Seeing the bigger vision

Thanks for taking the time to leave a review and also to try out Gutenberg. What excites you the most about it?

I like that it simplifies the interface for new/end users. I like that it has the potential to streamline theming tools. I also like the potential of creating blocks and locking specific page functionality based on user role (page templates with editing on a granular level).

But as I said, this is a forward-thinking project for WordPress. If you’re looking at version 1 as the justification for change from the traditional editor or even your reason for the demise of WordPress…you’ve missed the point.

I am optimistic. WordPress doesn’t change overnight, but we need projects that check complacent ways of thinking.

@jdailey A lot of the negative reaction is coming from people who are worried about the proposition of Gutenberg shortly making it into the core of WP5 when it is clearly still in its early stages of development (if its not and this is close to a final product then its even more worrying!). The community will find it much easier to the see the big vision without this crazy deadline.

@elwoodp I understand that is the general cause for concern, but to me that is a communication and trust problem not a Gutenberg conversation. I am not aware of a hard deadline for WP5 the deadline is “When Gutenberg is ready”. And yes the word “Ready” is objective.

But based on the 15 year track record of WordPress – the commitment to backwards compatibility and the commitment to accessibility first (not just physical but for people with slow or poor internet connections). Not to mention Gutenberg specific commitments like the fact that in version 5 you will still be able to revert to the old editing experience. You will not be forced to use Gutenberg in version 5. Just based on character and track record alone it wouldn’t make sense to transition 30% of the web to a half-baked, unstable editor overnight.

My point is, a big change like this could be scary, but it doesn’t fit the culture of WordPress to do something big and drastic that could end up starving major sections of the ecosystem without carful planning and a prolonged launch over multiple versions.

In version 5 it may be the default editor but it will not be the only editor. I expect more than anything that version 5 will be a solid famework for continued development. There will be early adaptors but just like with the Customizer it will take time for developers to integrate plugins and themes over to blocks.

I may be proven wrong, but if I am, I will be shocked. If you are correct and a big switch is flipped that instantly forces all users to use Gutenberg overnight, WordPress anarchy will ensue, a major split will take place and a new forked version of WordPress will rise to take its place. That is the beauty of opensource. We can fork it and keep the old editor because the code is democratized. ??