[theme-reviewers] theme-reviewers Digest, Vol 20, Issue 60
Caroline Moore
calobee at gmail.com
Fri Jan 27 15:36:55 UTC 2012
.org is not part of Automattic from what I understand.
On Jan 27, 2012, at 10:32 AM, Chandra Maharzan wrote:
> Cool.. I am just pitching to see if money incentives would work for
> both reviewers and in turn to designers who wait 2 or 3 months to get
> reviewed (which is frustrating, of course as you know). I don't blame
> anyone as its a free thing. I thought .org being a part of Automattic
> (correct me if I am wrong) could just "invest" a bit so we really get
> great themes on the .org as well (not saying it doesn't have). But as
> you said, if this is purely free thing, I take it all back. :-)
>
> On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 9:01 PM, Nitin Reddy <k_nitin_r at yahoo.co.in> wrote:
>> Chandra Maharzan,
>>
>> It is not only the theme authors but also the theme reviewers who get
>> discouraged at times. I reviewed the theme listed on my first ticket and
>> should have been able to assign myself to another ticket (new version of the
>> theme). However, there was a problem with my Trac account and I'm not able
>> to assign the ticket for the new (fixed) version of the theme to myself or
>> close the original ticket so both the theme author and I are looking at our
>> spent efforts yielding no fruit for the community.
>>
>> I did try posting to the mailing list and contact some of the folks
>> associated with the WP theme repository, but I didn't get any help yet. At
>> this point, Emil sees my user account listed as a theme reviewer account (or
>> something along those lines), my account doesn't let me assign the ticket to
>> myself or close the old ticket, and the theme author is awaiting the
>> approval after having made the fixes to his/her theme.
>>
>> The problem is not about volunteers lacking dedication - many, if not most,
>> are dedicated to helping out the community. The problem is about not being
>> able to help the volunteers when the process or system (Trac, in my case)
>> breaks down. I can review at least 3 themes a week. That works out to about
>> 14 themes in a month. With 10 volunteers, we can have 140 themes reviewed in
>> a month!
>>
>> Regards,
>> Nitin Reddy
>>
>> ________________________________
>> From: "theme-reviewers-request at lists.wordpress.org"
>> <theme-reviewers-request at lists.wordpress.org>
>> To: theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>> Sent: Friday, January 27, 2012 8:11 PM
>> Subject: theme-reviewers Digest, Vol 20, Issue 60
>>
>> Send theme-reviewers mailing list submissions to
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>>
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>> than "Re: Contents of theme-reviewers digest..."
>>
>>
>> Today's Topics:
>>
>> 1. Re: splitting reviewers between queues (Chandra Maharzan)
>> 2. Re: splitting reviewers between queues (Simon Prosser)
>> 3. Re: splitting reviewers between queues
>> (Rankin, Matthew W. (Student))
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 1
>> Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:26:31 +0545
>> From: Chandra Maharzan <maharzan at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [theme-reviewers] splitting reviewers between queues
>> To: theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>> Message-ID:
>> <CABNJqLf9Zx12t+VSH2TkQ5NJMko2sPvR0VR2O+iyLx92F9GYzA at mail.gmail.com>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>>
>> I haven't reviewed any themes but I do think this volunteer thing
>> might need to go at some point. Have a dedicated team who reviews
>> themes and they get incentives on each theme or something. Otherwise
>> like a person said above, people are discouraged. I was when I
>> submitted a theme about a year ago and it was reviewed in a long time
>> and the same thing is happening now. And I have 2 themes in the repo,
>> pretty popular ones. I am sure many designers feel like me.
>>
>> On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 2:59 PM, Phenomenoodle | Taryn Wallis
>> <taryn at phenomenoodle.com> wrote:
>>> Up until about 5 years ago (when I transitioned into web design full-time)
>>> I
>>> was an Organizational Psychologist - things like badges work well as a
>>> motivational tool for some types of people, and absolutely not for others.
>>> I'm one of the others :)
>>>
>>> If there was a badge, I might consider putting it on my site, but it would
>>> have zero impact from an incentive point of view. I'm far more internally
>>> motivated, so external things like badges (or certificates etc) have no
>>> real
>>> meaning to me. In terms of theme reviews, I contribute because it allows
>>> me
>>> to give back to the community and to also learn from the experience - if
>>> I'm
>>> not able to do reviews, it's not because of lack of motivation, but simply
>>> a
>>> lack of time :(
>>>
>>> ______________________________
>>> Taryn Wallis
>>> Phenomenoodle
>>> WordPress design & development
>>> www.phenomenoodle.com
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 8:36 AM, Netzberufler
>>> <netzberufler at googlemail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I find Badges are a great idea. They should also be included into the
>>>> WordPress Profile Pages. http://profiles.wordpress.org/users/ or
>>>> http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/profile/ . BTW why are there different
>>>> profile pages on wordpress.org?
>>>>
>>>> I currently don't review themes cause of my exams but I will begin
>>>> reviewing again in 2 weeks ;)
>>>>
>>>> 2012/1/26 Rankin, Matthew W. (Student) <mrankin at my.ccsu.edu>
>>>>
>>>>> Not directly related to this email thread but seems like a good place to
>>>>> post it. I was thinking about why there aren't more volunteer reviewers
>>>>> and
>>>>> why many are slow to review themes. I think it may be because it lacks
>>>>> incentive. So, I had an idea which may attract more reviewers and
>>>>> increase
>>>>> productivity among current reviewers. My idea is to create a WordPress
>>>>> badge. Theme reviewers can post this badge on their own websites to say
>>>>> that
>>>>> they contribute to WordPress. You could even create different levels of
>>>>> badges so as you review more themes you get higher level badges. It's a
>>>>> simple idea which has proven effective on many websites around the web.
>>>>> What
>>>>> does everyone else think of this idea?
>>>>> ________________________________
>>>>> From: theme-reviewers-bounces at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>> [theme-reviewers-bounces at lists.wordpress.org] on behalf of Rankin,
>>>>> Matthew
>>>>> W. (Student) [mrankin at my.ccsu.edu]
>>>>> Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 12:49 PM
>>>>>
>>>>> To: theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>> Subject: Re: [theme-reviewers] splitting reviewers between queues
>>>>>
>>>>> I'll do my best to follow your lead Chip. I've just been so busy lately
>>>>> I
>>>>> haven't had time to do many reviews. But I should be able to fit in one
>>>>> theme a day.
>>>>> ________________________________
>>>>> From: theme-reviewers-bounces at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>> [theme-reviewers-bounces at lists.wordpress.org] on behalf of Chip Bennett
>>>>> [chip at chipbennett.net]
>>>>> Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 12:31 PM
>>>>> To: theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>> Subject: Re: [theme-reviewers] splitting reviewers between queues
>>>>>
>>>>> I don't think a paradigm shift is necessary (or helpful) at this point.
>>>>>
>>>>> The bottom line is: about 10 tickets per day are submitted. Thus, we
>>>>> need
>>>>> about 10 tickets per day reviewed and closed, in order to keep up with
>>>>> the
>>>>> submission rate. We are approaching 100 people who have reviewed Themes.
>>>>> If
>>>>> every person with ticket privileges reviewed two tickets, we would
>>>>> exhaust
>>>>> the current queue entirely.
>>>>>
>>>>> I've tried to push in the past to get reviewers to consider committing
>>>>> to
>>>>> a certain minimum level of participation, but as you've noted: it's not
>>>>> practical. We ARE all volunteers, and all have extremely busy schedules.
>>>>> (I
>>>>> last saw a "40-hour work week" sometime last summer.) Efforts to get
>>>>> such
>>>>> commitments inevitably have the opposite effect, as IMX they have only
>>>>> driven volunteers AWAY from contributing their time.
>>>>>
>>>>> That said: I'll do my best to lead by example. I will commit to
>>>>> reviewing
>>>>> one Theme per day, every day.
>>>>>
>>>>> Chip
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 11:07 AM, Edward Caissie
>>>>> <edward.caissie at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Although it shouldn't need to be written, but once again it appears a
>>>>>> reminder appears to be needed ...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> To the best of my knowledge, every member of the current Theme Review
>>>>>> Team is a volunteer. Every member also has a "full work load" with many
>>>>>> simply unable to devote any time to this volunteer activity during that
>>>>>> scheduled time. Many of the volunteers have other additional WordPress
>>>>>> related activities that add to their typical "40-hour week" work load.
>>>>>> We
>>>>>> all have lives, too ... so, quite simply, we give what time we can and
>>>>>> look
>>>>>> to the community to contribute some of their time. Wait times, as noted
>>>>>> many
>>>>>> times, are inversely proportional to the amount of volunteer reviewers
>>>>>> available to do the work.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> We can appreciate the wait time is long and frustrating. This is not
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> only time this topic has been discussed, these are not the only ideas
>>>>>> that
>>>>>> have been considered. Unfortunately until their is perhaps a paradigm
>>>>>> shift
>>>>>> in regards to the WPTRT we may simply be forced to continue to endure
>>>>>> and
>>>>>> forge ahead under these conditions.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Cais.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 11:48 AM, Bruce Wampler <weavertheme at gmail.com>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I would like to add my perspective on the review process.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I have been submitting one theme - with revisions and slight name
>>>>>>> modifications - for almost two years now - starting with 2010 Weaver,
>>>>>>> changed to simply Weaver, and now Weaver II.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Because Weaver II is a name change, and represents a total rewrite of
>>>>>>> Weaver, it has been in the Priority Queue for almost 3 months now.
>>>>>>> I've just
>>>>>>> been sitting here waiting my turn.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> But seriously - three months for new themes? The past week, the review
>>>>>>> rate has been only one new theme reviewed.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> It is important to keep existing themes up to date - but to
>>>>>>> essentially
>>>>>>> have the new theme approval rate one a week will do nothing to
>>>>>>> encourage
>>>>>>> authors to submit new themes.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I had good reasons to change from Weaver to Weaver II, and perhaps
>>>>>>> should have requested it be treated as a revision of the existing
>>>>>>> approved
>>>>>>> theme. But I don know if I knew three months ago, that I likely would
>>>>>>> have
>>>>>>> done things differently, including the possibility of simply
>>>>>>> abandoning the
>>>>>>> WP theme repository.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> But Weaver II represents a cutting edge theme/framework that has (or
>>>>>>> had three months ago) really new features, including what I think is
>>>>>>> likely
>>>>>>> the best mobile support of any WP theme. It is really frustrating to
>>>>>>> see it
>>>>>>> languish in the queue.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I just think a almost three month wait is excessive, and will
>>>>>>> seriously
>>>>>>> discourage developers from developing and submitting new themes.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The discussion of new 3.4 features seems almost silly since if the new
>>>>>>> queue theme stays at several months, it is likely that there won't be
>>>>>>> any
>>>>>>> new themes.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I believe is really important to keep fresh, new themes with cutting
>>>>>>> edge features coming in for the future health of WordPress.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Just some thoughts. I believe something needs to be done. I'd
>>>>>>> volunteer
>>>>>>> to review some themes, but I have serious ethical concerns about that,
>>>>>>> as
>>>>>>> well as a full work load supporting my theme which has become very
>>>>>>> popular
>>>>>>> on its own while waiting on the queue.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Bruce Wampler
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>> theme-reviewers mailing list
>>>>>>> theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>>> http://lists.wordpress.org/mailman/listinfo/theme-reviewers
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> theme-reviewers mailing list
>>>>>> theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>> http://lists.wordpress.org/mailman/listinfo/theme-reviewers
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> theme-reviewers mailing list
>>>>> theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>> http://lists.wordpress.org/mailman/listinfo/theme-reviewers
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> theme-reviewers mailing list
>>>> theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>> http://lists.wordpress.org/mailman/listinfo/theme-reviewers
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> theme-reviewers mailing list
>>> theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>> http://lists.wordpress.org/mailman/listinfo/theme-reviewers
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> cmans
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 2
>> Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:09:37 +0000
>> From: Simon Prosser <pross at pross.org.uk>
>> Subject: Re: [theme-reviewers] splitting reviewers between queues
>> To: theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>> Message-ID:
>> <CAKwUDf0hydH4Pzj2gQ3Yq6o+TTo_Rk0eWnVjPSXKD1C9Wz0oNg at mail.gmail.com>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>>
>> What incentives? wordpress.org is a free organization and the theme
>> team volunteer the time to review themes in their spare time.
>> They all have regular jobs and lives as well.
>>
>> On 27 January 2012 13:41, Chandra Maharzan <maharzan at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> I haven't reviewed any themes but I do think ?this volunteer thing
>>> might need to go at some point. Have a dedicated team who reviews
>>> themes and they get incentives on each theme or something. Otherwise
>>> like a person said above, people are discouraged. I was when I
>>> submitted a theme about a year ago and it was reviewed in a long time
>>> and the same thing is happening now. And I have 2 themes in the repo,
>>> pretty popular ones. I am sure many designers feel like me.
>>>
>>> On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 2:59 PM, Phenomenoodle | Taryn Wallis
>>> <taryn at phenomenoodle.com> wrote:
>>>> Up until about 5 years ago (when I transitioned into web design
>>>> full-time) I
>>>> was an Organizational Psychologist - things like badges work well as a
>>>> motivational tool for some types of people, and absolutely not for
>>>> others.
>>>> I'm one of the others :)
>>>>
>>>> If there was a badge, I might consider putting it on my site, but it
>>>> would
>>>> have zero impact from an incentive point of view. I'm far more internally
>>>> motivated, so external things like badges (or certificates etc) have no
>>>> real
>>>> meaning to me. In terms of theme reviews, I contribute because it allows
>>>> me
>>>> to give back to the community and to also learn from the experience - if
>>>> I'm
>>>> not able to do reviews, it's not because of lack of motivation, but
>>>> simply a
>>>> lack of time :(
>>>>
>>>> ______________________________
>>>> Taryn Wallis
>>>> Phenomenoodle
>>>> WordPress design & development
>>>> www.phenomenoodle.com
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 8:36 AM, Netzberufler
>>>> <netzberufler at googlemail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> I find Badges are a great idea. They should also be included into the
>>>>> WordPress Profile Pages. http://profiles.wordpress.org/users/ or
>>>>> http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/profile/ . BTW why are there
>>>>> different
>>>>> profile pages on wordpress.org?
>>>>>
>>>>> I currently don't review themes cause of my exams but I will begin
>>>>> reviewing again in 2 weeks ;)
>>>>>
>>>>> 2012/1/26 Rankin, Matthew W. (Student) <mrankin at my.ccsu.edu>
>>>>>
>>>>>> Not directly related to this email thread but seems like a good place
>>>>>> to
>>>>>> post it. I was thinking about why there aren't more volunteer reviewers
>>>>>> and
>>>>>> why many are slow to review themes. I think it may be because it lacks
>>>>>> incentive. So, I had an idea which may attract more reviewers and
>>>>>> increase
>>>>>> productivity among current reviewers. My idea is to create a WordPress
>>>>>> badge. Theme reviewers can post this badge on their own websites to say
>>>>>> that
>>>>>> they contribute to WordPress. You could even create different levels of
>>>>>> badges so as you review more themes you get higher level badges. It's a
>>>>>> simple idea which has proven effective on many websites around the web.
>>>>>> What
>>>>>> does everyone else think of this idea?
>>>>>> ________________________________
>>>>>> From: theme-reviewers-bounces at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>> [theme-reviewers-bounces at lists.wordpress.org] on behalf of Rankin,
>>>>>> Matthew
>>>>>> W. (Student) [mrankin at my.ccsu.edu]
>>>>>> Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 12:49 PM
>>>>>>
>>>>>> To: theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [theme-reviewers] splitting reviewers between queues
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'll do my best to follow your lead Chip. I've just been so busy lately
>>>>>> I
>>>>>> haven't had time to do many reviews. But I should be able to fit in one
>>>>>> theme a day.
>>>>>> ________________________________
>>>>>> From: theme-reviewers-bounces at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>> [theme-reviewers-bounces at lists.wordpress.org] on behalf of Chip Bennett
>>>>>> [chip at chipbennett.net]
>>>>>> Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 12:31 PM
>>>>>> To: theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [theme-reviewers] splitting reviewers between queues
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I don't think a paradigm shift is necessary (or helpful) at this point.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The bottom line is: about 10 tickets per day are submitted. Thus, we
>>>>>> need
>>>>>> about 10 tickets per day reviewed and closed, in order to keep up with
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> submission rate. We are approaching 100 people who have reviewed
>>>>>> Themes. If
>>>>>> every person with ticket privileges reviewed two tickets, we would
>>>>>> exhaust
>>>>>> the current queue entirely.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I've tried to push in the past to get reviewers to consider committing
>>>>>> to
>>>>>> a certain minimum level of participation, but as you've noted: it's not
>>>>>> practical. We ARE all volunteers, and all have extremely busy
>>>>>> schedules. (I
>>>>>> last saw a "40-hour work week" sometime last summer.) Efforts to get
>>>>>> such
>>>>>> commitments inevitably have the opposite effect, as IMX they have only
>>>>>> driven volunteers AWAY from contributing their time.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> That said: I'll do my best to lead by example. I will commit to
>>>>>> reviewing
>>>>>> one Theme per day, every day.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Chip
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 11:07 AM, Edward Caissie
>>>>>> <edward.caissie at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Although it shouldn't need to be written, but once again it appears a
>>>>>>> reminder appears to be needed ...
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> To the best of my knowledge, every member of the current Theme Review
>>>>>>> Team is a volunteer. Every member also has a "full work load" with
>>>>>>> many
>>>>>>> simply unable to devote any time to this volunteer activity during
>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>> scheduled time. Many of the volunteers have other additional WordPress
>>>>>>> related activities that add to their typical "40-hour week" work load.
>>>>>>> We
>>>>>>> all have lives, too ... so, quite simply, we give what time we can and
>>>>>>> look
>>>>>>> to the community to contribute some of their time. Wait times, as
>>>>>>> noted many
>>>>>>> times, are inversely proportional to the amount of volunteer reviewers
>>>>>>> available to do the work.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> We can appreciate the wait time is long and frustrating. This is not
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> only time this topic has been discussed, these are not the only ideas
>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>> have been considered. Unfortunately until their is perhaps a paradigm
>>>>>>> shift
>>>>>>> in regards to the WPTRT we may simply be forced to continue to endure
>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>> forge ahead under these conditions.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Cais.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 11:48 AM, Bruce Wampler
>>>>>>> <weavertheme at gmail.com>
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I would like to add my perspective on the review process.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I have been submitting one theme - with revisions and slight name
>>>>>>>> modifications - for almost two years now - starting with 2010 Weaver,
>>>>>>>> changed to simply Weaver, and now Weaver II.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Because Weaver II is a name change, and represents a total rewrite of
>>>>>>>> Weaver, it has been in the Priority Queue for almost 3 months now.
>>>>>>>> I've just
>>>>>>>> been sitting here waiting my turn.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> But seriously - three months for new themes? The past week, the
>>>>>>>> review
>>>>>>>> rate has been only one new theme reviewed.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> It is important to keep existing themes up to date - but to
>>>>>>>> essentially
>>>>>>>> have the new theme approval rate one a week will do nothing to
>>>>>>>> encourage
>>>>>>>> authors to submit new themes.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I had good reasons to change from Weaver to Weaver II, and perhaps
>>>>>>>> should have requested it be treated as a revision of the existing
>>>>>>>> approved
>>>>>>>> theme. But I don know if I knew three months ago, that I likely would
>>>>>>>> have
>>>>>>>> done things differently, including the possibility of simply
>>>>>>>> abandoning the
>>>>>>>> WP theme repository.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> But Weaver II represents a cutting edge theme/framework that has (or
>>>>>>>> had three months ago) really new features, including what I think is
>>>>>>>> likely
>>>>>>>> the best mobile support of any WP theme. It is really frustrating to
>>>>>>>> see it
>>>>>>>> languish in the queue.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I just think a almost three month wait is excessive, and will
>>>>>>>> seriously
>>>>>>>> discourage developers from developing and submitting new themes.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> The discussion of new 3.4 features seems almost silly since if the
>>>>>>>> new
>>>>>>>> queue theme stays at several months, it is likely that there won't be
>>>>>>>> any
>>>>>>>> new themes.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I believe is really important to keep fresh, new themes with cutting
>>>>>>>> edge features coming in for the future health of WordPress.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Just some thoughts. I believe something needs to be done. I'd
>>>>>>>> volunteer
>>>>>>>> to review some themes, but I have serious ethical concerns about
>>>>>>>> that, as
>>>>>>>> well as a full work load supporting my theme which has become very
>>>>>>>> popular
>>>>>>>> on its own while waiting on the queue.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Bruce Wampler
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>> theme-reviewers mailing list
>>>>>>>> theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>>>> http://lists.wordpress.org/mailman/listinfo/theme-reviewers
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>> theme-reviewers mailing list
>>>>>>> theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>>> http://lists.wordpress.org/mailman/listinfo/theme-reviewers
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> theme-reviewers mailing list
>>>>>> theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>> http://lists.wordpress.org/mailman/listinfo/theme-reviewers
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> theme-reviewers mailing list
>>>>> theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>> http://lists.wordpress.org/mailman/listinfo/theme-reviewers
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> theme-reviewers mailing list
>>>> theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>> http://lists.wordpress.org/mailman/listinfo/theme-reviewers
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> cmans
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> theme-reviewers mailing list
>>> theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>> http://lists.wordpress.org/mailman/listinfo/theme-reviewers
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> My Blog: http://pross.org.uk/
>> Plugins : http://pross.org.uk/plugins/
>> Themes: http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/profile/pross
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 3
>> Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:41:05 +0000
>> From: "Rankin, Matthew W. (Student)" <mrankin at my.ccsu.edu>
>> Subject: Re: [theme-reviewers] splitting reviewers between queues
>> To: "theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org"
>> <theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org>
>> Message-ID:
>>
>> <0A61E76883F4624AAE4D8DF33EB9FF7A09E03756 at CH1PRD0102MB148.prod.exchangelabs.com>
>>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>>
>> There are many people ( myself included ) who review themes just for the
>> satisfaction of helping out WordPress. However, there are many people out
>> there who need a little more than that to review themes. Even just a thank
>> you and a WordPress badge to post up on their site would go a long way in
>> attracting more theme reviewers and getting more production out of less
>> active reviewers. The idea is fairly straight forward and easy to implement,
>> and has a proven record of success as you can see by looking at many other
>> websites around the web who use similar ideas.
>> ________________________________________
>> From: theme-reviewers-bounces at lists.wordpress.org
>> [theme-reviewers-bounces at lists.wordpress.org] on behalf of Simon Prosser
>> [pross at pross.org.uk]
>> Sent: Friday, January 27, 2012 9:09 AM
>> To: theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>> Subject: Re: [theme-reviewers] splitting reviewers between queues
>>
>> What incentives? wordpress.org is a free organization and the theme
>> team volunteer the time to review themes in their spare time.
>> They all have regular jobs and lives as well.
>>
>> On 27 January 2012 13:41, Chandra Maharzan <maharzan at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> I haven't reviewed any themes but I do think this volunteer thing
>>> might need to go at some point. Have a dedicated team who reviews
>>> themes and they get incentives on each theme or something. Otherwise
>>> like a person said above, people are discouraged. I was when I
>>> submitted a theme about a year ago and it was reviewed in a long time
>>> and the same thing is happening now. And I have 2 themes in the repo,
>>> pretty popular ones. I am sure many designers feel like me.
>>>
>>> On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 2:59 PM, Phenomenoodle | Taryn Wallis
>>> <taryn at phenomenoodle.com> wrote:
>>>> Up until about 5 years ago (when I transitioned into web design
>>>> full-time) I
>>>> was an Organizational Psychologist - things like badges work well as a
>>>> motivational tool for some types of people, and absolutely not for
>>>> others.
>>>> I'm one of the others :)
>>>>
>>>> If there was a badge, I might consider putting it on my site, but it
>>>> would
>>>> have zero impact from an incentive point of view. I'm far more internally
>>>> motivated, so external things like badges (or certificates etc) have no
>>>> real
>>>> meaning to me. In terms of theme reviews, I contribute because it allows
>>>> me
>>>> to give back to the community and to also learn from the experience - if
>>>> I'm
>>>> not able to do reviews, it's not because of lack of motivation, but
>>>> simply a
>>>> lack of time :(
>>>>
>>>> ______________________________
>>>> Taryn Wallis
>>>> Phenomenoodle
>>>> WordPress design & development
>>>> www.phenomenoodle.com
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 8:36 AM, Netzberufler
>>>> <netzberufler at googlemail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> I find Badges are a great idea. They should also be included into the
>>>>> WordPress Profile Pages. http://profiles.wordpress.org/users/ or
>>>>> http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/profile/ . BTW why are there
>>>>> different
>>>>> profile pages on wordpress.org?
>>>>>
>>>>> I currently don't review themes cause of my exams but I will begin
>>>>> reviewing again in 2 weeks ;)
>>>>>
>>>>> 2012/1/26 Rankin, Matthew W. (Student) <mrankin at my.ccsu.edu>
>>>>>
>>>>>> Not directly related to this email thread but seems like a good place
>>>>>> to
>>>>>> post it. I was thinking about why there aren't more volunteer reviewers
>>>>>> and
>>>>>> why many are slow to review themes. I think it may be because it lacks
>>>>>> incentive. So, I had an idea which may attract more reviewers and
>>>>>> increase
>>>>>> productivity among current reviewers. My idea is to create a WordPress
>>>>>> badge. Theme reviewers can post this badge on their own websites to say
>>>>>> that
>>>>>> they contribute to WordPress. You could even create different levels of
>>>>>> badges so as you review more themes you get higher level badges. It's a
>>>>>> simple idea which has proven effective on many websites around the web.
>>>>>> What
>>>>>> does everyone else think of this idea?
>>>>>> ________________________________
>>>>>> From: theme-reviewers-bounces at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>> [theme-reviewers-bounces at lists.wordpress.org] on behalf of Rankin,
>>>>>> Matthew
>>>>>> W. (Student) [mrankin at my.ccsu.edu]
>>>>>> Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 12:49 PM
>>>>>>
>>>>>> To: theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [theme-reviewers] splitting reviewers between queues
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'll do my best to follow your lead Chip. I've just been so busy lately
>>>>>> I
>>>>>> haven't had time to do many reviews. But I should be able to fit in one
>>>>>> theme a day.
>>>>>> ________________________________
>>>>>> From: theme-reviewers-bounces at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>> [theme-reviewers-bounces at lists.wordpress.org] on behalf of Chip Bennett
>>>>>> [chip at chipbennett.net]
>>>>>> Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 12:31 PM
>>>>>> To: theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [theme-reviewers] splitting reviewers between queues
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I don't think a paradigm shift is necessary (or helpful) at this point.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The bottom line is: about 10 tickets per day are submitted. Thus, we
>>>>>> need
>>>>>> about 10 tickets per day reviewed and closed, in order to keep up with
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> submission rate. We are approaching 100 people who have reviewed
>>>>>> Themes. If
>>>>>> every person with ticket privileges reviewed two tickets, we would
>>>>>> exhaust
>>>>>> the current queue entirely.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I've tried to push in the past to get reviewers to consider committing
>>>>>> to
>>>>>> a certain minimum level of participation, but as you've noted: it's not
>>>>>> practical. We ARE all volunteers, and all have extremely busy
>>>>>> schedules. (I
>>>>>> last saw a "40-hour work week" sometime last summer.) Efforts to get
>>>>>> such
>>>>>> commitments inevitably have the opposite effect, as IMX they have only
>>>>>> driven volunteers AWAY from contributing their time.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> That said: I'll do my best to lead by example. I will commit to
>>>>>> reviewing
>>>>>> one Theme per day, every day.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Chip
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 11:07 AM, Edward Caissie
>>>>>> <edward.caissie at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Although it shouldn't need to be written, but once again it appears a
>>>>>>> reminder appears to be needed ...
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> To the best of my knowledge, every member of the current Theme Review
>>>>>>> Team is a volunteer. Every member also has a "full work load" with
>>>>>>> many
>>>>>>> simply unable to devote any time to this volunteer activity during
>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>> scheduled time. Many of the volunteers have other additional WordPress
>>>>>>> related activities that add to their typical "40-hour week" work load.
>>>>>>> We
>>>>>>> all have lives, too ... so, quite simply, we give what time we can and
>>>>>>> look
>>>>>>> to the community to contribute some of their time. Wait times, as
>>>>>>> noted many
>>>>>>> times, are inversely proportional to the amount of volunteer reviewers
>>>>>>> available to do the work.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> We can appreciate the wait time is long and frustrating. This is not
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> only time this topic has been discussed, these are not the only ideas
>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>> have been considered. Unfortunately until their is perhaps a paradigm
>>>>>>> shift
>>>>>>> in regards to the WPTRT we may simply be forced to continue to endure
>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>> forge ahead under these conditions.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Cais.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 11:48 AM, Bruce Wampler
>>>>>>> <weavertheme at gmail.com>
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I would like to add my perspective on the review process.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I have been submitting one theme - with revisions and slight name
>>>>>>>> modifications - for almost two years now - starting with 2010 Weaver,
>>>>>>>> changed to simply Weaver, and now Weaver II.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Because Weaver II is a name change, and represents a total rewrite of
>>>>>>>> Weaver, it has been in the Priority Queue for almost 3 months now.
>>>>>>>> I've just
>>>>>>>> been sitting here waiting my turn.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> But seriously - three months for new themes? The past week, the
>>>>>>>> review
>>>>>>>> rate has been only one new theme reviewed.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> It is important to keep existing themes up to date - but to
>>>>>>>> essentially
>>>>>>>> have the new theme approval rate one a week will do nothing to
>>>>>>>> encourage
>>>>>>>> authors to submit new themes.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I had good reasons to change from Weaver to Weaver II, and perhaps
>>>>>>>> should have requested it be treated as a revision of the existing
>>>>>>>> approved
>>>>>>>> theme. But I don know if I knew three months ago, that I likely would
>>>>>>>> have
>>>>>>>> done things differently, including the possibility of simply
>>>>>>>> abandoning the
>>>>>>>> WP theme repository.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> But Weaver II represents a cutting edge theme/framework that has (or
>>>>>>>> had three months ago) really new features, including what I think is
>>>>>>>> likely
>>>>>>>> the best mobile support of any WP theme. It is really frustrating to
>>>>>>>> see it
>>>>>>>> languish in the queue.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I just think a almost three month wait is excessive, and will
>>>>>>>> seriously
>>>>>>>> discourage developers from developing and submitting new themes.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> The discussion of new 3.4 features seems almost silly since if the
>>>>>>>> new
>>>>>>>> queue theme stays at several months, it is likely that there won't be
>>>>>>>> any
>>>>>>>> new themes.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I believe is really important to keep fresh, new themes with cutting
>>>>>>>> edge features coming in for the future health of WordPress.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Just some thoughts. I believe something needs to be done. I'd
>>>>>>>> volunteer
>>>>>>>> to review some themes, but I have serious ethical concerns about
>>>>>>>> that, as
>>>>>>>> well as a full work load supporting my theme which has become very
>>>>>>>> popular
>>>>>>>> on its own while waiting on the queue.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Bruce Wampler
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>> theme-reviewers mailing list
>>>>>>>> theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>>>> http://lists.wordpress.org/mailman/listinfo/theme-reviewers
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>> theme-reviewers mailing list
>>>>>>> theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>>> http://lists.wordpress.org/mailman/listinfo/theme-reviewers
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> theme-reviewers mailing list
>>>>>> theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>> http://lists.wordpress.org/mailman/listinfo/theme-reviewers
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> cmans
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> theme-reviewers mailing list
>>> theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>> http://lists.wordpress.org/mailman/listinfo/theme-reviewers
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> My Blog: http://pross.org.uk/
>> Plugins : http://pross.org.uk/plugins/
>> Themes: http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/profile/pross
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>>
>> End of theme-reviewers Digest, Vol 20, Issue 60
>> ***********************************************
>>
>>
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