Yoast Co-Founder Calls for Greater Transparency and Contributor Representation in WordPress

28 Sep 24

3 minutes

If you love WordPress like we do, you’ll want to hear about some interesting changes proposed by Joost de Valk, the co-founder of Yoast SEO.

His new ideas could make a big difference in keeping WordPress awesome and fair for everyone.

Why the Big Talk?

So, WordPress is super popular. Tons of websites use it, and many big companies make a lot of money because of it. But here’s the catch: not all of these companies give back to WordPress as much as they can. Joost de Valk thinks this needs to change. He highlights that contributing more is just “the right thing to do.” Imagine borrowing your friend’s bike all the time but never helping them fix it—doesn’t seem fair, right?

Walking the Talk

Joost isn’t just all talk; he shares that his own company, Yoast SEO, has given a lot back to WordPress. They especially helped out with the Gutenberg Project, even when it cost them some of their own profits. This shows he’s serious about keeping WordPress strong and growing. It’s about giving back to the thing that helps you succeed—sort of a “victory of the commons” idea. He believes that if everyone chips in, we all win.

A New Idea: The Contributor Board

Joost has a cool idea to make everything more fair and clear. He suggests setting up a ‘Contributor Board.’ This board wouldn’t boss anyone around, but it would make sure everyone gets a say in important decisions. Imagine a big student council where everyone—from the coders and event organizers to the hosting companies—has a seat at the table. This board would do three key things:

Representation: Make sure all kinds of people and companies are heard.
Transparent Discussions: Keep talks about WordPress’s future open and clear.
Encouragement and Recognition: Cheer on and show gratitude for everyone who contributes.

Show Us the Money!

One of Joost’s major points is about money. Right now, it’s not super clear where all the money made from WordPress trademarks goes. Automattic, the company leading WordPress, handles these funds, and Joost thinks it should be more transparent. He suggests the money should ideally go straight to the WordPress Foundation. If that’s not possible, Automattic should at least show how much they’re contributing.

Why This Matters

Joost’s ideas could change how WordPress grows and stays strong. It’s like making sure everyone playing a game keeps helping each other out, adding new levels, and fixing any bugs. This would mean WordPress continues to be a great tool for building websites, and everyone involved benefits.

In the end, Joost’s suggestions aim to take WordPress back to its roots: a community-driven project where everyone has a voice and benefits from contributing. A new contributor board and more transparent money practices could help keep the WordPress community fair, open, and awesome for years to come.

So what do you think? Is Joost on to something? Could these changes help make WordPress even better?

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