Meetup Program Basics
Meetups are part of the overall WordPress open source project.
Just like a WordCamp, Meetups are an opportunity for people who love and value WordPress to get together to learn from, and connect with each other. Regardless of whether you want to learn about WordPress or meet others who work with it, Meetup events are a way to build a strong WordPress community in your local area.
Meetups are supported by our own WordPress Meetup chapter program, which underwrites the fees for meetup.com, and provides a central support structure for Meetups globally. Joining the Meetup chapter program provides great support, information, and help to both new, and established meetups. Chapter Meetups provide a consistent experience regardless of where you attend in the world as each group has committed that they will follow a code of conduct and that they agree to our five good faith rules for meetups.
As WordPress Meetups are organized and run by local communities, anyone can show leadership and no single person is necessarily the owner of what may be organized or hosted. WordPress Meetups are groups in which anyone is welcome to organize an event.
Are you interested in seeing if you have what it takes to be a Meetup organizer? Read on for more information!
Representing WordPress
General things we feel strongly about:
- No discrimination on the basis of economic or social status, race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, or disability. They shouldn’t engage in discriminatory practices, and you shouldn’t discriminate against anyone.
- No incitement to violence, or promotion of hate on our watch, please.
- No spammers.
- No jerks. That sounds silly, too, but it’s kind of important. If someone is in an official role and winds up alienating a chunk of your local WordPress community, that hurts WordPress as a whole. Anyone you choose to take on an official role should be able to behave appropriately.
- Respect the WordPress trademark. Any person or business currently misusing or infringing on the WordPress trademark will need to fix any misuse before they will be allowed to take on a sanctioned role in a meetup.
- Embrace the WordPress license. If distributing WordPress-derivative works (themes, plugins, WP distros), any person or business should give their users the same freedoms that WordPress itself provides. Note: this is one step above simple compliance, which requires PHP code to be GPL/compatible but allows proprietary licenses for JavaScript, CSS, and images. 100% GPL or compatible is required for promotion at meetups when WordPress-derivative works are involved, the same guidelines we follow on WordPress.org.
- Do not promote others who fail to respect the WordPress license or trademark. If a business or person does not distribute WordPress-derivative code promotes businesses or people who do, they should meet the above guidelines.
If you’d like to read more about WordPress and the GPL, here are some great resources:
WordPress and the GPL
Themes are GPL, too
Why WordPress Themes are Derivative of WordPress
The Five Good Faith Rules
- WordPress Meetups are for the benefit of the WordPress community as a whole, not specific businesses or individuals. All actions taken as an event organizer are with the best interest of the community in mind.
- Membership in the local Meetup group is open to all who wish to join, regardless of ability, skill, financial status, or any other criteria.
- Meetups are volunteer-run with volunteer speakers.
- Meetup groups allow events to be organized by any reliable/trusted member of the community.
- Meetups are welcoming places where everyone works to foster an accepting environment that is free of discrimination, incitement to violence, promotion of hate, and general jerk-like behavior.
We also ask everyone that organizes WordPress Chapter Meetup to uphold the principles of the WordPress open source project, including the GPL. This helps protect the user/attendee, who might not realize that by using a non-GPL plugin or theme, they are giving away the rights that WordPress provides them.