[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #45949: Allow plugins or themes to supply their own message when they caused a WSOD

[WordPress Trac]

#45949: Allow plugins or themes to supply their own message when they caused a WSOD
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 Reporter:  Shelob9      |      Owner:  (none)
     Type:  enhancement  |     Status:  new
 Priority:  normal       |  Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  General      |    Version:
 Severity:  normal       |   Keywords:
  Focuses:               |
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 #44524 "introduces a WP_Shutdown_Handler class that detects fatal errors
 and which extension (plugin or theme) causes them. Such an error is then
 recorded, and an error message is displayed." which is super cool. That
 change adds a generic recommendations for getting support that I think are
 a great default.

 I was talking about this with @antpb the other day and we discussed how if
 a plugin causes the crash, that plugin or theme should be able to
 communicate how to get help. If not, the WordPress user is going to go to
 WordPress.org/support or the host and eventually, hopefully make it to the
 plugin's actual support system, which for a commercial plugin is likely
 not WordPress.org. They might also go to the host who can help identify
 which plugin or theme is to blame and then send the user to the plugin/
 theme support.

 That's a really bad user experience, they have a problem they want to go
 right to how to fix it.

 If plugins and themes could supply a message for how to get support right
 away when things broke, that would be so much better.

 The main problem we saw was that if there is a filter for the messages,
 but how does the plugin that just got deactivated due to error hook into
 that filter?

 https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/trunk/src/wp-includes/class-wp-
 shutdown-handler.php?rev=44524#L171

 So we figured it could be a markdown file in the plugins repo. WordPress
 could look in its file system for a file called error.md in the main
 directory of the plugin/ theme that just errored or it could look on
 WordPress.org for that file. Either way, it doesn't have to load the
 plugin's main PHP file and the content of that file would be covered by
 the WordPress.org plugin guidelines.

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/45949>
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