Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 2h

Yesterday was a long but great day at contributor day at #WCEH. Met some great new people, and caught up with some old friends.

I may be tired, but the energy will hit once we kick things off this morning with opening remarks at 9am!

#WordCamp #community #coffee

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Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 11h

Welcome to Ottawa!

Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 16h

I believe that shop is near the after party venue!

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Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 17h

It’s great hockey to go see as well!

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Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 1d

I like to call him Wapuatrick Roy

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Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 1d

Oh that’s one of my favs, but I’ve only seen it on tap once! You must be down on Sparks Street this evening?

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Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 1d

Always a great perk, college and university ain’t cheap! I work for a university and am very fortunate that my kids can also take advantage of significant savings if they choose to study here!

Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 1d

I couldn’t agree more!

Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 2d

Oh that’s easy then! Was thinking to break out the heritage classic one.

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Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 2d

Looking forward to this, I haven’t been to a Sens game in several years. Time to dust off the jersey, only questions, which one?

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Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 2d

And last but not least, a huge thanks to my sponsor, @kinsta.com, for providing blazing-fast hosting for both my personal site and the Block Accessibility Checks plugin.

🚀 kinsta.com

Kinsta® - Simply better hosting for WordPress

Voted #1 WordPress Hosting Provider on G2. Enterprise-grade speed, security, and support. See what sets us apart with your first month free.

kinsta.com

Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 2d

The Time to Read block from @that.mitchcanter.me is simple, clever, and super handy.

It automatically calculates reading time for posts, I’m using it in multiple templates across the site.

⏱️ github.com/thatmitchcanter/time-to-read-block

GitHub - thatmitchcanter/time-to-read-block: A Gutenberg block that displays the estimated reading time for articles.

A Gutenberg block that displays the estimated reading time for articles. - thatmitchcanter/time-to-read-block

github.com

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Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 2d

Another great plugin from @nickdiego.com, Block Visibility, powers template control across breakpoints.

I’m using it to hide or show sections of templates on tablet or mobile. Such a smart, flexible tool.

👀 wordpress.org/plugins/block-visibility/

Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor

Easily show or hide any WordPress block. Schedule block visibility. Restrict blocks to specific screen sizes, user roles, post types, and more.

wordpress.org

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Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 2d

The Icon Block plugin by @nickdiego.com adds a rich set of starter icons, and makes it easy to include your own.

I can see why this block is being added to WordPress core!

🧩 wordpress.org/plugins/icon-block/

The Icon Block

Easily add SVG icons and graphics to the WordPress block editor.

wordpress.org

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Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 2d

Ollie WP, a fantastic free theme, provided the design framework for the site.

@mikemcalister.com has built a wonderful, easy-to-use, highly customizable block theme that I’m excited to keep learning from.

🎨 olliewp.com

Ollie WordPress Block Theme and Pattern Library

Design beautiful, responsive websites faster with Ollie, the ultimate WordPress block theme and pattern library for creators. Get Ollie Pro today.

olliewp.com

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Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 2d

Block Accessibility Check v2.2 is here — and it’s got a new home!

Built with amazing tools from the WordPress community. Learn, explore, and extend real-time accessibility for WordPress.

blockaccessibilitychecks.com

🧵 Below: some of the awesome tools that helped make it happen

Block Accessibility Checks - Block Accessibility Checks

Create accessible WordPress content with real-time checks. Fix issues before publishing using the Block Accessibility Checks plugin.

blockaccessibilitychecks.com

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Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 4d

We’re days away from #WCEH and I’m super excited to join a couple hundred passionate #WordPress people for 3 days or learning and laughter.

Been working on some custom shoes for the occasion. Got my WP shoe done. Note the Pennywise band logo influence here!

Up next, a custom @carleton.ca shoe!

Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 4d

This is such a great idea! Stadium is 10 min from my house. If you're looking for a really amazing (fancy) place to get a killer meal, Next in Stitsville is insanely good, Kanata Centrum has a few pubs, and there's a Darcy McGee's really close as well.

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Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 7d

Took a night off dev work. Signed up for Suno, the AI music generator. Inspired by a video of Wapuu getting ready to come to #WCEH, I ended up making a Wapuu concept album.

7 AI-generated songs.
1 WordPress mascot.
0 regrets.

🎶 troychaplin.ca/2025/10/wapu...

Wapuu’s Big Adventure: An Evening with AI Music - Troy Chaplin

An evening of creative play with AI music. Wapuu’s Big Adventure became the unexpected soundtrack to a WordPress mascot’s trip to Canada.

troychaplin.ca

Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 8d

Still can’t believe we get to welcome Matt Mullenweg to #WCEH next week 🙌

The schedule is packed with brilliant speakers, hands-on workshops, and community energy. This one’s going to be special. 🇨🇦

WC'EH! @wordcampcanada.bsky.social · 8d

🚨 Breaking: Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of #WordPress & CEO of Automattic, is hosting a Town Hall at WordCamp Canada 2025 🇨🇦

Be part of the conversation shaping the future of #WordPress at #WCEH 👇

canada.wordcamp.org/2025/breakin...

BREAKING: Matt Mullenweg to Host Town Hall at WordCamp Canada

Join us at WordCamp Canada for a special Town Hall with WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg. Open questions, big ideas, live on stage.

canada.wordcamp.org

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Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 10d

Building custom blocks? Try adding accessibility validation!

I’m looking for feedback on how developers use this feature and what I can do to improve the integration or offer more validation support!

📘 Docs: github.com/troychaplin/...

🧩 Example: github.com/troychaplin/...

block-accessibility-checks/docs at main · troychaplin/block-accessibility-checks

Block Accessibility Checks is a WordPress plugin that helps ensures your content meets WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) requirements. - troychaplin/block-accessibility-checks

github.com

Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 10d

Spot a WordPress core block that could use an accessibility check?

Contribute ideas or request new features for Block Accessibility Checks — every suggestion helps improve the editor experience.

github.com/troychaplin/...

troychaplin/block-accessibility-checks

Block Accessibility Checks is a WordPress plugin that helps ensures your content meets WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) requirements. - troychaplin/block-accessibility-checks

github.com

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Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 10d

New features coming to Block Accessibility Checks:

– Improved button URL validation
– Button text symbol detection
– Alt-text pattern prevention
– Header ranking validation

Accessibility improvements + Sunday yard work = productive weekend 🌱

#WordPress #Accessibility

github.com/troychaplin/...

GitHub - troychaplin/block-accessibility-checks: Block Accessibility Checks is a WordPress plugin that helps ensures your content meets WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) requirements.

Block Accessibility Checks is a WordPress plugin that helps ensures your content meets WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) requirements. - troychaplin/block-accessibility-checks

github.com

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Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 14d

I ended up picking this up to try out, but then got busy with other stuff so I have yet to try it www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B093...

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Troy Chaplin @troychaplin.bsky.social · 18d

Been quite a while since I’ve done any sketching. Took a break from coding and grabbed my iPad and sat outside while the kids rode their bikes.

Might give this one another try after I shake off the rust!

#WordPress #Wapuu #WCEH #Procreate