Keeping Plugins Working Together

John's Intro:

It's Episode 599 and we have plugins for  Customizing Logins, Creating with ChatGPT… and WordPress News. 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 599 – Keeping Plugins Working Together – We've got a couple of great in-depth plugins to cover for you, some recent news in both the WordPress World and the Tech World in general, and some awesome WordPress Tips!

Kind of amazing that you can get worse sunburns on cloudy warm days than on the hot clear sky days – make sure you are being careful when potting those plants this Spring!

Some reminders before we start the show today….

Reminders:

• Remember that the show 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, don't forget to stick around until the end of the show for some possibly life altering advice!

…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!

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

Artist: 

Greg's Graphics (Greg Holdsworth)  — https://gregsgraphics.com

Going through the Art Vaults is awesome, but we would love some new art! You can send it into us at https://wppluginsatoz.com/artwork/. You can also check out the art vaults yourself there too!

…We can NEVER have too much art!

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 – May 3, 2023 (https://ithemes.com/blog/wordpress-vulnerability-report-may-3-2023/) – Decent list of plugins with patches, and a rather long list of plugins with issues. The ones I most easily recognize are: Simple Share Buttons Adder, Simple Tooltips, Redirect After Login, Layer Slider, and Simple Giveaways. There are a lot more, so be sure to check out the list yourself.

No Theme Vulnerabilities this week!

Priced out of API access: Jetpack and WordPress.com discontinue support for Twitter auto-sharing (https://wptavern.com/priced-out-of-api-access-jetpack-and-wordpress-com-discontinue-support-for-twitter-auto-sharing) – Jetpack and WordPress.com have announced that they will no longer be supporting the Twitter API in their products. Although WordPress.com's access to the API was reinstated for a few weeks, the company has now been priced out of offering features that rely on Twitter's API. There are no major details, though if you are interested in the basic cost coverage you can check out the link in our show notes to read more.

Caseproof Acquires WishList Member (https://wptavern.com/caseproof-acquires-wishlist-member) – The makers of MemberPress Caseproof has acquired WishList Products, the parent company of WishList Member and CourseCure. The WishList team have gone along with the package – except for the co-founder Tracy Childers who will continue supporting and developing the products under the leadership of Caseproof founder Blair Williams. Hopefully this does not mean crazy changes down the road, though if you are a user of WishList, you may want to get ready for some ‘bettering your user experience' type changes coming your way.

Gutenberg 15.7 adds site logo upload to inspector controls (https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-15-7-adds-site-logo-upload-to-inspector-controls) – If you have a look on the controls sidebar, you will now see the inspector controls. The feature is still available in the block toolbar, but being in the sidebar seems a more natural addition to the inspector. I've always liked it when creators make it so that their additions don't actually change what you are used to, just add something to make things a little more accessible. There are a few more things that have been added such as Duotone filter controls, image placeholders, and template pattern suggestions. If you are interested in finding out more you can check out our show notes for the link!

WordPress Themes Team releases Stacks: A community theme for building Slide Decks (https://wptavern.com/wordpress-themes-team-releases-stacks-a-community-theme-for-building-slide-decks) – A new block theme called ‘Stacks' has been released by the Theme Team as part of the Community Themes initiative that was proposed earlier this year. Stacks was created specifically to create slide decks that can be used for a presentation. Designed and built by Saxon Fletcher with the help of Automattic-sponsored contributor Ben Dwyer. To find out more you can check out our show notes for the link!

WordPress marketing team launches “from blogs to blocks” campaign ahead of the 20th anniversary (https://wptavern.com/wordpress-marketing-team-launches-from-blogs-to-blocks-campaign-ahead-of-20th-anniversary) – Blogs to Blocks was released in anticipation of the project's upcoming 20th anniversary. Lots of project's are coming up as celebration for this major milestone, a lot of activities too like local Meetups. Blogs to Blocks is a creation of intentional moments for the WordPress community to reflect on the journey that has been taken so far. The campaign will feature 20 days of WordPress-related prompts for users to engage in different actions designed to start conversations and stir memories. This sounds like it might be fun!

First round of WordCamp US 2023 tickets sold out (https://wptavern.com/first-round-of-wordcamp-us-2023-tickets-sold-out) – The tickets all sold out within hours of going on sale – though there will be another round for ticket sales coming out. The WordCamp US is happening August 24-26, 2023 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Tickets are $50 and include access to 40 speaker presentations in the main event, workshops, networking meetups, lunch each day, snacks and beverages, the WordFest party, a t-shirt, and a surprise gift. Contributor Day tickets are separate and will be available soon. If you are interested in learning about the second round of tickets coming out you can check out our show notes!

New WP speakers website helps event organizers find speakers (https://wptavern.com/new-wp-speakers-website-helps-event-organizers-find-speakers) – Director of Community Engagement at StellarWP Michelle Frechette has launched a new independent project called WP Speakers. This project helps event organizers to find available speakers for WordPress meetups, WordCamps, podcasts, and other events. The site offers a database of speakers that is free to join, and free to search! If this sounds like something you might find helpful, it is free to sign up and worth at least checking out! You can find the link in our show notes.

We're closer than ever before to creating a real lightsaber (https://thenextweb.com/news/how-to-make-a-lightsaber-star-wars-day) – Yes, a REAL lightsaber! One that cuts through ANYthing! This article goes through and first explains each seperate thing that is needed to create a lightsaber. You know, the swooshing noise, the glowing, being able to cross them in a fight yet also be able to cut through anything – then moves onto what exists on this planet to create these items. The two main things holding us back at this point, is the fuel and the dueling. We haven't quite figured out how to make the fueling system dense enough to properly cross the lightsabers in a duel – though since we are making leaps and bounds perhaps the only thing left in the near future will be to decide what colour you want yours to be!

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

German chip plant breaks ground in ‘major step forward' for EU's semiconductor industry (https://thenextweb.com/news/german-chip-plant-breaks-ground-semiconductor-industry-infineon)

UK competition watchdog probes AI market amid safety concerns (https://thenextweb.com/news/uk-competition-watchdog-probes-ai-market-amid-safety-concerns)

23% of jobs to be disrupted in the next 5 years, WEF predicts (https://thenextweb.com/news/23-percent-of-jobs-disrupted-next-5-years-wef-predicts)

AI ‘godfather' quits Google and warns of dangers ahead (https://thenextweb.com/news/ai-godfather-quits-google-warns-of-dangers-ahead)

“closed for business:” UK competition watchdog blocks Microsoft's acquisition to Activision (https://thenextweb.com/news/uk-competition-watchdog-blocks-microsofts-acquisition-activision)

UK-based DeepMind merges with Google Brain in transatlantic AI tie-up (https://thenextweb.com/news/google-deepmind-merges-google-brain-ai-race)

Researchers instantly crack simple passwords with AI (https://www.technewsworld.com/story/researchers-instantly-crack-simple-passwords-with-ai-178233.html)

Social Media fueled the run on Silicon Valley bank: study (https://www.technewsworld.com/story/social-media-fueled-the-run-on-silicon-valley-bank-study-178230.html)

3 big generative AI problems yet to be addressed (https://www.technewsworld.com/story/3-big-generative-ai-problems-yet-to-be-addressed-178213.html)

Generative AI is here: Forrester offers tech execs tips on next steps (https://www.technewsworld.com/story/generative-ai-is-here-forrester-offers-tech-execs-tips-on-next-steps-178204.html)

Your first digital twin assistant and the future of video entertainment (https://www.technewsworld.com/story/your-first-digital-twin-assistant-and-the-future-of-video-entertainment-178172.html)

Gen AI and AR/VR: unintended consequences, unproven mainstream appeal (https://www.technewsworld.com/story/gen-ai-and-ar-vr-unintended-consequences-unproven-mainstream-appeal-178156.html)

The AI revolution is at a tipping point (https://www.technewsworld.com/story/the-ai-revolution-is-at-a-tipping-point-178143.html)

C-3PO style humanoid robots thrive from surge in AI development (https://www.technewsworld.com/story/c-3po-style-humanoid-robots-thrive-from-surge-in-ai-development-178153.html)

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Dragon Rating Time!

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John's Plugin

Custom Login Page Customizer

https://wordpress.org/plugins/login-customizer/

The Lowdown:

Make customizing your login page an easy task. Using the customizer, you can start with the basic templates and go from there. You can set the background colour and then add you own logo and adjust the size add a URL and even a page title.

You can adjust the layout of the input form adjusting the background colour, height, radius and box shadow if you like. You can customize the input fields in several ways.

You can adjust the button info, disable links also as needed.

And if you want to go full code warrior, you can use you own custom CSS and java.

This is a full editor for the login page simple and easy and its even FREE.

Rating 5 Dragons

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NEW SEGMENT! WordPress Tips

This is a new segment we are wanting to bring forward, and we are looking for some feedback from our listeners. What would be most helpful and useful for you here?

Making Sites

You know how sometimes when you make a site it turns out absolutely amazing? But than you go to recreate it elsewhere, and there's just no ability to do so?
One of the ways we wind up making a site do what we want them to is through CSS – one of the things you can do is copy and paste that CSS you use into NotePad. Make sure you label it properly too, because if you don't label where the CSS was and what it's for, you won't be able to reuse it later. You should also when you save title it – or make a note in the note itself – about which site this CSS came from. Helps with categorization and bringing to mind exactly what you need to understand what it is for later on.

Beginners Tips

One thing that is good to know for those who are newer to this world, is that NotePad is your friend. Notepad removes all CSS from whatever you put into it, so it's great for passwords, coding of anykind, and making notes in general. When you make notes and try to make passwords in program's like Microsoft Word, you will find that there are extra spaces before or after the passwords, odd spaces in the coding that you just can't get rid of – and this causes problems.

Another good one for starting out is: left mouse button is your friend. Use the left mouse button to drag and drop files, and to use shortcuts and bring up all kinds of options on things.

One more thing that a lot of people don't really know it seems: alt+tab will flip you between open windows. If you wind up with about 5-10 open windows like I do, hold down alt, tap tab – and a small window will appear on your screen with all of your open windows. keep pressing tab until the one you want is highlighted. Once you land on one of the pages, it goes to the start of your little list of open windows, so if you need to flip between two windows quickly, open one, than the other, than you can simply hit alt+tab and flip back and forth really quickly. This is a great thing to get from one item to the next quickly.

…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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Amber's Plugin

AI Content Writer – ChatGPT

https://wordpress.org/plugins/ai-content-writer-chatgpt/

The Lowdown:

This is a new plugin recently released, and I was drawn to it to see what it could do for me. Now, in order to use this, you need to have an account with ChatGPT.

Once you have installed and activated this plugin, you will see on your left hand menu ‘AI Content Writer – ChatGPT' – you click on that and it brings you to the settings page for the plugin. Here, you will need to add in your API key – which you can get by logging into your ChatGPT account and creating. They make it pretty easy by giving you the link right there in the dashboard, you just need to login and it takes you directly to the page where you can create your API key.

Once that is set up, you will want to look at the rest of the settings options. I'll go through them one by one here:

Max Tokens: This is to set the maximum number of tokens to generate for output. 1 token is considered text, words, or symbols. So if the max token is 1000, this will put out 1000 tokens.

Temperature: This feature is to produce randomness or creativity in the generated text. If set to 0, then the openAI model generates similar text, though as you increase the ‘temperature', the creativity and randomness of the text increases as well. Bit of an odd name for this particular feature, though when I think about it, I'm not sure what I personally would have called it..

Top Prediction (Top-P): This is to control the probability of the generated text being more similar to what is already there. So if you have a piece of your own work there, you can have the plugin work to make the continuing work as similar as possible to your own work. The parameter controls the randomness or creativity of the generated text – so if it is set to 0.1, your text will be generated within a 10% similarity to what is already there.

Best Of: This feature is to generate multiple variations of the same text that can be used – this also scales as 0, 0.1, 0.2 and up to 1. From playing around with it it seems that if you set it to 0.4, you will get 4 outputs.

Frequency Penalty: This is applied if the suggested text output is repeated, and chooses an old output over a new one. For example, the model uses the exact same token as in previous completions, or during the same session. This one scales from 0 – 2 with all the points in between – I am under the impression that the higher you set it, the less often you will get repeats.

Presence Penalty: This penalizes new tokens based on whether they have appeared in the text so far. In general, the default value for presence_penalty is 0, and it is used when you want to generate text that is coherent with the input prompt, by using words that are present in the input.

Language: There are A LOT of languages you can choose from, making this rather user friendly.

When playing around with this, I noticed that it does better with 1-3 paragraphs at a time, rather than a whole long thing (like full on show notes).

Another thing to know is that it appears you cannot use this outside of Gutenberg. For instance, the plugin does not show up in Classic Editor, or in Elementor, or any other that I have tried – you need to use it just in Gutenberg.

When using this in Gutenberg, you will see a green button up at at the top of your tool bar saying ‘OpenAI Content Generator'. You click on this, and you will have your content!

Although the content may not say exactly what you want it to say, it won't have any spelling mistakes which is very helpful. It's a good idea to go through and make sure that the content reads the way you want though since I found even with the randomness and creativity up high it still sounded ‘robotish' in some areas – though I have to admit that the ChatGPT  content can be very amusing!

This is a free plugin at this time, and seems to play well with others – at least I have not had any issues, and I installed it on one of my sandboxes with just about every kind of plugin possible in there since I haven't cleaned it up in a while.

Works well, though I do wish that it worked in classic editor as well as Gutenberg.

Rating: 4 Dragons

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Onto Our Producer Know How and Donations Segment!

Join in and be part of your own production and support the show at the same time!

Reach out to John and get yourself Interviewed – use us as your tool to get out there!

… Looking for a way to get your name and work out there? Use us as a stepping stone! Hit us up at https://wppluginsatoz.com/interview

Send in your Plugin Reviews, or suggestions for a Plugin reviews!

… Have a plugin you love? Or one you really think people should avoid? Reach out to us and get your words and opinion out into the world by hitting us up at https://wppluginsatoz.com/submit-plugin-review/

Send in your own Plugin License and add it to the contest – this is a great way to get your name and your work out there!

… Is your plugin worth its salt in Dragons? If so, send it on into us and add it to the contests! You can do this by hitting us up at https://wppluginsatoz.com/plugincontest/

Send in questions and/or comments – we always love hearing from our Producers!

… Have a thought to share? Send it in! You can stay anonymous or belt your name out in all caps! Stitcher Radio, Google Play, or the iTunes Store. Doing this will also help you in producing the show for your own benefit too!

You can support the show by Subscribing to our Newsletter, Donating, or reviewing us on Stitcher Radio, Google Play, or the iTunes Store. Doing this will also help you in producing the show for your own benefit too!

You can check us out on Facebook, or our YouTube Channel! Be sure to hit the ‘like' button and share share share!

 YouTube Channel and joining us live every Monday at 12:15 PM PDT is a FANTASTIC show of support – and since you're already on the net's, might as well check out the Facebook page and hit that ‘like' button and share it out!

… Just showing up to our YouTube Channel and joining us live every Monday at 12:15 PM PDT is a FANTASTIC show of support – and since you're already on the net's, might as well check out the Facebook page and hit that ‘like' button and share it out!

… Don't forget – if you leave a review of us on any platform, that will help the show get noticed too; and if you happen to add your name to the show via questions or that awesome spotlight offered with a War Room Producership, that will get YOUR name out there too!

Earn yourself a Producership Credit!

  We have 3 levels of Producers that help to keep the show's larders stocked to bursting – Free-Lance Producers, Back-Room Producers, and War-Room Producers. There are special perks for Back-Room and War-Room Producers that you can learn about on our site wppluginsatoz.com. Click on Time, Treasure, or Talent Donations in our main menu to learn all the nitty gritty details on how you can add your 2 cents!

Free-Lance Producers:

… Free-Lance Producers always show up when least expected, and often times when most needed! No donation required to become a Free-Lance Producer – you just are one if you're here!

… If you have listened to even 10 minutes of this show, or shown up a single time to one of our live shows on YouTube, you are one of our many Free-Lance Producers! Although you guys are always popping in and out at unexpected times, we appreciate your support and periodic help with one thing or another – thank you!

Back Room Producers:

… Back Room Producers always seem to be about the place helping with our contests, artwork, site organization, notes, questions, suggestions, and even more! While they tend to hang out a lot in the back lounge and consume massive amounts of coffee and doughnuts, it's well earned through both hard work and their donations – never above $50 dollars and absolutely equal to their Time and Talent donations!

… Back Room Producers, if you ever notice something that needs some work feel free to reach out to us and let us know – you can offer to take it up yourself, or just let us know and we will add it to our list. We always appreciate your help in organizing and changing of the coffee – thank you!

War Room Producers:

… War Room Producers receive a few extra perks with their donations of $50 or more – an official A to Z Handle of their choice, a spotlight in that weeks show for a short speech, and an official Executive Producership Credit! These credits are real and can be used in the real world to your advantage! Only draw back is that they sometimes gotta make fresh coffee when the Back Room Producers emptied the pot…

**If you prefer to stay anonymous, please let us know at the beginning of your note to us regarding your donation! We are more than happy to keep you anonymous from the world – nobody is ever forced out of the tender embrace of the shadows on this show!**

… Official A to Z Handle means you will receive a specialized login to our site. We are working to update our site where we will have a Members Only section, and you will have access to a variety of things through your personalized handle for our site! To receive your Official A to Z Handle, think up an original name, and send it in to us along with the show number and the show name.

… Your spotlight can be an elevator pitch for your business, a note, or you can just skip it – just be sure to let us know your choice and we will adhere appropriately.

… The Producership Credit we offer is REAL! When you send your donation in to us of $50 or more, please be sure to note down the number and title of the show your donation appeared on, and we will back up your right to claim Producership!

… You don't ACTUALLY have to make the Back Room Producers coffee, but you might want to make yourself a fresh one. 😉 Especially if you are planning on pointing out things going wrong on the site… we got a long list and will likely try and convince you to help us out a little!

… War Room Producers, same as for the Back Room Producers, reach out to us if you notice something that needs work! Whether you are wanting to take up the job yourself or just inform us and leave it, we will add it to our ever-growing list!

Questions, Notes, and Feedback from our Producers out there:

You can send in your 2 cents and have it read out here on the show!

Hi Amber and John,

What a helpful show.  I have been hearing a lot about ChatGPT and all the ways it is useful. This has left me considering using it.  My concern is it regurgitating questionable, accurate or copyright data. Is there somewhere that I can check the resources it has used?

Thanks
Jack

… No such thing as a stupid question people! I was new not too long ago, and I know how overwhelming it can be stepping into this world at this stage – I know for a fact that questions you have are the same questions others out there have!

Reach out through email to amber@wppro.ca, or through the site at wppluginsatoz.com/contact/!

Miscellaneous Announcements from us and Producers:

Have an announcement like a meetup, or to announce you'll be on stage at a WordCamp? Let us know and we will add it here and help get your news out to the world!

If you are interested in finding a WordPress Meetup somewhere around the world you can go check out the places here: https://www.meetup.com/pro/wordpress

Next WordPress Victoria Meetup is on June 1st! This is an online meeting, be sure to check it out if this is your kinda thing!  https://www.meetup.com/yyjwordpress/

There are 4 WordCamps happening around the world this month, you can check them out here: https://central.wordcamp.org/

Keep checking back every week to find out what else is going on!

And remember, the show notes found at wppluginsatoz.com has a whole lot of extra information to grab up that we don't read on air so be sure to check them out!

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 
20-754 E Fairview Rd. 
Victoria, BC  V9A 5T9  
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

Today's Plugins we covered were:

John’s Plugin:

Custom Login Page Customizer by Hardeep Asrani

• Helps you to customize your login page
• Work off of templates or from a blank canvas
• Able to add the logo and adjust size of URL

Amber's Plugin: 

AI Content Writer – ChatGPT by wisdomlogix

• Content Generator – Can be an auto content generator
• 70+ languages available
• 5 titles suggested for each topic

Q & A Time with Amber – Catch this info on our YouTube Channel

If you have questions you would like to have asked on the show, send them in to me at Amber@WPPro.ca – let's see if we can stump my dad!

• Sometimes people have kinda funky emails, and auto systems don't recognize the emails as ‘real'. For example, I have an email with gmail as a throw away to sign up for random things that spells out psycho kitty with numbers and letters – it has the @gmail.com at the end, though I have found that it is not recognized by some newsletters. Why is that?

• What is happening when sometimes an email just doesn't show up – a person sends the email, and the recipient just never receives it.

Questions asked after closing credits:

• I have noticed that emails going missing in the Netherworld of the Internets has been happening more often over the past 12 months – could there be a reason for this, or do you think it's just because I am using email more these days and noticing it?

• Is there a way to retrieve emails lost in the Netherworld of the Internets – or is the email just gone?