[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #39960: Separate Supported Status for Trackbacks and Pingbacks

[WordPress Trac]

#39960: Separate Supported Status for Trackbacks and Pingbacks
------------------------------+--------------------------------------
 Reporter:  dshanske          |      Owner:
     Type:  defect (bug)      |     Status:  new
 Priority:  low               |  Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  Pings/Trackbacks  |    Version:  4.3
 Severity:  minor             |   Keywords:  dev-feedback 2nd-opinion
  Focuses:                    |
------------------------------+--------------------------------------
 In #31168, get_default_comment_status was introduced, with the intent to
 set default pingback and comment status for new comments.

 With the current design, it isn't possible to address these items
 separately.

 get_default_comment_status treats the 'supports' => 'trackbacks' statement
 as intent to open pings. While I see the rationale for why this was done,
 it is not consistent.

 Supporting trackbacks is not actually clear to someone calling it what it
 is supposed to do. According to the code, excluding allowing pings by
 default as amended in this function and a few other places, it adds the
 'Send Trackbacks' metabox.

 What I am proposing here is therefore a change that might confuse backward
 compatibility. I can't see another easy way to separate these two.

 Let's say, for the sake of fairness as a default, that if you want to be
 able to send pings or trackbacks, you should also support receiving them.

 So, my proposal would be to separate post_type_support into two features:

 'trackbacks' - which will add the trackback metabox and govern the default
 desire to accept trackbacks for that post type

 'pingbacks'  - which will set whether the default for pingbacks for a
 given post type is set to send/receive by default.

 That handles the intent of the post type default. Then we move to the
 individual post issue.

 So, the logic I'm proposing is that if pings are open for the
 post(ping_status set to open), it means it will support whatever protocols
 the post type supports. While it would be nice to get more granular, it
 would create too much of a strain on backward compatibility.

 Conversely, suggesting that someone might want to turn pingbacks or
 trackbacks on or off for an entire post type makes sense. I can't see a
 scenario where someone would want support on or off for a specific post.
 If they decide to turn pings off, they are turning off whatever type of
 linkback the post chooses to support.

 A plugin or theme could change this behavior using the
 get_default_comment_status filter that already exists.

 Relate: #38207 discusses the idea of disabling trackbacks by default, but
 retaining pingbacks for the foreseeable future. The first step is allowing
 for these sensible defaults by post type, and then making the decision
 about default support for the 'post' post type.

 I'd like to get some feedback on the proposed solution or alternatives.

--
Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/39960>
WordPress Trac <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/>
WordPress publishing platform