In reply to Drew Jaynes.

Hi @Drew Jaynes,

Thank you for the invitation.

However . . .

I realize it is the custom over there at WordPress.org to ask for volunteers for everything. And there is nothing wrong with that. However, I think the invitation should be extended to the people doing the coding.

As you have had the opportunity to learn here, I have been involved with computers for approximately 20 years prior to the internet as we know it to be. When I began programming we didn't have volunteers. And when we coded we were required to document. In fact, disciplinary action could be taken against anyone too lazy to provide documentation.

Now, I ask you, why would someone else be expected to go in and clean up after a core developer? Those people should be providing documentation on everything they do. Maybe if they did that, they might not be releasing new versions of WordPress as fast as they have been doing recently.

But, is that a bad thing? I don't think so.

In fact, if they were doing adequate documentation as the project has been evolving, they might find that they would know what to expect when they do updates.

The obligation for documentation rests upon the coder. There is nobody who knows more intimately how that code is supposed to work than they do. If they want to have tutorials based on the documentation they provide, sure ask a volunteer to do that. I can get on board with that. But to ask for people to volunteer to do something that should be provided as coding is being done, that's just not the way things should be. If there is a team coding a function or some other part of a project, then that team should have someone designated to document it.

There are thousands of developers who provide extended functionality for WordPress. Each of those developers has the responsibility to provide adequate documentation in order for someone to know how that plugin extends WordPress and what they can expect from that plugin as a result.

These last two automatic updates and the problems associated with them are the direct result of core developers relying upon someone else to do their documentation. I think it's time for core developers and core contributors to step up and provide what they should have been providing all along. Now, that would be a "smart decision" I would agree with.

Why should I or anyone else be asked to step in and reverse engineer something so we can document what it does? If you have other documentation you are relying upon to do your documentation, why not ask that coder or that team to provide the rest of the documentation?

I do know from past experience, those associated with core aren't really excited to be questioned, but you know what? Those people are the ones who have been most active in creating the current environment within the "community". Maybe things over there need to change.