Posted on

The 2020 WPMU DEV Survey

Since 2010 surveys have guided much of what we do. So a decade on from our first one, here’s another opportunity to shape the future of WPMU DEV to suit the most important person in our business, you.

Back in 2017 you told us you’d like The Hub to be much improved so you could manage all your WP sites with ease (see Hub 2.0), you’d like a great forms plugin (see Forminator) and, most of all, you’d love to see what we could do with hosting (see WPMU DEV Hosting) while continuing to improve and exceed in the core plugins and 24/7 expert support that has always been at the heart of WPMU DEV.

We hope we delivered.

So, now’s your chance to help shape the next few years (at least!) and, to say thank you for participating we’re giving away 5 free annual memberships and 1 free lifetime membership to people who take the time to fill out the survey, even if you are not a current member.

Having said that, submissions are anonymous unless you choose to enter your email address at the end (we’ll notify the winners by email within a month from now and post about you on social if we receive permission).

And, as before, I personally promise to read every single submission in detail and make notes (in 2017 it took me two solid days!) – good, bad, constructive or not I’d like to hear your opinions and wishes for how we can do the best for you… it’s my job, and I’m so excited to hear what you’re going to say.

So, on with the survey, this year powered by Forminator :) If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to post them in the comments.’

 



Posted on

Is it unethical to buy Instagram or Twitter followers?

This thread is a continuation of a conversation that I started here. As Dani correctly pointed out, the discussion belonged in its own thread and should not have taken over the thread in which it started. It wasn't my intention to hijack that thread (and I apologize) but that's what happened.

you find advertising largely unethical

I find false advertising unethical. I find the other advertising merely annoying and only sometimes useful.

Its not against the TOS or copyright rules of the library to use it in the way you are. It just wasnt what the library was designed for.

So it's ok to use bots for unethical purposes as long as it's not what they were designed for?

Suddenly someone who is not in your industry at all, and has no programming experience, comes in and personally calls you an unethical person and a disgrace for using things not the way they were initially intended, citing their reason as because ten years ago their mother fell off a chair trying to use it as a step stool to reach a top shelf, and she permanently injured herself. And so now, anyone who publicly promotes using things not in the way they were designed is an unethical person.

For the record, finding new and useful (and ethical) ways to use things for which they were not designed is awesome. I think your example is a real stretch. If I was caught at work using a chair as a ladder I would be reprimanded. Let's take a real life example of using something for which it was not designed. Hydroxychloroquine is useful for treating malaria and lupus, but possibly fatal for treating Covid-19. This was promoted by someone with a large Twitter following. More than one analysis estimates that 60% or more of his followers are fake.

For the record, Covid-19 patients who were given this drug actually died faster.

Posted on

Turtle on repeat python

Hello! I am creating a turtle code where I want to create multiple circles on a map. However, my turtle is currently coninuing to go around in a circle over and over again, and so the other circles cannot happen. Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

This is my code:

def mapofbins():
    #sig: str -> turtle
    #campus map is the background
    #shows where on campus the compost bins on a campus map
    #setting the background image 
    screen = turtle.Screen()
    screen.setup(600,500)
    screen.bgpic("campusmap")
    #creates a circle around x
    circle = turtle.Turtle()
    circle.speed(0)
    circle.penup()
    circle.forward(50)
    circle.right(90)
    circle.forward(50)
    circle.pendown()
    while True:
        circle.forward(1)
        circle.left(1.15)
        if abs(circle.pos())<1:
            break
    #creates a circle around y
        circle2 = turtle.Turtle()
        circle2.speed(0)
    circle2.penup()
    circle2.forward(50)
    circle2.left(90)
    circle2.forward(50)
    circle2.pendown()
    while True:
        circle2.forward(1)
        circle2.left(1.15)
        if abs(circle2.pos())<1:
            break

mapofbins()
Posted on

Magic Workflow

Few people are at this point in time willing to bet their money on .Net Framework, simply because .Net Core is obviously the future. This creates problems for us developers, since a lot of the tools we have grown used to, simply doesn't exist in .Net Core. One example of such a tool is Microsoft Workflow Foundation. According to what I've read, Microsoft is not willing to port Workflow Foundation to .Net Core either, so as you cross the bridge into ".Net Core land", you'll have to leave workflows behind.

What is Microsoft Workflow Foundation?

To find out how to replace Workflow Foundation, we must first ask ourselves what its primary feature is. As in, what makes MWF valuable for developers, and why have so many chosen to use it over the years?