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The hot topic this week was diversity. More specifically, how it relates to the upcoming WordCamp Europe speaker lineup.

After the event announced its fifth round of speakers, StellarWP’s Michelle Frechette took to Twitter with the following observation:

“So far only 25% of the speakers announced for #WCEU are women (by name/photo), and only three appear to be non-white. Hoping to see some more inclusion in the next few rounds of announcements.”

What followed were some heated comments - including one from event organizer Sjoerd Blom:

“Please stop being prejudiced and wait until ALL speakers have been announced. Thanks.”

It’s worth noting that subsequent announcements have included more women and people of color. However, the tenor of conversation in Frechette’s thread has raised eyebrows.

To read more about the issues at hand, check out posts from Job Thomas, “Diversity in conference speaker line-up” and MasterWP’s Rob Howard, “For WordCamp, the challenge of diversifying tech takes center stage”.

Links You Shouldn’t Miss

A new proposal aims to modernize WordCamps. In the near future, the events could be focused on a singular topic and a specific audience. The WP Minute’s Eric Karkovack spoke with Angela Jin, WordPress Head of Programs & Contributor Experience, to learn more. They discussed the current state of WordCamps and how these community cornerstones might benefit from a change.

This month marks the 20th anniversary of WordPress. As part of the celebration, The WP Minute+ released a panel discussion about the software’s biggest moments. Hosted by David Bisset, the panel features Rae Morey, Jeff Chandler, Ken Elliot, and The WP Minute’s Eric Karkovack.

WordPress 6.2.1 was released on May 16. This version includes 20 bug fixes to WordPress core, 10 for the block editor, and a handful of security patches. And it also introduced an issue that breaks shortcodes used within block theme templates. If this describes your site, think twice before updating. Meanwhile, a workaround has been created and a permanent solution is being discussed.

Last week, we reported on a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability that was recently patched in the Advanced Custom Fields plugin. Sarah Gooding at WP Tavern reported that, within 24 hours of the vulnerability’s disclosure, attackers had begun attempts to exploit it. According to Ryan Barnett of Akamai Security Intelligence Group (SIG), malicious actors used code examples shared within the disclosure. It’s recommended that users of the plugin update their installs immediately.

From the Grab Bag

Now it’s time to take a look at some other interesting topics shared by our contributors.

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  WordPress has accumulated 13 default themes since 2010. To cut down on maintenance requirements, there’s a proposal to retire some of the older themes.
• Cloud service provider WPCS announced that they’ve secured investment from Emilia Capital. Emilia is owned by Yoast founders Joost de Valk and Marieke van de Rakt.
• Users of Essential Addons for Elementor should take note of a recently-patched security vulnerability. Sarah Gooding of WP Tavern reports that the unauthenticated privilege escalation vulnerability was rated as critical, and was patched in version 5.7.2 of the plugin.
• Speaking of security - ever wonder what it’s like to work in the field? Check out an interview with Alexander Concha, an Application Security Engineer at Automattic.
• The Kirki Customizer Framework plugin has found a new home. Founder David Vongries previously announced that he was sunsetting the product and looking to sell. WordPress development firm Themeum has acquired the plugin and plans to keep it in active development.
• Gravity Forms has launched a new podcast called “Breakdown”. The show explores different ways to use the popular plugin and will feature special guests. And it’s hosted by our very own Matt Medeiros.
• WordPress competitor Wix now offers support for “headless” website configurations. The service takes advantage of the growing popularity of headless installs, with the ability to manage content from the Wix site builder.
• There’s a difference between branding and marketing. Hazel Quimpo and Michelle Frechette discussed the topic on a recent episode of the Audacity Marketing podcast.
• Curious about the benefits of a 4-day workweek? Social media toolkit provider Buffer have released data regarding their three-year journey using the arrangement.

New Members This Week

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  Adam Weeks

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