[wp-forums] To clarify

[Craig]

Nobody will disagree with the contributions that Podz has made to the WP
community. I disagree with assertions that average users "should know" the
difference between WP.org and WP.com. Everything about them is
interconnected. Software, developers, and community members as well. Having
distinct .com or .org isn't enough to flag this either, as many large
companies grab every version of a domain that they can.

I'm not here to argue about whether or not Podz gets paid to work on the
support forums or not. I KNOW that he is a volunteer in that respect. All of
the people on this list know that as well, but we are a very, very select
few.

If anything is needed to be said, then as far as I'm concerned, it's simply
that the forums are strictly voluntary. Period. No long drawn-out
explanations or debates or giving the issue more ink than it deserves. State
the fact, then move on. However, I don't think for a minute that we can ever
expect that the question will never be raised again.

One thing I believe could help is changing the "title" of mods and support
mavens...simply add "volunteer" to the moniker would help. There is no
reason why you couldn't have a simple line above the form in the forums that
states words to the effect "type your question in the box below and our
community volunteers will do their best to assist you."

As I said before, I don't know the details of Podz's arrangement with
Automattic.com. I assumed that in part, it was a form of compensation for
his long-term and continued commitment to the support forums, which, as
well, I fully believe he deserves. Podz is the public face of WordPress, and
when Matt made the public announcement that Podz was part of the
Automattic.com team, and when the vast majority of people know Podz strictly
through the support forum, why would anyone assume that he wasn't being
compensated to provide support? No details about his involvement was made to
the community, so of course being the flawed creatures we are, we will
supply our own "facts" in the absence of complete information. It's none of
our business, of course, but there you go.

Craig.