Making WordPress.org

Ticket #60: 60-meta.diff

File 60-meta.diff, 10.2 KB (added by iandunn, 11 years ago)
  • extend/plugins-extra/faq.php

     
    1212
    1313<h2>Developer FAQ</h2>
    1414
    15 <h3 id="directory">In what directory should I put my files?</h3>
     15<h3 id="submissions">Questions about Submissions and Approval</h3>
    1616
     17<h4 id="approvals">How long does it take to get a plugin approved?</h4>
     18
     19<p>There's no official average, as no two plugins are the same. If your plugin is small and all the code is correct, it should be approved within seven days. If your plugin has any code issues, it will take as long as it takes for you to correct the issues. Either way, you <em>will</em> get an email from plugins@wordpress.org with the status, so please add that to your email whitelist.</p>
     20
     21<h4 id="how-long-to-fix">If my plugin has a problem, how long do I have to fix it?</h4>
     22
     23<p>We allow for seven days from the time we contact you regarding the issue to when we expect you to be finished with corrections. It's one of the only ways we have to keep the queue small. If you need to take more than seven days, we'll reject your request and you can resubmit after you're done.</p>
     24
     25<h4 id="specific-things-to-avoid">Are there specific things you're looking for that I should avoid?</h4>
     26
     27<p>We look for some pretty obvious things, all of which are listed <a href="http://wordpress.org/plugins/about/guidelines/">in our guidelines</a>, and most can be summed up as 'Don't be a spammer,' but to touch on the ones people do the most:</p>
     28
     29<ul>
     30        <li>A readme.txt file<br />This is what displays your plugin information on the repository page. It should explain how to use the plugin, even if you think it's obvious.</li>
     31        <li>Test the plugin with WP_DEBUG on<br />We do. You should before you submit. If the plugin doesn't work, we push back.</li>
     32        <li>Including jQuery scripts<br />WordPress comes with a great number of <a href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/wp_enqueue_script#Default_Scripts_Included_and_Registered_by_WordPress">default scripts</a> which we ask you not include in your plugin. Use ours.</li>
     33        <li>Calling external files<br />All plugins should be as self contained as possible. Obviously, if your plugin relies on a service on your own servers (like Twitter), then calling JS remotely is fine. However if you're attempting to offload images and JS to a CDN without providing a service, we do not permit this.</li>
     34        <li>'Powered By' links<br />All links on the forward facing aspect of a website must be "Opt In." This means your plugin may not default to link back to your site, or any other, on the part of the website that visitors see.</li>
     35        <li>No phoning home<br />This is bigger than just not tracking users, but also not including files that send any data back to your servers (like iframes) unless that is a requirement for how your plugin works. Even then, we may ask about it.</li>
     36</ul>
     37
     38<h4>Can I change my plugin's name?</h4>
     39
     40<p>Yes and no. You can change the display name, but the 'slug' - that part of the plugin URL that is yours - cannot be changed. So if you submit "My cool tool" as the name, your URL will be <code>http://wordpress.org/plugins/my-cool-tool/</code> and that will also be the folder name on everyone's site.</p>
     41
     42<h4>Are there names you don't permit?</h4>
     43
     44<p>We don't allow 'WordPress' in plugin names as it's redundant and somewhat obvious that you're a WordPress plugin. We also generally disallow using 'plugin' for the same reasons. Only English letters and Arabic numbers are permitted in the slug, so you cannot have, for example, Chinese or Arabic letters in the URL, for compatibility issues. We don't permit version numbers in plugins either.</p>
     45
     46<h4>I already have a plugin, but I want to re-do it! I just submit again right?</h4>
     47
     48<p>We'd rather you actually just re-write the existing plugin. Make it a major version. We can't rename plugins, so your new one won't get any of the old users.</p>
     49
     50<h3>Questions About The Repository</h3>
     51
     52<h4 id="directory">In what directory should I put my files?</h4>
     53
    1754<p>Put your files directly in the <code>trunk/</code> directory of your repository. Whenever you release a new version, <a href="../svn/#task-3">tag that release</a> by copying the current trunk revision to a new subdirectory of the <code>tags/</code> directory.</p>
    1855
    1956<p>Make sure you update <a href="../readme.txt"><code>trunk/readme.txt</code></a> to reflect the new stable tag.</p>
    2057
    2158<p>Screenshot image files should ideally be put in the <code>assets/</code> directory (which you'll likely need to create) in the root of your SVN checkout. This will be on the same level as <code>tags/</code> and <code>trunk/</code>, for example. Alternatively, screenshots can be put in the directory of the tagged stable release (<code>trunk/</code> or the stable tag directory) (the old way). The <code>assets/</code> directory is preferred since the screenshots won't be packaged in the plugin's release zip files, saving unnecessary bloat for each download. Learn more from the feature's <a href="http://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2012/09/13/last-december-we-added-header-images-to-the/">announcement post</a>.</p>
    2259
    23 <h3 id="subdirectory">Can&rsquo;t I put my files in a subdirectory of <code>trunk/</code>?</h3>
     60<h4 id="subdirectory">Can&rsquo;t I put my files in a subdirectory of <code>trunk/</code>?</h4>
    2461
    2562<p>You can, but it&rsquo;s silly. The <code>.zip</code> file the WordPress.org Plugin Directory creates will automatically wrap all your files inside a directory, so there is no need to put your files into a subdirectory.</p>
    2663
    27 <p>If you have complicated plugin with lots of files, you can of course organize them into subdirectories, but the <a href="../readme.txt">readme file</a> and the root plugin file should go straight into <code>trunk/</code>.</p>
     64<p>If you have complicated plugin with lots of files, you can of course organize them into subdirectories, but the <a href="../readme.txt">readme.txt file</a> and the root plugin file should go straight into <code>trunk/</code>.</p>
    2865
    2966<h3 id="tag-names">How should I name my tags (a.k.a. releases)?</h3>
    3067
     
    3269
    3370<p>Note that we&rsquo;re talking about subversion tags here, not readme.txt tags. Those can obviously be any words you like.</p>
    3471
    35 <h3 id="plugin-version">Can I specify what version of my plugin the WordPress.org Plugin Directory should use?</h3>
     72<h4 id="plugin-version">Can I specify what version of my plugin the WordPress.org Plugin Directory should use?</h4>
    3673
    37 <p>Yes, by specifying the <code>Stable Tag</code> field in your trunk directory&rsquo;s <a href="../readme.txt">readme file</a>.</p>
     74<p>Yes, by specifying the <code>Stable Tag</code> field in your trunk directory&rsquo;s <a href="../readme.txt">readme.txt file</a>.</p>
    3875
    39 <h3 id="data">Where does the WordPress.org Plugin Directory get its data?</h3>
     76<h4 id="data">Where does the WordPress.org Plugin Directory get its data?</h4>
    4077
    41 <p>From the information you specify in the plugin file and in the <a href="../readme.txt">readme file</a>, and from the subversion repository itself.</p>
     78<p>From the information you specify in the plugin file and in the <a href="../readme.txt">readme.txt file</a>, and from the subversion repository itself.</p>
    4279
    4380<dl>
    4481        <dt>Authors</dt>
    45         <dd><code>Author</code> field from the plugin header and <code>Contributors</code> field from the readme file.</dd>
     82        <dd><code>Author</code> field from the plugin header and <code>Contributors</code> field from the readme.txt file.</dd>
    4683
    4784        <dt>Version</dt>
    4885        <dd><code>Version</code> field from the plugin header.</dd>
    4986
    5087        <dt>Tags (as in categories)</dt>
    51         <dd><code>Tags</code> field from the readme file.</dd>
     88        <dd><code>Tags</code> field from the readme.txt file.</dd>
    5289
    5390        <dt>Plugin Name</dt>
    54         <dd>The <code>Plugin Name</code> from the readme file falling back on the <code>Plugin Name</code> specified in the plugin header.</dd>
     91        <dd>The <code>Plugin Name</code> from the readme.txt file falling back on the <code>Plugin Name</code> specified in the plugin header.</dd>
    5592
    5693        <dt>Author and Plugin Homepages</dt>
    5794        <dd>The <code>Author URI</code> and <code>Plugin URI</code> fields of the plugin header.</dd>
     
    63100        <dd>Time of first check in.</dd>
    64101</dl>
    65102
    66 <h3>I made some changes to my SVN repository. How long will it take for the WordPress.org Plugin Directory to reflect those changes?</h3>
     103<h4>I made some changes to my SVN repository. How long will it take for the WordPress.org Plugin Directory to reflect those changes?</h4>
    67104
    68105<p>The WordPress.org Plugin Directory updates every few minutes, however it may take longer for your changes to appear, depending on how deep the queue is.</p>
    69106
    70 <h3>Can I include SVN externals in my plugin?</h3>
     107<h4>Can I include SVN externals in my plugin?</h4>
    71108
    72 <p>Nope, sorry.  You can add <a href="http://svnbook.red-bean.com/en/1.0/ch07s03.html">svn externals</a> to your repository, but they won&rsquo;t get added to the downloadable zip file.</p>
     109<p>Nope, sorry. You can add <a href="http://svnbook.red-bean.com/en/1.0/ch07s03.html">svn externals</a> to your repository, but they won&rsquo;t get added to the downloadable zip file.</p>
    73110
    74 <h3>How do I make one of those cool banners for my plugin page?</h3>
     111<h4>How do I make one of those cool banners for my plugin page?</h4>
    75112
    76113<p>Start by creating an <code>assets/</code> directory in the root of your SVN checkout. This will be on the same level as <code>tags/</code> and <code>trunk/</code>, for example.</p>
    77114
     
    81118
    82119<p>After you check in your new banner(s), it will appear the next time the plugin refreshes itself in the directory. This may take a few minutes.</p>
    83120
    84 <p>For development and testing, you can add a URL parameter to your plugin's URL of "?banner_url=A_LINK_TO_YOUR_IMAGE" to preview what the page will look like with your own image. This will only work with your own plugins, you can not use this parameter on anybody else's plugins.</p>
     121<p>For development and testing, you can add a URL parameter to your plugin's URL of "?banner_url=A_URL_TO_YOUR_IMAGE" to preview what the page will look like with your own image. This will only work with your own plugins, you can not use this parameter on anybody else's plugins.</p>
    85122
    86123<?php bb_get_footer(); ?>
    87124