It's Episode 624 and we have a show for Good April Fools Easter Monday… Got a bit of WordPress news but no plugins this week. It's all coming up on WordPress Plugins A-Z!

~'good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you happen to be hiding out there on the globe today! Coming to you LIVE from …'~

Amber's Rant:

Welcome to Episode 624 – Good April Fools Easter Monday!

This is a pre-recorded show, didn't realize that Easter Monday fell on April Fools – i was kind of looking forward to reviewing some prankster plugins on the actual day of Loki – guess I will have to do that at a later date and be a little late to the party this year. Hopefully everyone is doing the fam-damly thing and enjoying some good grub! Personally I will be cooking at the time this is released for our fam-damly get together. 🙂

Our regular reminders before we start the show today….

Reminders:

• Reminder that our show is now every other week, and that it starts at 12:30 PM Pacific Time, with a pre-stream starting around 12:15 PM Pacific Time. Pre-stream is where we twiddle with the dials and knobs and really just warm up our voices, so join in for some entertainment value!
• Our show notes for each episode can be found at wppluginsatoz.com – the newest show notes will be up within 24 hours and on our front page!
• Don't forget that this is a value for value show, and that you are a big part of it's creation! You are our producers, and we need you to help us produce! Get out there and hit some like buttons, share an episode or two, and let people know that you help to produce the longest running WordPress Plugins podcast!

That's it for reminders! We won't be bringing the usual questions at the end of the show today, though if you listen in you might hear some thrown in here and there.

...When you see this in the notes, it means we didn't read this on the show. The only way to find this information out is to read our Show Notes!

…You can send any questions/suggestions or notes saying ‘hi' over to me at amber@wppro.ca, or hit up our site wpppluginsatoz.com/contact – Be creative with the title so that the spammer eater doesn't eat your note though!

***Would be great to find some sort of short jingle for this… like the sound from Final Fantasy when the bad guy is defeated/puzzle completed…***

Let's start the show with this weeks Featured Artist:

Artist: 

Sir Rogue of the Tavern – Barron of the Cowichan Valley
https://theroguesoasis.com/

a something to be said about the art piece

Feeling inspired? Send in your OWN masterpiece to: https://wppluginsatoz.com/artwork/.
You can go through the art vaults yourself to FIND some inspiration as well!

…We can NEVER have too much art!

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Breaking News in the WordPress World at large!! 

…If I missed something, shoot me a link at amber@wppro.ca – it may show up on the next show!

News this week:

WordPress Vulnerability Report – March 20, 2024
(https://solidwp.com/blog/wordpress-vulnerability-report-march-20-2024/) – At the time of writing this there were 186 Plugins – only 16 of them were unpatched. The way they seperate the two are unpatched at the top – at the very top is ‘HT Easy GA4 – Google Analytics WordPress Plugin‘ – this is a decenly known and used plugin with over 6000 installs – don't fall for the ‘popular so it will be fixed and kept up to date always quickly' thought process. Sometimes the least known plugins are the best for being up to date and being patched quickly.

WordPress Vulnerability Report from PatchStack
(https://patchstack.com/database/) – This is a great link we are keeping here, I've gotten used to their layout and they tend to be a bit more on the ball then SolidWP.

Synced Pattern Overrides punted, Font Library approved, as WordPress 6.5 nears release
(https://wptavern.com/synced-pattern-overrides-punted-font-library-approved-as-wordpress-6-5-nears-release) – This is a pretty decent in depth conversation about the new Font Library that is being brought into the core. An attempt was made at punting it again, but it managed to hang on and is being released in the core for 6.5. The main topics of conversation that revolved around the font library after the decision to release it with the Kraken was where the library was gonna be stored. (”The Font Library includes a new directory in wp-content/fonts, at the same level as plugins, themes, and more”)
Definitely an interesting read and worth taking the time to do so!

Scientists think ‘collective AI' will resemble Star Trek's Borg – only nicer (hopefully)
(https://thenextweb.com/news/collective-ai-will-resemble-star-trek-borg) – There is a paper that was published in this week's ‘Nature Machine Intelligence‘ – and in this paper researchers from MIT, Yale, and Loughborough University explained the concept of how a ‘collective AI' would resemble Star Trek species the Borg.
I mean, I don't think they are wrong! Together, the collective would turn their insights into mutual benefits, and rapidly learn to complete new tasks and respond to changes – think of our own evolution from 8 track to MP3 – now fast forward that into hours/days/weeks vs years. I'm honestly not sure how quickly they would learn and transform themselves… but it certainly would not take them as long as it took us to travel from 8 track to the MP3's we use now!
Really cool article that I recommend everyone check out this long weekend!

The Extras – check out our Facebook, or Twitter page for even more!

DE{CODE} strikes a chord, achieves record-setting attendance
(https://wpengine.com/blog/decode-sessions-now-available/) – worth checking out! They recorded what went on at the DE{CODE} 2024 and are sharing it out!

Matt Mullenweg to deliver State Of The Word 2024 from Tokyo, Japan
(https://wptavern.com/matt-mullenweg-to-deliver-state-of-the-word-2024-from-tokyo-japan) – Perhaps this will become a trend since this is the second time he will be doing this – the first will have been last year's State Of The Word which he delivered from Madrid, Spain.

Bluehost announced new Cloud Hosting built on WP Cloud
(https://wptavern.com/bluehost-announced-new-cloud-hosting-built-on-wp-cloud)

The WOrdPress Training Team's Big Changes: learning pathways and website redesign
(https://wptavern.com/the-wordpress-training-teams-big-changes-learning-pathways-and-website-redesign)

Inside DE{CODE} 2024, WP Engine's upcoming developer conference
(https://wptavern.com/inside-decode-2024-wp-engines-upcoming-developer-conference)

WordCamp Asia 2025 scheduled for next February in Manila, Philippines
(https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-asia-2025-scheduled-for-next-february-in-manila-philippines)

Certain WP Form plugins make accessibility easy
(https://wptavern.com/certain-wp-form-plugins-make-accessibility-easy)

WordPress developer docs shows off a new block-based redesign
(https://wptavern.com/wordpress-developer-docs-shows-off-a-new-block-based-redesign)

A pilot drew something in the sky and wrote ‘See Ya' during a 6-hour flight
(https://gizmodo.com/pilot-drawing-penis-see-ya-sky-ohio-flightradar24-1851285185)

YouTube Livestream captures moment Key Bridge collapses in Baltimore
(https://gizmodo.com/key-bridge-collapse-youtube-video-baltimore-maryland-1851365421)

Explaining something difficult is… difficult!
9https://poststatus.com/explaining-something-difficult-is-difficult/)

Top WordPress website hosting companies
(https://poststatus.com/top-wordpress-website-hosting-companies/)

This startup is building AI that can fly drones and make its own decisions
(https://thenextweb.com/news/neuroscience-human-brain-ai-startup-drone-flying-decisions)

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WordPress Tips

Even though this isn't really a scripted show today, I do have one bit of advice that may or may not be useful for our producers out there.

Working through holidays

As much as I talk about making sure you have time off during the holidays, there ARE times when you will have to work through them.

If you're a parent, this does NOT make you a terrible, horrible parent – it makes you a parent. You are not going to make every single dance recital, art group, or PAC meeting. It doesn't matter if you are working for yourself or someone else – it just won't happen.

Sometimes you need to prioritize – if there is a family get-together coming up – like Easter Dinner – and you know you aren't going to make it, spend some extra time with those who are going to be there beforehand. In this way, you are not really going to miss out on much as you will have seen these people in the weeks leading up to the holiday. this will do two things:

1- remove the guilt you will likely feel over not making the dinner.
2- get you spending time with your family more often. Even if it's only to make up for missing a dinner, one on one is often better anyways.

And make sure if you're a parent that you spend some time doing something with the kidlets before your working holiday comes up as well.

All bases covered, you are now ready to spend the entire long weekend cooped up in your office/living room working your rear off without any inturruptions – hopefully.

Working the holidays does happen – you just gotta pick and choose how it will impact you and those around you.

…Some random entertainment in the World of WordPress!

…Matt's Famous Quotes
https://www.idrlabs.com/quotes/matt-mullenweg.php

…The hall of shame via Automattic:
transparency.automattic.com/tag/hall-of-shame/

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How to reach us:

We have a real brick and mortar address where you can send in art and/or notes – you can find the address in our show notes!

WP Plugins A to Z
C/O John Overall 
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Canada

We also have virtual addresses too!

John:

• My website: http://www.johnoverall.com/  
• WordPress Emergency Support: http://wppro.ca/wpemergency
• email: john@wppro.ca

Amber:

• email: amber@wppro.ca

Chatter about wordpress

Information on the new release that was supposed to come out
(https://managewp.com/blog/whats-new-in-wordpress-6-5)

Seems it is delayed – seems that the release is now due for April 2nd, 2024
(https://www.searchenginejournal.com/wordpress-6-5-release-derailed-by-bugs-in-new-feature/512354/)

Also a bit more on whats coming down the pike for us with WordPress 6.5
(https://www.wpbeginner.com/news/whats-coming-in-wordpress-6-5-features-and-screenshots/)

Cwicly's unexpected farewell: Founder decides to discontinue development
(https://wptavern.com/cwiclys-unexpected-farewell-founder-decides-to-discontinue-development) – Cwicly's founder Louis-Alexander Désiré has announced that the team is discontinuing the Cwicly development “after much deliveration and soul-searching”. The reason that everyone seems so surprised is because “Cwicly is the only builder currently that interacts directly with the whole Gutenberg ecosystem and adds specialized blocks that are complemenatry and fully compatible with Gutenberg.” – as the description in AppSumo states.
The reasons stated are due to “the relentless onslaught of destructive posts and comments by certain WordPress influencers”. and “Personal attacks on both myself and team members have been made and openly tolerated throughout. The negativity and hostility directed towards Cwicly, especially in comparison to other page builders, have taken a significant toll on our morale and motivation.”
And this is not something that has not been talked about or mentioned before – I don't know how many plugin and/or page builder developers have just up and quit because of attacks from WordPress Influencers. This article does its best to go through and debunk any misinformation here, though I doubt they have the whole story. We looking in never get the whole picture, just snippets of it.