[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #31948: Make wp-content an svn external to official repositories

[WordPress Trac]

#31948: Make wp-content an svn external to official repositories
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 Reporter:  johnjamesjacoby  |      Owner:
     Type:  feature request  |     Status:  new
 Priority:  normal           |  Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  General          |    Version:
 Severity:  minor            |   Keywords:  2nd-opinion
  Focuses:                   |
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 I would like for the `wp-content` directory to be a Subversion external to
 the official repositories, for a few reasons I'll try my best to clarify
 below:

 * Since the `wp-content` directory can be relocated outside of WordPress,
 re/moving the bundled `wp-content` directory is an extra step. Leaving it
 be means committing and deploying an entire directory structure that's not
 utilized.
 * Plugins included in core are their own projects with their own
 development schedules, update cycles, teams, and goals. It's important to
 the project (for a myriad of reasons that aren't exactly relevant to this
 ticket) that WordPress come with examples of how it can be extended, but
 the complexities (both developmental and occasionally politically) make
 the bundle less ideal than it used to be.
 * Themes included in core are not supported or bundled in perpetuity,
 meaning Twenty Twelve and older are no longer included or updated as
 frequently. I had originally loved the idea of WordPress coming packaged
 with its own front-end legacy, but now feel maybe my perceived value
 wasn't worth the technical burden and archive size. Since core themes will
 be rotated out each year, and since themes have the same circumstances as
 plugins noted above, the `themes` directory sees even more activity than
 the `plugins` directory does.
 * Official zips and downloads would still continue to come packaged with
 the same `wp-content` directory as usual, and maybe a "lean" version
 without it could also be provided.

 Also (admittedly somewhat selfishly) I'd like the ability to:

 {{{
 svn export --force --ignore-externals
 https://core.svn.wordpress.org/trunk/ .
 }}}

 ...and not use WordPress's bundled `wp-content` directory ever.

 Yes, the results of this are easily scripted, and I've done that with a
 simple bash script. I think, though, this is more of a spiritual decision
 that is starting to be worth exploring – how flexible the project can be
 from core outwards to enable and embrace the application-platform aspect
 of WordPress by providing a totally vanilla codebase without its optional
 ingredients.

 Just some ideas and thoughts. Please feel free to talk this idea out,
 prioritize, close, ignore, etc... And thanks y'all for taking the time to
 read this potentially silly suggestion though to the end.

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/31948>
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