I feel like I am echoing my own words, but it seems Matt might not be aware that WordPress.com has been offering FSE themes with onboarding for quite some time. If he is keen on experimenting, he can start by gathering insights from there.

The situation with Ollie is unfortunate, and I am in a similar position. I was getting a team ready with onboarding for theme submission, and now I find myself having to create two versions: a free one without onboarding and a pro version with it. This is to offset the unforeseen work we have had to undertake. I am not alone in this, as several FSE theme developers on Facebook Groups are grappling with the same challenge and are having to remove certain features from their themes.

I suspect that if WordPress introduces its own onboarding feature in the future, our efforts to onboard users through our themes will once again come under scrutiny. This might compel us to pivot and adapt to a new paradigm. Ollie is not the first FSE theme to incorporate onboarding; it just garnered more attention due to Mike's marketing tactics. It is not groundbreaking; similar approaches exist, and a bit of thorough research will reveal them.

It often feels like we are being pushed away, which is paradoxical given WordPress's vocal need for more FSE themes. Instead of embracing us, it seems they are diverting our efforts elsewhere. The slow adoption of FSE themes among users can largely be attributed to the absence of comprehensive documentation. Many FSE themes merely list their included patterns without providing any guidance on utilization.

Conversely, traditional themes continue to introduce "new" features to their Customizers, with their creators suggesting that the transition to FSE is premature. I have lost count of the number of times I have had to clarify in groups that there indeed are FSE themes designed for platforms like WooCommerce. Additionally, the persistent marketing by third-party builders claiming superiority over block capabilities does not aid the situation. It only misleads users who might not be aware of block plugins that could potentially replace the more prominent builders in the market.

I remain hopeful that the landscape will shift in the future. As it stands, WordPress appears fragmented. I am confident that theme developers wil not remain passive; they will likely create more FSE themes because, whether everyone agrees or not, that is where the trajectory is headed.

I am intrigued to find out if Rich Tabor has intentions of updating Merlin WP, especially since I have been implementing it. The lack of recent activity on its GitHub does raise concerns.