Should we answer questions about theme reviews?

Question

We had one user asking two questions (1, 2) about the rejection of their theme by the WP.org reviewers.

Should we answer these questions? Chip Bennett, leader of the theme reviewers and active member on our site, commented on both questions:

Please note: these are questions you should be asking in the Trac ticket. The Theme Reviewers are there to help you answer such questions.

Is there some reason that you're asking these questions on WPSE, rather than in the Trac ticket, or via the theme-reviewers mail list?

Of course, these two questions were not so good because they combined multiple recommendations into one (and had horrible formatting). But I thought part of the recommendations come from a standard list, and are used in multiple reviews. Would it make sense to answer them, recommendation by recommendation, in separate questions? (I'm not saying we should create these questions now, only when someone else asks them). This would build a solid, editable compendium of theme review recommendations.

I don't think such a list currently exists, and I don't think the current tools of the theme reviewers allow such a thing (the mailing list is too "fleeting", the individual tickets are too specific - maybe the make.wp.org/themes site?).

If we don't want this it would also be good if we agreed to reject all questions about theme reviews, so we are consistent when closing them.

Answer 1

If the question is formulated like "why was my theme rejected?" then it doesn't make sense here.

But I see nothing wrong with question in form of "how do I satisfy requirements X,Y,Z for failing which my theme was rejected?". The valuable part here is satisfying practical requirement, not context of theme review.

Answer 2

I think it's great for the WPSE community to answer such questions. The body of WordPress knowledge here is staggering, and I have no doubt that developers who ask review-related questions here would get correct, thorough answers.

My primary concern is that 1) it may be less efficient for developers to come to a new site, and 2) doing so opens the possibility of getting conflicting answers. Personally, I want to see developers get their Themes approved in only one or two passes through the review process, with as little frustration as possible. (Big goals, those!)

We've really tried to build a system that incorporates and encourages feedback and communication between Theme developer and Theme reviewer, which is why we encourage developers to leave questions and comments first in the Trac ticket, as that is the most efficient way to get specific, review-related questions answered.

Building a compendium of knowledge can only be helpful for Theme developers, and WPSE is certainly a great place for that. I suppose, in my personal ideal world, Theme developers would ask specific review-related questions in the Trac ticket, and more general, how-do-I-implement-this? type questions on WPSE.

(p.s. I'm not the leader of the Theme Review Team. I'm just a particularly vocal member. ;) )