Help keep pathways accurate and newcomer-friendly by actually completing the contribution a guide describes. Follow every step as a first-timer would, note where you get stuck or confused, flag broken links, and file an issue with what you find.
- Reference: Review About Pathways
- Connect: Join #core-program and introduce yourself, saying you’ll be reviewing pathways
Steps
- Pick a pathway to review: Choose from Walkthrough Requests and add a comment to indicate you’re working on it. If you type /assign as your comment, our workflows will assign the issue to you.
- Complete its contribution as a newcomer: Follow every step from the top as if it’s your first contribution. Don’t skip anything: click the links, run the setup, and most importantly, try completing that contribution.
- Check all links: Verify that every link works and points to the right place.
- Note any unclear sections: If instructions are confusing, steps are missing, or the tone feels off, mark it. The goal is to spot what trips up a first-timer.
- File an issue with your findings: Report what worked and what didn’t. Be specific: “Step 3 assumes I already have X installed” or “The link in step 2 is broken.” If you discover a related bug (e.g., a broken feature the pathway points to), mention it and link to context you’ve found.
- Share specific recommendations: If you have suggestions for rewording or clarifying sections, paste the original text in the issue along with your suggested version.
- Signal it’s done: Comment with your findings. If you’ve completed the contribution successfully, add another comment with just ‘/done’ in it, and we’ll close the issue.
Contribution checklist
- Completed the contribution, following every step of the guide
- Verified all links work and point to the correct resources
- Commented with your findings
- If needed, filed an issue with specific, actionable feedback
What happens next
If you’ve shared feedback, the pathway author or a maintainer will review your feedback. If there’s no response after a week, a polite pingPing The act of sending a very small amount of data to an end point. Ping is used in computer science to illicit a response from a target server to test it’s connection. Ping is also a term used by Slack users to @ someone or send them a direct message (DM). Users might say something along the lines of “Ping me when the meeting starts.” in the relevant team’s SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/ is fine.
When you’re ready, review another pathway or try creating one.
Help
Stuck? Check the getting help guide, then ask in the relevant team’s Slack channel (the pathway should list which team owns it).
Further reading:
- TEMPLATE.md — pathway structure and guidelines
- About Pathways — understand the purpose and principles of contribution pathways
