[theme-reviewers] Default images, Twitter demo, and an option to remove credit link?

[Bryan Hadaway]

"*The theme has more than a dozen options and there is no option for the
user to  change/remove the Cyberchimp logo at the footer correctly without
knowing code. If the user who does not know any better deletes
*

*<?php do_action('cyberchimps_footer'**); ?>
*

*in footer.php, it will delete the logo of Cyberchimps as well as delete
the block where the user can configure copyright information.

While welcoming to theme designers/developers, isn't the theme review team
there to protect/help the users as well?


Mercime*"

This whole thing is irrelevant. I would say 99% of all the free repo themes
have a credit in them (which is an encouraged standard). I would say 99% of
that 99% don't have any special feature that allows the user to turn off
the footer credit no matter how many options they've packed in there. In
fact, I don't know of any free themes that have this option and almost all
require the user to manually hack the theme to remove a credit, this is
pretty common.

In fact, most would argue that it's frowned upon that users would remove
the footer credit (sometimes even replacing with their own) when they're
getting a theme for free in the first place. I personal don't care free or
premium, when a user/customer gets a theme from me, I encourage them to
hack up the theme however they like regardless of the GPL (which gives them
that protection/freedom in writing). That's just basic decency.

The only reason a lot of premium themes have an option to remove the credit
in the first place is because it's a pretty obvious obligatory thing. If
they're paying they should be able to white label the thing. That's the
correct thinking. It's not that developers are trying to coax users to buy
pro by hiding credit removal behind a paywall or anything so devious.

And hey, if there are free theme authors out there that offer an option to
remove their credit or heck, don't even credit their work to begin with,
that's great, that's their option as is it the option of the majority of
other authors to hard-code a credit in, like signing a painting.

There is no ethical gray area here, it's all just fine. Ever even leaning
towards having to provide some setting to remove a credit in a free theme
is just silly, especially when many themes don't have options to begin
with. But, because some do (which can be considered doing more for the user
already), they should provide an additional feature to remove the credit of
their work? Doesn't make any sense however you shake a stick at it.

"*Here's a point - How many option is too many?*"

Hah! As far as users and customers are concerned there can never be too
many. I constantly have the difficult task of explaining why we won't be
adding the checkbox option for magical ponies cause we can't over bloat the
given theme with too many options that aren't going to benefit the greater
majority of what's wanted in a theme by the rest of the community.

If we lived in a world full of genius web designers/programmers the answer
would be 1. 1 option is too many, get in there and do it manually, all of
it! Not the world we live in though. Thank goodness too, because a lot of
us would be out of work if that was the case :(.
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