GatherPress

Comments

1. 

   Velda

   May 05, 2026

   May 5, 2026

   https://gatherpress.org/event/gatherpress-weekly-huddle-123

   ### **0.34 Progress**

   * Alpha 2 work is moving along
   * Geolocation lookup (Photon-based) merged, with caching and debouncing added
   * New RSVP settings let sites enable/disable RSVP globally or per event
   * Currently working on static maps and a small venues class refactor
   * Goal is to wrap big changes and move into Beta 1 soon
   * John asked for updated build files once Alpha 2 is ready; Michael will drop a zip in Slack when stable

   ### **Theme and Plugin Split**

   * GatherPress theme-specific logic moved out into its own plugin so the theme can be reused cleanly
   * Updated theme is on a `version-2` branch and still needs design help
   * Patricia noted a designer is needed; possibly someone from Velda’s group
   * Michael may merge the branch soon so others can help tighten it up

   ### **Issue Ownership**

   * Jeff is taking the OpenStreetMap configuration issue
   * A few good-first-issues open (command palette, permalinks health check)
   * Michael invited folks to comment on 0.34 milestone issues if they want to pick something up

   ### **AI Direction**

   * Plan: keep AI abilities/actions in core, move the chat/UI assistant into a separate plugin
   * Matches how most sites are doing it; abilities stay reusable via MCP or other clients
   * Jeff will trim the existing PR (~60–70% smaller) and may open a GitHub Discussion for broader input
   * Nilo flagged Matt’s announcement about a community OpenRouter account for teams testing AI work
   * Suggestion to loop in Jeff Paul for guidance on testing approach (e.g. via WP’s AI plugin or Claude skills)

   ### **.org Integration**

   * Dion is leading the WordCamp multisite integration, vibe-coding a first iteration with AI agents
   * Collaboration feels much better — Dion has been DMing Michael, sharing PRs, pulling pieces from the new theme
   * Michael is stabilizing 0.34 and improving docs so AI-assisted work has better source material
   * Test/demo server and the old org-integration repo are no longer needed for now
   * Plan is to refine the AI-generated integration over time, pulling good patterns back into the plugin

   ### **Mary Hubbard / Boston**

   * Jeff will be in Boston next week and expects time with Mary Hubbard via James
   * Key messages to land:
   * Team is collaborating with Dion and focused on making the integration successful
   * Students are getting involved — GatherPress as a viable community project
   * Student clubs as a potential pilot for GatherPress
   * Jeff also plans to raise his WordPress NYC concerns separately

   ### **Student Contributors**

   * Nilo gave context on WordPress Credits: roughly 300 students and 100 mentors; students intern via the WordPress Foundation
   * Students need clearer entry points per team — current onboarding is overwhelming
   * Michael volunteered as GatherPress point of contact; Jeff also offered to help
   * GatherPress is a good fit because it’s small, isolated, and approachable
   * Velda is working on a central “good first issues” dashboard across teams

   ### **Student Project Ideas**

   * Theme design and design patterns are strong areas for design students
   * Onboarding docs and small contributor-friendly tasks
   * Pairing dev + designer students could work well for pattern work
   * Student clubs (WordPress meetups inside universities) could be a real-world pilot for GatherPress

   ### **Patterns and UX**

   * Big future direction: make GatherPress blocks more pattern-driven
   * Idea is to ship multiple RSVP/event layouts users can swap without coding
   * Similar to Twenty Twenty-Five’s Query block variations
   * Need to document the BEM classes/API on each block so pattern authors can wire up functionality
   * Michael will kick off with one pattern ticket in 0.34 to set the precedent

   ### **Playground Blueprint**

   * Nilo suggested submitting GatherPress as an official Playground blueprint via the Blueprint Gallery
   * Michael needs to update the existing blueprint for 0.34 first, then submit
   * Contact: Philip Sintra runs the Playground project; submission guidelines are on the WordPress Blueprints repo

   ### **WordPress.com Education**

   * Nilo pointed Michael to WordPress.com’s education program (free hosting + domain for school sites)
   * Michael may explore moving his daughter’s school literary site (The Messenger) off Google Sites
   * Mariano runs the .com education side; .org has Campus Connect as another path

   ### **Other**

   * Kofi said the new GatherPress.org design is easier to navigate but hit a 500 error he’ll share details on
   * Two spots on the Credits page list “Gatherpress” — should be “GatherPress” (Nilo will pass to the editor)
   * Michael starts at Stellar WP / Liquid Web on Monday

   ### **Next Steps**

   * Jeff: take the OpenStreetMap configuration issue
   * Jeff: trim the AI PR and open a GitHub discussion
   * Jeff: raise integration progress and student-club pilot with Mary Hubbard
   * Michael: push 0.34 Alpha 2 toward Beta 1 and share build zips in Slack
   * Michael: investigate Kofi’s 500 error in the logs
   * Michael: update the Playground blueprint for 0.34 and submit to the Gallery
   * Michael: reach out to daughter’s school about WordPress.com education hosting
   * Nilo: fix “GatherPress” capitalization on the Credits projects page
   * Team: identify student-friendly projects and onboarding paths