With the Plugin Directory now having plugins added, it’s probably time to finalise the guidelines. Below is the current draft of the plugin/takeover guidelines from the [last thread on the topic][Plugin Adoption/Takeover Rules).
There are two types of plugins which are available for adoption:
- Plugins tagged by the developer as available for adoption.
- Plugins which have been abandoned by their developer are eligible for adoption.
Plugin Adoption
Plugin developers who will no longer be developing/supporting a plugin are encouraged to put the plugin up for adoption; this is done by adding the Available to Adopt tag to the plugin.
To adopt a plugin, you need to make reasonable attempts to contact the current developer and request to adopt the plugin. The following methods may be avenues of contact:
- Send an email
- Leave a comment on the plugin support page
- Open a GitHub issue
The current developer can request transfer ownership of the plugin within the plugin directory and transfer ownership of the plugin on GitHub; once you have ownership of the plugin you can work with it as you would a plugin you started from scratch.
If you do not hear back from the developer in a reasonable time (such as three weeks) you can follow the Takeover procedure outlined below.
Plugin Takeover
To takeover a plugin, you need to make reasonable attempts to contact the current developer and request to takeover the plugin. The following methods may be avenues of contact:
- Send an email
- Leave a comment on the plugin support page
- Open a GitHub issue
The current developer can transfer ownership of the plugin within the plugin directory and GitHub; once you have ownership of the plugin you can work with it as you would a plugin you started from scratch.
If you have made a reasonable attempt to contact the developer and not heard back, the Plugin Directory moderators can reassign ownership within the Plugin Directory.
To be eligible for takeover via moderators, one or more of the following conditions must be met:
- Critical or important security issues exist which the developer has refused to fix.
- The plugin has not been updated for more 2 years (updates include supported version number being updated).
- The plugin is tagged with the “Available to Adopt” tag.
- No active developer is listed.
However, before you contact the moderators, you need to do the following:
- Create a new GitHub repository; it is required that this be a fork which preserves previous history.
- Update the code to current standards, fixing any issues (particularly security issues).
- Any major amendments to a plugin must include upgrade steps for current users so that sites are not broken when upgrading.
- Submit your completed code to the new GitHub repository.
- Email details of the new repository and amendments to the Plugin Directory moderators at [email protected]
Moderators will review the changes and then make attempts to contact the current plugin developer to enquire about allowing takeover using the developers contact information available in the Plugin Directory. If the original developer does not respond in a 14 day period, the plugin may be reassigned in the Directory by the moderators.
Takeover may be rejected for one or more of the following reasons:
- The requested plugin is deemed too high a security risk; such plugins may instead be removed from the Plugin Directory.
- The plugin contains a trademark, copyright or project name held by the current developer.
- The requesting developer does not have sufficient experience for the complexity of the plugin.
- The requesting developer has had multiple rule violations.
If the original developer rejects the adoption request, this will be honoured, except in the following circumstances (when the moderation team reserves the right to reassign the plugin):
- Critical or important security issues exist which the developer has refused to fix.
- The plugin has not been updated for more than 2 years (updates include supported version number being updated).
If a plugin takeover is unsuccessful, then a fork is an acceptable, and recommended, alternative.
Questions around adoption/takeover of plugins can be made to the Plugin Directory moderators via email at [email protected].