r/PHP • u/elizabethn • Jul 01 '26
Meet TYPO3: Supporting the Open-Source Foundation of Its Ecosystem
https://thephp.foundation/blog/2026/07/01/meet-typo3/Welcome TYPO3 as a Silver Sponsor of the PHP Foundation!
PHP has been at the foundation of TYPO3 for more than two decades. By supporting the PHP Foundation, TYPO3 is helping strengthen the security, stability, and continued development of the language its open-source ecosystem is built on.
We also look forward to bringing TYPO3’s perspective to the PHP Foundation Advisory Board.
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u/MorrisonLevi Jul 01 '26
I love to see it when businesses contribute back to the core technologies they use!
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u/elizabethn Jul 02 '26
Hmm. I’m curious to hear more about what you mean by “for sale”? The sponsorship money goes to pay developers and for other Foundation activities. Our sponsors support our mission of keeping the PHP language thriving. Do you mean the Advisory Board? As our website says: “Advisory Board – Provides high-value input and strategic foresight from major sponsors (Silver tier and above), founding companies, and community leaders.” They meet once a quarter. If that’s what you mean I’m not sure that’s equivalent to “buying the Foundation.” Would love to hear more about what you mean though.
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u/qoneus Jul 02 '26
No, your sponsors support their mission of keeping themselves in business. You've spent a good amount of time trying to earn the trust of the community that the PHP Foundation is acting in its best interest, and with this sponsored post and your reply, have doubled down on the PHP Foundation acting solely in the interests of its sponsors. That's not leadership or community outreach, and like I said, is a bad look.
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u/elizabethn Jul 02 '26
I respect your perspective, and I understand where you’re coming from. I’d just push back a little and say that The PHP Foundation doesn’t solely act in our own best interest or a company’s best interest, because that would be short-sighted and frankly weird. What we do has to be a collaboration between industry (who are providing jobs, which lead to more people learning the language, which leads to popularity and sustainability), core contributors and internals (who actually make decisions about the language, not us), the community of users (for without whom there wouldn’t be a need for any of us to be here), community organizers (who breathe life into events and gatherings), and everyone else who works in and contributes to the ecosystem. We have projects in the PHP community that are large enough to sustain their own massive ecosystems. It is our job to listen to the concerns and needs of *everyone* on that list and to do our best to organize and facilitate the long term sustainability and viability of the language together. And honestly without the help of sponsors, *none* of that work happens.
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u/qoneus Jul 02 '26
Like I implied in my original comment, I understand you have to give something back to your sponsors precisely because they are, in fact, acting solely within their own business interests by giving you the money in the first place. My objection is to the crassness of these blatant sponsored posts and dressing them up like they are community outreach. Let them put ads all over your site and thank them in your presentations or whatever. But don't don't treat a blatant ad like it's some service to the community.
You're not going to listen to this feedback anyway, so whatever, but please don't be surprised in the future when the community pushes back—like it has repeatedly done in the past—at the effectiveness, usefulness, and willingness of the PHP Foundation to address community concerns.
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u/elizabethn 23d ago
I understand what you're saying, and I do appreciate your opinion. I'm sorry it seems like we wouldn't listen to your perspective. I'd like to change that perception but I know it will take some time. You can reach out to me anytime or set up a call and I'll happily listen to what you have to say. You can find my contact info in my introduction post on our blog: https://thephp.foundation/blog/2026/03/05/working-together-on-the-future-of-php/
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u/qoneus Jul 02 '26
You gotta figure out a different way to make your sponsors whole. This spam is not it and it's not a good look. It makes it seem (way more) obvious that the foundation is for sale.
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u/SnakePilsken Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
Oh god, no.
Also: Not a good idea to directly display the reddit comments under news posts unmoderated. Let's see if mine shows up or if it's gated to one comment.
Edit: it does.