A rich source for ideas to implement in ClassicPress

In this discussion on Reddit, people are sharing “the most ‘this should be built-in by now’” in WordPress. There are excellent ideas, like built-in SMTP settings, basic og tags support, and native 2FA.

Maybe CP could “steal” a few ideas from there?

Built-in SMTP. I quote from the thread:

A platform where you depend on third parties to send emails is terrible. It’s been a step backwards.

I don’t know, man.. maybe provide SMTP as an opt-in alternative. (Which, to be fair, is what add-ons/plugins are for.) I’ve never used a WordPress instance where built-in email sending worked reliable.

Anyway, that’s one suggestion of many more. Does CP has a public roadmap?

the issue with SMTP is that it should be handled server side IMHO - and the platform should just have a system to connect to what the server already provides. As of now there is a not a really homogeneous base (some providers have SMTP already set up, others do not - some require additional steps to configure it and some work out of the box). This means adding it to core is going to cause conflicts because you can’t foresee every edge case and take care of everything. So things like that are a no go in core and best kept in plugins that one can use ONLY if their setup requires them. Putting something “optional” in core means that the majority of people that are not going to use it will have a piece of code bloating core albeit small. All of that just to please the few who have a setup needing SMTP while it can be easily integrated with a plugin?

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I mean, the best would be a nice “core plugin kit”, something “suggested” or so. Of corpse that’d be curated, but still, not a bad idea, is it?

cu, w0lf.

core plugins (or better plugins developed by core team) are certainly an option - something like the pepper one. But problem is still “do we install them for every site like pepper and then user if they do not want them deletes them or do we have a section in the welcome page allowing user to select which one to install and that triggers install and activation?” sort of question IMHO. Also with our small core team as of now I think it would be better to encourage independent dev to provide such plugins and this could also be a way for dev to profit working in CP ecosystem.

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ClassicPack :smirking_face:

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We already have built-in object caching being tested in the nightly. I haven’t looked at the Reddit list but, if object caching isn’t there, it should be. It’s one of the simplest ways to make a significant difference on a site.

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Now I have looked at that thread and have commented there. We already offer far superior media management, including the ability to store media by folders. And CP 2.6.0 includes the ability to see and delete specific revisions of any post or page (or bulk delete them).

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Of the rest of the stuff on there, the ability to duplicate posts and pages is a good idea that we should implement.

I don’t think much of the rest as candidates for inclusion in core. Yes, it would be great to avoid adding titles to images and add alt attributes instead, but there’s really no way to know what those attributes should say. Yes, more granular roles would be good, but I doubt we can all agree on what they should be and do.

The ACF stuff comes from people who still don’t understand that it’s just metadata. What we could do instead is work out a better way of displaying metadata on posts and pages that would largely make ACF redundant.

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You are aware that ACF is way too complex to easily make “ACF redundant”, dont you?

One of the main appeals would be the repeater field. IDK if its still part of ACF Pro - I bought the Developer Lifetime license in 2016, so I havent had any issues with that since forever. But then, THAT and the Layout field is like the main power tools.

But something simple but solid for displaying basic things in a nice accessible matter would certainly help.

cu, w0lf.

I wonder if I could / should fork WP Super Cache and kind of integrate it with that .. I mean, the only reason “current” versions of WP Super Cache dont work with CP is because of some stupid “requires at least” string. It works perfectly fine even in the latest version.

And yeah, that’d be like a prime candidate for a sort of “core plugin kit”, aka

Like you either install a plugin that downloads all the other plugins or it just comes pre-bundled ..

cu, w0lf.

Oh please do! Also, WP Super Cache latest versions brought a bunch of Jetpack upselling crap. A super clean, straightforward fork would benefit so many people.

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Lol, it was said with tongue in cheek. Though, actually, many ACF users use it only because its UI is better than core’s.

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Hi.

If this post is out of place, move it to another topic / category.

My ideas, if not suggestions:

  1. removing the backlinks to wordpress.com from the backend (in the upper right corner, beneath the “help” section). Especially in the profile, where the passwords are stored resp. are being changed.

  2. If it’s fair to expect from you: implement the option to delete every backlink to all other domains from the backend.

    even to classicpress.net.

  3. I had serious issues with the pepper plugin. Had to delete it. My website has 4096-bit encryption installed. Could there be a compatibility issue?

  4. A “mandatory cookie notice” plugin in the CP library would be truly helpful. I tried almost every single WordPress plugin on that. Each appeared to have a loophole or created a certain kind of problem.

  5. And finally, a real daydream: could ClassicPress set up a DNS Server with DoT (DNS over TLS) encryption and maximum security? That would be more than just the talk of the day. Seriously.

Thanks in advance for thinking about it.

Cheers.

@windmill I will try to answer to your suggestions:

  1. removing backlinks to WP is a work in progress - slow and steady.
  2. Removing backlinks to ClassicPress resources (or giving the ability to do so) means white labelling ClassicPress. this can be done using a plugin (search for while label WP in the WP repo, don’t know if it still works, but it should. If not drop a line and we will try and determine if we can make it work on CP) - no need to do this at core level. those links are there to help people find info they might need directly from their dashboard
  3. Pepper plugin might have a conflict with your encryption system - consider CP not only uses that but also hashes passwords.
  4. For CP at present there is not a cookie plugin. Your suggestion is however very important and having detailed it on the forum might spark some interest among devs here who just might be able to develop it. I personally use Cookie Yes on some of my sites but that is personal preference.
  5. Last but not least, CP can be installed on a DNS Server with DoT (DNS over TLS) encryption just the same way as WP - it is already possible. You can find online all the info to set that up.

Thanks for taking the time to suggest ideas, that is the way CP progresses towards the future.

Cheers

Elisabetta

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Re 1: We are working on the CP Docs but these don’t cover each topic yet. That’s why the links to the WP docs are still being used.

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Thanks for responding, Elisabetta and Guido.

Regarding Elisabettas answers 1-4: understood. Regarding my question 5, there is a misunderstanding. My “daydream” was ClassicPress setting up a public DoT encrypted DNS server (maybe for your for your own infrastructure and purposes first).

Right now. I using this one. Rekursiivinen DNS – NWPS.fi

Though the issue is essential, besides the usual monopolies (Cloudflare, Google, etc) there are only a few DoT servers on the planet. It would really promote ClassicPress and could set an example.

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I’m pinging @tpnsolutions in case he’d like to comment on the DoT server suggestion, as he’s the one who manages our network.

We presently utilize Cloudflare for their DNS, Security and performance. I’ve never actually heard of a “DoT” server, though if you have any documentation on the topic I’m always interested in learning about new tech. However, I don’t see moving away from CF anytime soon, in fact I recently started using them myself after hosting my own DNS for years due to the other features mentioned, along with a few I didn’t.