Author: Edward Caissie

WordPress Support Technician, Developer, Designer; Chess Enthusiast; Photographer; Guitar player … I am Cais.
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Time Flies

I cannot believe it has been 10 days since I last made a new post here. I do not even have the excuse of being busy posting on my other sites although there have been a few posts made.

I wrote about the lastest release of one of my plugins, BNS Featured Tag version 1.8.1 on October 3, 2010. It was more or less my standard announcement post when I release a new version of a plugin.

A few days later, I wrote about the latest version of Ground Floor, 1.6, on October 6. Again, a simple announcement post for one of my free WordPress Themes.

The following day I posted an article at WPFirstAid.com under my nom de plume for that blog of The Doctor. The gyst of the article was how to Extend the WordPress Menu, referring to adding content to the wp_nav_menu() function output. I started writing the post on October 6 and published it on October 7 as I found it a bit more involved to explain the technique for everyday use after it had been sorted out.

Yesterday, October 12, I wrote a post for the just opened domain WPTRT.com. I registered the domain a little while ago for any potential uses the WordPress Theme Review Team (WPTRT) may need that were not readily available. The post itself was a summary of the First Meeting the WPTRT held on October 9, 2010 (via IRC).

It seems I have been busy doing a great many things I enjoy over the past 10 days which proves the old adage:

time flies when you’re having fun!

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Challengers

It never ceases to amaze me how people can believe being antagonistic will actually improve any given situation unless their goal is to make the process more arduous for themselves before their commentary was made.

Of course there are individuals that do prefer to challenge themselves by purposely creating barriers for going forward but it just seems much more sensible to try to communicate in a more cordial manner than behaving as though the rules should not apply to them in the first place.

C’est la vie.

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WPTRT Permission Sets

Another new development with the WordPress Theme Review Team (WPTRT) is the additional responsibility of managing the Theme Trac system. Below are the basic permission sets, with links to the Trac wiki for additional details. Currently there are four basic sets in the following top-down order:

  • reviewer-manager

    • PERMISSION_ADMIN – All PERMISSION_* permissions

  • reviewers

    • TICKET_CREATE – Create new tickets

       (also allows for the re-opening of tickets)

      TICKET_MODIFY – Includes both TICKET_APPEND and TICKET_CHGPROP, and in addition allows resolving tickets. Tickets can be assigned to users through a drop-down list when the list of possible owners has been restricted.

      • TICKET_APPEND – Add comments or attachments to tickets

        TICKET_CHGPROP – Modify ticket properties (priority, assignment, keywords, etc.) with the following exceptions: edit description field, add/remove other users from cc field when logged in, and set email to pref

  • authenticated

    • TICKET_APPEND – Add comments or attachments to tickets

      TICKET_EDIT_CC – Full modify cc field

      WIKI_CREATE – Create new wiki pages

      WIKI_MODIFY – Change wiki pages

  • anonymous

    • MILESTONE_VIEW – View milestones and assign tickets to milestones.

      REPORT_SQL_VIEW – View the underlying SQL query of a report

      REPORT_VIEW – View reports, i.e. the "view tickets" link.

      ROADMAP_VIEW – View the roadmap page, is not (yet) the same as MILESTONE_VIEW, see #4292

      SEARCH_VIEW – View and execute search queries

      TICKET_VIEW – View existing tickets and perform ticket queries

      TIMELINE_VIEW – View the timeline page

      WIKI_VIEW – View existing wiki pages

      Repository Browser – ALL Views

The above permissions are based on a standard installation of Trac with the addition of the user groups: reviewer-manager and reviewers. The reviewer-manage group consists of Simon Prosser and myself. The reviewers group will consist of those users who have been actively participating in Theme reviews and consistently following the Theme Review page guidelines and standards as the basis for their review comments.

The authenticated group is all users who are logged in. To log in just use your WordPress.org username and password. This is essentially the default group and will allow logged in users to make comments on tickets. This provides authors and other interested individuals the ability to use the Trac system to communicate their concerns, questions, or complaints in regards to their relevant ticket(s). This will also allow for new users to become involved with the Theme Review Team as well. Although this group does not have permission to resolve tickets they are more than able to do a full review and participate in the process.

The anonymous group simply allows for all the relevant viewing permissions so you can look around and read without having to log in.

As an aside, I developed the above list with the help of the Mindmap software Freeplane, if you are interested in a copy of the mindmap download this file. (You may have to right-click and Save Link As … with a .mm extension.)

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Manna and Music

These items just struck me as having a great photogenic and blogging potential: my Filthy Chai Grande; and, a brand new Apple iPod Nano. The picture was taken with my iPhone and uploaded via the WordPress app.

Starbucks Filthy Chai and Apple iPod Nano

I used my Starbucks card to pay for my Chai, it was pre-loaded earlier this week. The hand-written drink order on the side of the cup just looks so naturally part of the design, its as though the cup was printed just like it appears. Quality penmanship is becoming more and more rare in these days of digitality that when you come across fine example such as this one it should be shared. Also to note, Starbucks in Canada also offers free wi-fi to everyone.

My wife and I used Airmiles to get the iPod Nano for our daughter, Jackie. It arrived at my desk this morning; I had not thought about seeing it anytime soon as the confirmation suggested it would be two to three weeks before we would see it. It’s soooo small! … and, it still has a serious “cool” factor about it. Besides, we had to do something with all those airmiles.

Just looking at the two items on my desk made me think what a great picture this would make … the rest of the post is just my usual musings.

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Featured Themes

Hard work and keeping focused on the potential benefits of the tasks at hand can bring unexpected rewards.

It’s been three months since I joined the WordPress Theme Review Team (WPTRT). Today, Simon Prosser and I were granted moderator privileges to the Extend/Themes forum at WordPress.org.

Our privileges at WordPress.org allow us to: take a theme submitted for review “live” if it passes all of the Theme Review criteria; “mark as old” if it does not; or, suspend the theme, if necessary or requested.

Our latest bump allows us to now be directly involved in selecting which themes are listed under the Featured Themes heading on the main page of the Extend Themes repository page.

The Theme Reviewers intent is to involve the community as much as possible in the selection process. There are currently no set guidelines we will be using, aside from the requirement that themes being considered will need to meet current Theme Review guidelines and standards … with the emphasis being on currently released themes.

Now, as community members ask how are Featured Themes chosen I would like to extend to the community the opportunity to recommend the general guidelines for choosing the themes to be shortlisted … perhaps additional related criteria the WPTRT should consider … or maybe even who should be choosing the actual themes to be featured?

As the WPTRT Lead I am not looking for which theme you want to recommend, yet, but I am looking for why any particular theme should be recommended. What criteria would you use?

Take advantage of this opportunity and leave a comment. Share your thoughts and ideas on choosing Featured Themes.

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Helping Hands

It always seems to get the busiest when you least expect to be busy. Where has all the time gone, I have not posted here in just over a week and before that it seems I was not to be found nearby either.

Let’s call this another update post and I will relate what is new in the last little while …

I have acquired more domains, I think I am getting to be a little addicted to buying domain names … is there a 12-step program I should be looking for? The latest domains are:

Although I am the person of record for these domain names they really are for one of my wife’s, Terri, pet projects. The RatTrain.com site will be used primarily as a hub of information for the transportation of fancy pet rats from one place, typically a rescue operation, to their forever (sometimes foster) home. The volunteers that we hope to see get involved in this are in no way restricted to just moving rats but are also encouraged to move any breed they are comfortable transporting as well.

The idea of helping all animals, especially those found in animal rescue organizations prompted the idea to also register the RescueRelay.com name (which will be temporarily “parked” on the RatTrain.com servers).

My thoughts are as the RatTrain expands to other breeds of pets, we will easily be able to open up the RescueRelay site to help with consolidating that information into one central hub, too.

In the meantime, if you are able to help, by all means please do. There are many animal resuces that could always use more help; food, supplies, transportation … even your time … all donations would be welcome.

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Here or There

Although I have not been writing as much on this site of late I have been posting on my other sites. Here is a short recap from the last week:

  • WPFirstAid: An Implementation of wp_nav_menu – This article will show how to implement the wp_nav_menu() function using the wp_list_pages() function as a fallback.
  • BuyNowShop: Shades 1.6 – The free WordPress Theme Shades version 1.6 is now live as of September 14, 2010.
  • Rattitude: H2 – … aka Aramis, one of our three boys from the Toronto Humane Society is this week’s Rat of the Week.

A short interlude of space and time can always be filled with substance from another place.

Is it a benefit or detriment to write on more than one site?

Some might argue the case it is splitting your readership to post on several sites while others may put forward the thought that each site represents a distinct content set.

I agree with the latter idea, but I can understand the merits to the first camp’s premise of keeping your readers focused on one site to better maintain their interest. It is under that same premise that I generally separate my content so my readers are able to focus on like content aside from it all being from the same author.

If you write on multiple sites, how do you separate your post ideas?

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Eleven Oh Eight

Sometimes you just need to take what you can get … and today that is 11:08PM, when I started writing this post.

Five minutes in and I am stumbling about the keyboard; and, I’m not really having much to think about or write for that matter. The ideas are fleeting and I am just writing steam of conscience thoughts. Really just whatever comes to mind tonight although it really is rather thin and tenuous.

Ten minutes in now, and I’m still not really getting anywhere with this post, but more than anything else I am looking forward to having a new post with the latest variation of the Shades theme that I recently uploaded to the WordPress.org repository. Being deferred to as the team lead would allow me the luxury of approving my own theme without review, the most correct method is to have another team member give it the once over just in case I missed something.

Seventeen minutes and I am bringing this post to a close … sometimes you get what you can and move on.

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WPCandy Interview Posted

Take a surf over to Ryan Imel’s WPCandy.com and watch the interview I wrote about earlier.

I watched the interview earlier today; and, as Ryan said he was planning, it is presented in a “natural” format. Although there are a few spliced in video sequences showing various related web sites to the interview, the audio sounds fully intact.

Have a look and a listen; and, if Ryan wants to interview you say: Yes. It’s an enjoyable experience, even for someone like myself who is not too keen on public speaking most days.

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Patience

Biding ones time is likely the most common form of patience shown, or in other words patience is the art of waiting; but, what does waiting accomplish for the patient person?

You may often gain a clearer picture of a situation with unseen influences and unknown circumstances becoming apparent after a judicious application of patience.

The patient fisherman waits for just the right moment to set the hook before reeling in their catch. The seasoned farmer practices patience waiting to reap the greatest harvest. A wily adversary will wait patiently for their opponent to make an error and capitalize on it.

… and some would even say:

Revenge is a dish best served cold.
an old French proverb*

*NB: In early literature this proverb is used, usually, to persuade another to forestall vengeance until wisdom can reassert itself although this ideal is lost in more recent occurrences found in literature and the cinema.