- Version: 1.0
- Date: 2026-02-04
- Author: Roman Pronskiy ([email protected])
- Status: Draft
- First Published at: http://wiki.php.net/rfc/social-media-policy
PHP is one of the most widely used programming languages in the world. Despite this remarkable success, PHP has long been perceived by parts of the broader tech community as declining or "dead" – a narrative that is demonstrably false but nonetheless persists.
One significant factor contributing to this perception gap is PHP's lack of coordinated marketing and communications efforts. While individual community members, conferences, and the PHP Foundation actively promote PHP through various channels, the official PHP project itself has no formal policy governing its presence on social media or other communication platforms.
This RFC proposes establishing a formal policy for PHP's official social media presence and marketing communications, ensuring that the PHP project can effectively communicate with its community and the broader technology ecosystem.
PHP currently maintains several official social media accounts, most notably:
- Twitter/X (@official_php): ~109,000 followers, last post: November 23, 2023 (PHP 8.3 release announcement)
- Mastodon (@[email protected]): ~4,900 followers, automated release announcements
- LinkedIn (@phpnet) : ~224,000 followers, semi-actively update by Kalle / PHP Foundation
- bluesky
The disparity is stark. The Twitter account, with over 100,000 followers – a substantial audience for any programming language – has been silent for over a year. Meanwhile, the Mastodon account operates with automated posting, demonstrating that minimal-effort communication is both technically feasible and valuable.
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Perception shapes reality: When developers research PHP, a dormant official Twitter account with the last activity from over a year ago reinforces the "PHP is dead" narrative, regardless of the language's actual vitality and continued development.
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Missed communication opportunities: PHP 8.4 was released in November 2024 with significant new features. The official Twitter account—with its 109,000 followers—said nothing. This represents a missed opportunity to reach developers who may have been unaware of PHP's continued evolution.
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Community frustration: There have been repeated requests from the PHP community for better marketing and communication. This RFC responds to those requests with a concrete, actionable proposal.
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Competitive disadvantage: Other programming languages actively maintain their social media presence. Python, JavaScript, Rust, and Go all have active official communications. PHP's silence is conspicuous by comparison.
Currently, credentials for official PHP social media accounts are held by individual community members without clear governance policies. While these individuals have historically acted in good faith, the absence of formal policy creates several issues:
- No defined process for posting decisions
- No mechanism for the community to request or approve communications
- No succession planning if credential holders become unavailable
- No accountability structure for the community at large
This RFC proposes adopting a formal Social Media and Marketing Communications Policy for the PHP project. The specific policy text is documented in this Pull Request: https://github.com/php/policies/pull/XX
The policy is built on the following principles:
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Representation: PHP should maintain an official presence on any platform with significant reach to developers.
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Automation first: Where feasible, communications should be automated to minimize volunteer burden and ensure consistency.
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Neutrality: Official PHP communications should focus on the language itself, releases, security advisories, and community events—not on platform politics or endorsements.
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Shared stewardship: Credentials for official accounts should be held by multiple trusted community members, with clear succession policies.
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Transparency: Policies governing official communications should be documented and publicly available.
This policy establishes clear roles and responsibilities for PHP's official communications:
The PHP Infrastructure Team is responsible for:
- Holding credentials for all official PHP social media accounts
- Maintaining secure credential storage with multiple authorized holders (minimum three)
- Implementing and maintaining automation for cross-platform posting
- Ensuring credential succession when holders step down
- Technical operations: posting, account recovery, platform compliance
This is a purely technical and operational role. The Infrastructure Team executes communications but does not determine content strategy.
The PHP Foundation is designated as the decision-maker for PHP's official communications:
- Content decisions: The Foundation determines what gets posted on official channels, including messaging, timing, and tone
- Strategic direction: The Foundation advises on platform presence, audience strategy, and communications priorities
- Marketing initiatives: Any proactive marketing efforts beyond automated announcements are delegated to the Foundation
- Consultation: The Foundation serves as consultant to the PHP project on all marketing and communications matters
This separation ensures that those with marketing expertise and organizational capacity (the Foundation) drive content decisions, while technical implementation remains with the Infrastructure Team.
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Expertise alignment: The Foundation has staff experienced in developer relations and marketing. The Infrastructure Team has expertise in systems and automation.
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Organizational capacity: Marketing requires sustained attention and strategic thinking. The Foundation, as an organization with staff, can provide this more reliably than individual volunteers.
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Clear accountability: With defined roles, it's clear who is responsible for what. Content questions go to the Foundation; technical issues go to Infrastructure.
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No credential transfer controversy: Account credentials remain with the PHP project's Infrastructure Team. The Foundation's authority is over content, not infrastructure.
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Scalability: As PHP's communications needs grow, the Foundation can scale its marketing efforts without requiring changes to account custody.
The following platforms have significant developer audiences and can be served with automated or low-effort text-based communications:
| Platform | Audience Size | Status | Proposed Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twitter/X | ~109K followers | Dormant since Nov 2023 | Reactivate with automation |
| Mastodon | ~4.7K followers | Active (automated) | Continue current approach |
| Bluesky | To be established | N/A | Create account, add automation |
| ~224.0K followers | Active (not automated) | Automate, continue current approach | |
| Threads | To be established | N/A | Create account, add automation |
Platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram require significant resources for video content creation that the PHP project does not currently have. These platforms are explicitly out of scope for this RFC but may be addressed in future proposals if resources become available.
The following content types are suitable for fully automated cross-platform posting, requiring no per-post approval:
- Release announcements (major, minor, patch versions)
- Security advisories and CVE announcements
- RFC voting results
- Conference and event announcements
These are triggered automatically by project events (release announcements, security commits, vote closures).
The following content types require Foundation approval before posting:
- Milestone announcements
- Anniversary and celebration posts
- Blog post promotions
- Any other non-automated content
Any proactive marketing efforts beyond the above categories are delegated to the PHP Foundation:
- Coordinated campaigns
- Responses to industry narratives
- Developer outreach initiatives
- Cross-promotion with ecosystem projects
The Foundation may pursue such initiatives at its discretion, coordinating with the Infrastructure Team for technical execution.
Following the successful model already in use for Mastodon, automated posting will be implemented via GitHub Actions and Pull Requests where possible.
- Minimum three (3) Infrastructure Team members shall hold credentials for each official account
- Credentials shall be stored securely with documented access procedures
- When a credential holder steps down, replacement shall be coordinated within 30 days
- Emergency access procedures shall be documented and tested
A reasonable concern may be raised about maintaining a presence on Twitter/X given its current ownership and the controversies surrounding it. This RFC takes a clear position: maintaining an account on a platform is not an endorsement of that platform's ownership, policies, or politics.
Consider the analogy of internet infrastructure. The fiber optic cables are owned by major telecommunications companies such as AT&T and Verizon, alongside large technology corporations. The leadership of these entities has been associated with various controversies. Nevertheless, this infrastructure remains universally utilized, including for the purpose of accessing this RFC.
The microphone still amplifies your message. Using the mic to say something true doesn't mean you support the person who owns the speakers.
Other relevant considerations:
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Reach matters: 109,000 followers represent real developers who chose to follow PHP for updates. Abandoning them would be a disservice to the community.
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Platform-agnostic approach: By maintaining presence across multiple platforms (Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky, LinkedIn, Threads), PHP avoids dependence on any single platform and reaches developers wherever they prefer to be.
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Precedent: Major open-source projects and organisations (Ubuntu, Python, Node.js, Apache Foundation, Linux Foundation), standards bodies (IETF), and organizations across the political spectrum maintain Twitter/X accounts. PHP's presence is unremarkable and apolitical.
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Content is what matters: The same release announcement appears identically across all platforms. The message is what we control; the medium is merely infrastructure.
Maintaining a Twitter/X presence no more endorses its ownership than posting on LinkedIn endorses Microsoft, posting on Threads endorses Meta, or using Gmail endorses Google. These are distribution channels, not political affiliations.
This RFC establishes new policy and does not affect any existing PHP functionality or code.
Current holders of official PHP social media credentials will be asked to:
- Transfer credentials to the Infrastructure Team's secure storage
- Participate in the new governance structure if willing and if they are Infrastructure Team members
- Acknowledge the Foundation's content authority going forward
No individual's contributions or historical stewardship are diminished by this policy. This RFC seeks to formalize and extend existing practices, not to criticize past volunteers.
The Foundation has the organizational structure, staff, and expertise to make consistent, strategic communications decisions. The Foundation's mission—supporting PHP—aligns perfectly with effective PHP marketing.
No. The Infrastructure Team holds credentials and operates the accounts. The Foundation decides what content gets posted. This is similar to how a marketing department works with an IT department: marketing decides the message, IT manages the systems.
The policy establishes the Foundation as the content authority. The Infrastructure Team's role is technical execution, not content approval. If significant concerns arise about specific content, they should be raised with the Foundation board directly.
Yes. This policy can be amended by a future RFC with 2/3 majority approval. The community retains ultimate authority over PHP project policies.
Automated posts will be adapted to platform conventions (e.g., character limits, hashtag practices) but will contain equivalent information across all platforms. Platform-specific strategies beyond basic adaptation are at the Foundation's discretion.
Absolutely. This policy governs only official PHP project accounts. Community members, Foundation staff, and core developers are encouraged to continue personal advocacy for PHP.
The Foundation markets itself and promotes PHP through its own channels. This RFC specifically addresses the official PHP project accounts (like @official_php), which are distinct from the Foundation's accounts. This policy creates a formal relationship where the Foundation also guides the project's official communications.
This is a simple yes-or-no vote to approve this policy. 2/3 majority required to pass.
- RFC: PHP.net Analytics Collection
- RFC: Policy on 3rd party code
- PHP Policies Repository
- The PHP Foundation
- @official_php on Twitter/X
- @php on Fosstodon
- 2026-02-04: Initial draft
To be added to https://github.com/php/policies
# Social Media and Marketing Communications Policy
## Purpose
This policy governs the PHP project's official presence on social media and other
communication platforms, establishing clear roles for account custody and content
authority.
## Scope
This policy applies to all accounts officially representing the PHP project,
including but not limited to:
- Twitter/X (@official_php)
- Mastodon (@[email protected])
- Bluesky (TBD)
- LinkedIn (TBD)
- Threads (TBD)
## Principles
1. **Reach**: PHP shall maintain presence on platforms with significant developer audiences.
2. **Automation**: Communications shall be automated where feasible.
3. **Neutrality**: Communications shall focus on PHP, not platform politics.
4. **Shared Stewardship**: Multiple credential holders shall manage each account.
5. **Transparency**: This policy shall be public and versioned.
## Roles and Responsibilities
### Infrastructure Team: Account Custody
The Infrastructure Team is responsible for:
- Credential custody (minimum 3 holders per account)
- Secure credential storage and succession
- Automation implementation and maintenance
- Technical posting operations
### PHP Foundation: Content Authority
The PHP Foundation is responsible for:
- Content decisions (what, when, messaging, tone)
- Strategic communications direction
- Marketing initiatives beyond automated content
- Consultation on communications matters
## Content Guidelines
### Automated Content (No Approval Required)
- Release announcements
- Security advisories
- RFC voting results
### Curated Content (Foundation Approval Required)
- Conference/event announcements
- Documentation milestones
- Celebrations and anniversaries
- Blog post promotions
### Marketing Initiatives (Foundation Led)
- Coordinated campaigns
- Narrative responses
- Developer outreach
- Ecosystem cross-promotion
### Prohibited Content
- Political statements unrelated to PHP
- Commercial endorsements
- Personal opinions
- Engagement in controversies
- Code of Conduct violations
## Implementation
Automated posting via GitHub Actions, extending the existing Mastodon model
to all platforms.
## Amendments
This policy may be amended by RFC with 2/3 majority approval.