() is strictly required for this and that reason.
>
> Both of which are examples for which valid reasons exist for their inclusion
> in the Guidelines.
>>
>> The way I see it, a requirement should only be added when we are
>> confronted with a real, practical problem and, after we explore all
>> possible solutions, we conclude that the only way to solve the problem
>> is by a formal, strict requirement.
>
> So, what are the specific "strict requirements"  with which you disagree,
> and why?
>
If you people are willing to listen, I am willing to comment in detail
on every requirement and recommendation currently listed on the Codex
page.

But I think others, better qualified than me, tried before and failed.

Like Otto in this thread:

<http://www.wptavern.com/forum/themes-templates/1911-theme-repository-reviews.html>

I agree with everything Otto says there.

My general objection, in short, is to what I see as a maximalistic
approach to setting requirements.  You can’t take everything you would
wish your dream theme to have and turn it into a strict requirement.

Requirements should be there to ensure that themes work with core,
work with plugins, and do not harm users.  Nothing more.

Cheers,

Demetris
http://op111.net/80 ‹ A proposal for making WordPress themes and
plugins easier to translate