I’ve only just seen the news that Automattic is archiving the _s (pronounced underscores) theme. The move makes sense given WordPress’ bend towards block themes in recent years, but it still feels like the closing of a chapter.
When I started taking WordPress from a hobby to a true processional pursuit a decade and a half ago, best practices were maybe a bit harder to come by. I remember surrounding myself with the open source projects of Pippin Williamson and Tom McFarlin and so many others who were standardizing a more professional approach to WordPress, especially when it came to plugin development.
And when I discovered _s, it did the same for me for theme development. It wasn’t just a “1,000 hour head start,” as the projects tagline goes, it was a compendium of tips, tricks and best practices. A library of approaches to learn from.
It also mapped and approach I follow to this day. I’m partial to starters that act as a starting point rather than as something that it’s meant to go untouched. I like rooting around and hacking bits and bobs until everything works just right. And _s not only made this possible, it encouraged it.
I’m a theme meant for hacking so don’t use me as a Parent Theme. Instead try turning me into the next, most awesome, WordPress theme out there. That’s what I’m here for.
I didn’t always use _s to start my projects, but I never started a new project without referencing it first. I’m glad it existed, and I’m grateful to the people that worked on it. It taught me a lot.