[theme-reviewers] Question: Someone Want to Take Benefit From a'Top Reviewer of the Month'.

Chip Bennett chip at chipbennett.net
Wed Jan 29 21:04:54 UTC 2014 

I would rather new reviewers try their hand at existing Themes, and ask
questions when they need help. The review request queue has a link to a
tutorial for how to conduct a review, and links to the needed Plugins.


On Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 4:02 PM, Srikanth Koneru <tskk79 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Is it possible to have a few test(defective) themes which new reviewers
> have to review and correct instead of being assigned actual tickets?
> Like a training class with an admin or other senior reviewer.
> This way new reviewers will know what to look for and do actual reviews
> correctly.
>
>
> On Thu, Jan 30, 2014 at 2:26 AM, Chip Bennett <chip at chipbennett.net>wrote:
>
>> Honestly, it's not a matter of not having enough resources to police the
>> program. The biggest issue right now is obviously inadequate reviews that
>> admins have to spend a great deal of time auditing and reopening. (On
>> average, I have to reopen about 9 out of every 10 approved Themes that I
>> audit.)
>>
>> Part of that is on us; we need to find better ways of providing education
>> and tools needed to conduct reviews. But part of that is on reviewers
>> simply not doing due diligence before resolving Themes as approved.
>>
>> As for the success of the program itself: I disagree that it has not
>> worked. We have increased the rate of overall Theme approval several-fold.
>>
>> Essentially, you want to end the incentive program because Responsive was
>> de-listed from the Featured Themes list? I'm sorry that Responsive being
>> de-listed seemed unfair, but no Theme (other than core Themes) is
>> *entitled* to be listed as "Featured". I never wanted to be involved with
>> Featured Themes selection to begin with. I want to focus on seeing great
>> new Themes reviewed and approved, and getting them into end users' hands.
>> But the WPTRT has been tasked, in part, with helping to manage that list.
>> The only fair way I could see to do so was to come up with a way for all
>> reviewers to have the opportunity to select Themes.
>>
>> As for making the process more inclusive: that will be part of the
>> changes coming next month. But along with increased inclusiveness will come
>> increased accountability.
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 3:41 PM, Trent Lapinski <trent at cyberchimps.com>wrote:
>>
>>> How are you guys going to police this when you can't even regularly
>>> honor the contest itself in the first place? The current featured themes
>>> were last updated in November.
>>>
>>> Right now the way the contest is setup, the person or company who pays
>>> the most to do the most reviews wins. That's not a contest. That's not
>>> democracy. That's not open source.
>>>
>>> Please end this contest, it's a failed experiment that isn't fair to
>>> anyone involved. CyberChimps and any other theme shop or single developer
>>> should all have an equal opportunity to be featured. Again, the best themes
>>> should be featured. If that means my themes are never featured again
>>> because others are making better themes then so be it.
>>>
>>> The .org admins clearly don't have the resources, or time to police and
>>> run such a contest, and the overall concept doesn't make sense to begin
>>> with. We all knew this would be gamed, and now we're going to start banning
>>> people for doing what they were encouraged to do by the admins? How does
>>> that make any sense?
>>>
>>> -Trent
>>> CEO CyberChimps Inc.
>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>
>>> On Jan 29, 2014, at 12:29 PM, Chip Bennett <chip at chipbennett.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> Well one of those issues we can address immediately: nobody should be
>>> assigning multiple tickets at a time. Assign one ticket at a time, and post
>>> (full) review comments, before moving on to another ticket.
>>>
>>> If it appears that anyone is attempting to game the system by hogging
>>> tickets for new Themes - at the sole discretion of the admins (and Otto,
>>> who isn't exactly known to deal with such things with kid gloves) - we will
>>> handle such gaming appropriately.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 3:24 PM, Trent Lapinski <trent at cyberchimps.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>> As the owner of a theme shop (CyberChimps) being forced by the .org
>>>> admins to now pay employees to do theme reviews I inherently hate that we
>>>> are being forced win the contest to keep our themes featured.
>>>>
>>>> We use to do theme reviews to contribute to the community but now that
>>>> we're being forced to do them to be able to afford to support our themes it
>>>> feels more like extortion then a community contribution.
>>>>
>>>> Responsive has had over a million downloads, and is the most people
>>>> theme on .org that isn't a default theme. We were featured for some time,
>>>> but were unfeatured without explanation and saw a dramatic decline in
>>>> downloads, and revenue. Now we're stuck maintaining a massive theme that is
>>>> no longer supporting itself, providing support and maintaining a popular
>>>> theme like Responsive isn't cheap. You'd think .org would want to reward
>>>> their most popular theme, instead we're having to delay the release of 2.0,
>>>> and are being forced to rededicate our resources to win the review contest
>>>> so we can get downloads and revenue back up so we can even continue
>>>> development.
>>>>
>>>> We point blank have asked .org admins what we can do to be considered
>>>> for being featured again and there answer was to pay people to win the
>>>> contest every month. A contest that isn't even being maintained monthly,
>>>> that is being gamed by other theme shops.
>>>>
>>>> What was once a community contribution has been turned into a confusing
>>>> nightmare. We can't even get themes to review because other theme shops are
>>>> assigning themselves everything ticket immediately. The system is
>>>> absolutely being gamed, and soon the cost of entry won't even be feasible
>>>> for CyberChimps, so I have no idea how anyone else is going to even have a
>>>> chance.
>>>>
>>>> We should be rewarding the best and most popular themes, not extorting
>>>> theme shops and preventing everyone else from being featured. Theme reviews
>>>> should be a community contribution and have nothing to do with featured
>>>> themes.
>>>>
>>>> -Trent
>>>> CEO CyberChimps Inc.
>>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>>
>>>> On Jan 29, 2014, at 11:49 AM, Srikanth Koneru <tskk79 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Not possible for an individual to compete against the might of theme
>>>> shops. They can have 4 guys reviewing 4 themes simultaneously.
>>>> Was this vote admin only vote? don't recall it on the list.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Thu, Jan 30, 2014 at 1:14 AM, Edward Caissie <
>>>> edward.caissie at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I was originally out-voted on not allowing "theme shops" have one
>>>>> account for all of their employees to use as I was concerned it would
>>>>> create an "unfair advantage" for them to choose a Featured Theme (and why
>>>>> wouldn't they choose their own?) so there is not much more I can add to
>>>>> this conversation except to say I agree for the most part with Otto's
>>>>> responses.
>>>>>
>>>>> Edward Caissie
>>>>> aka Cais.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 2:21 PM, Philip M. Hofer (Frumph) <
>>>>> philip at frumph.net> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>   Could always have the random themes that display be pulled by date
>>>>>> as well, max 1 year since last update sort of thing.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>  *From:* Jose Castaneda <jomcastaneda at gmail.com>
>>>>>> *Sent:* Wednesday, January 29, 2014 11:14 AM
>>>>>> *To:* Discussion list for WordPress theme reviewers.<theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org>
>>>>>> *Subject:* Re: [theme-reviewers] Question: Someone Want to Take
>>>>>> Benefit From a'Top Reviewer of the Month'.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>  I think the issue that arose was exploiting the system by reviewing
>>>>>> that persons theme regardless of position in the queue of tickets.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> At least that is my take. I received a similar email about two months
>>>>>> back. I never responded, just deleted it.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Jan 29, 2014, at 11:01 AM, Rohit Tripathi <rohitink at live.com>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>  A Very Good Point raised by Emil.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>  ------------------------------
>>>>>> Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 12:52:26 -0600
>>>>>> From: emil at uzelac.me
>>>>>> To: theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [theme-reviewers] Question: Someone Want to Take Benefit
>>>>>> From a 'Top Reviewer of the Month'.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>  I am with Chip here, paying your employee or employ someone
>>>>>> is 100% the same, no difference whatsoever.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The moment we said yes to commercial Theme shops to have their
>>>>>> people review tickets under a single username, is the moment we
>>>>>> allowed
>>>>>> this very thing as well. Not sure what is the problem?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Every time one of us mentions Featured Themes, entire* community jumps
>>>>>> on. When we need help, only few of us replies. How come?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://make.wordpress.org/themes/2014/01/28/time-for-a-new-team-rep/
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 11:51 AM, Srikanth Koneru <tskk79 at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> all 3 options can be manipulated unfortunately, admin choice is fine
>>>>>> but a bit more frequently would be nice.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 11:19 PM, Konrad Sroka <
>>>>>> konrads at themekraft.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>  Otto +10000
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Why not get rid of the featured themes sections like it is now and
>>>>>> have a filter for
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "most downloaded" and "best rated"
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Maybe add a filter or tag for commercially supported themes, so you
>>>>>> know you can get professional support and stuff like that..
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Or make a poll on wordpress.org twice a year and the results are the
>>>>>> "featured" themes
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Cheers, Konrad
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 29 January 2014 18:25, Rohit Tripathi <rohitink at live.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>  I am not in favour of switching Featured themes to a Random Themes
>>>>>> Section. Because Many themes in the repository are outdated or not fully
>>>>>> compatible with recent versions of WP.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> +1 for the Redesign of landing Page.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> :)
>>>>>>
>>>>>>  ------------------------------
>>>>>> From: zulfikarnore at live.com
>>>>>> To: theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>> Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 17:11:33 +0000
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [theme-reviewers] Question: Someone Want to Take Benefit
>>>>>> From a 'Top Reviewer of the Month'.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Part of the original question asked "has this happened to anyone"
>>>>>> (not the exact words) - the answer is yes, not once not twice but a good
>>>>>> few times. Initial response? I responded with not part of my business
>>>>>> plan/working model! Then followed by "mark as junk" and now that is where
>>>>>> (if any) those emails land and deleted without a first look never mind a
>>>>>> second.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> For me the incentive scheme and having a theme featured for my hard
>>>>>> work is only a bonus - true benefit is derived from learning code as Otto
>>>>>> said. The real reward out of it all will be when one day I create a theme
>>>>>> from scratch, submit, have it reviewed, approved and made live without a
>>>>>> single issue being raised - now that is (will be) the achievement :)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> So,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 1) Should we be paid to review themes in order to win and get the
>>>>>> payer's theme featured? Certainly Not!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 2) Should commercial theme shops pay their employees to review for
>>>>>> the same end in mind? Weather they get a theme featured or not they are
>>>>>> going to pay their employee regardless. So that is their prerogative - but
>>>>>> should they hire for the sole purpose of reviewing and getting featured? To
>>>>>> me that is no any difference to 1 above and is a No!, but who is going to
>>>>>> police it?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Solution? Switch the "Featured themes" section to a "Random themes"
>>>>>> section and let the system cycle though all and any theme on a given time
>>>>>> period and everyone is a winner. Easier said than done with over 2000
>>>>>> themes I know :)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I second and +1 the call for a redesign of the landing page.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>  ------------------------------
>>>>>> From: christine at bluelimemedia.com
>>>>>> Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 08:02:39 -0800
>>>>>> To: theme-reviewers at lists.wordpress.org
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [theme-reviewers] Question: Someone Want to Take Benefit
>>>>>> From a 'Top Reviewer of the Month'.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Awesome, I'll see what I can do.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Christine Rondeau
>>>>>> Bluelime Media
>>>>>> www.bluelimemedia.com
>>>>>> twitter: @bluelimemedia
>>>>>> skype: bluelimemedia
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 7:58 AM, Otto <otto at ottodestruct.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 9:56 AM, Christine Rondeau
>>>>>> <christine at bluelimemedia.com> wrote:
>>>>>> > I still think that
>>>>>> > rethinking the theme landing page with a better more visual design
>>>>>> would be
>>>>>> > nice.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I wholeheartedly agree. Poke your designer friends. We need a better
>>>>>> design. :)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> -Otto
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>> http://lists.wordpress.org/mailman/listinfo/theme-reviewers
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>>>>>>
>>>>>>
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>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>>
>>>>>> i.A. Konrad Sroka
>>>>>> Themekraft  UG haftungsbeschränkt
>>>>>> Beautiful Themes and Plugins for WordPress and BuddyPress
>>>>>> web - http://themekraft.com
>>>>>> mail - konrads at themekraft.com
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Höhenstrasse 55
>>>>>> D-40227 Düsseldorf
>>>>>> Germany
>>>>>> HRB 66772, Gerichtsstand Düsseldorf, deutsches Recht
>>>>>> Geschäftsführung / Managing Director: Sven Lehnert
>>>>>> USt-ID: DE282376267
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
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>>>>>>
>>>>>>
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>>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>>
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