Updated Blog for the Community event 1

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Updated Blog for the Community event 1

Description

Updated Blog for the Community event 1, earlier the content was too less. Added more details to the blog with help of the
you tube transcript for the event.

Motivation and Context

To help readers of blog find about the event also by reading about it in more detail.

Types of changes

• Change to the site (I have double-checked the Netlify deployment, and my changes look good)
• Code example added (and I also added the example to all translated languages)
• Improved translation
• Added new translation (and I also added a notice to each document missing translation)

Checklist

• I have read the contributing document.
• I have used hugo to render the site/docs locally and I am sure it works.

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PR Type

Documentation

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Description

• Expanded blog post content with detailed episode summary

• Added comprehensive sections on WebDriver evolution and W3C standards

• Included speaker information and community involvement details

• Reorganized content structure with better headings and flow

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Diagram Walkthrough

flowchart LR
  A["Original Brief Blog"] --> B["Expanded Content"]
  B --> C["WebDriver History"]
  B --> D["W3C Standards Process"]
  B --> E["Community Involvement"]
  B --> F["Future Directions"]

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File Walkthrough

Relevant files

Documentation

selenium-community-live-episode1.md Comprehensive expansion of community event blog post          website_and_docs/content/blog/2024/selenium-community-live-episode1.md Significantly expanded blog content from brief summary to comprehensive article Added detailed sections on WebDriver evolution, W3C standards, and community involvement Reorganized content structure with proper headings and improved flow Enhanced information about speakers, misconceptions, and future directions +90/-14

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PR Reviewer Guide 🔍

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⏱️ Estimated effort to review: 2 🔵🔵⚪⚪⚪

🧪 No relevant tests

🔒 No security concerns identified

⚡ Recommended focus areas for review Accuracy/Attribution Verify role titles and affiliations are correct and consistently spelled (e.g., "Salesforce", "Committer", "TLC/PLC") and that quotes are accurately attributed; adjust narrative voice if representing official Selenium positions. The Selenium project recently celebrated a significant milestone - 20 years of browser automation. To mark this occasion, we hosted our first-ever Selenium Community Live event, featuring an in-depth conversation between Jim Evans, Principal Technical Advisor, Sales Force, one of Selenium's longest-standing Comiitter, and TLC Committee member and Manoj Kumar, Practice Leader at Cognizant, Committer to Selenium Project and PLC Committee member. ## The Evolution from Selenium to WebDriver The distinction between Selenium and WebDriver remains a source of confusion in the community. Jim Evans clarified this important historical context: Selenium began as a browser automation project 20 years ago, while WebDriver was a separate competing project developed by Simon Stewart at Google around 15 years ago. The breakthrough came when the founders of both projects - Jason Huggins for Selenium and Simon Stewart for WebDriver - decided to join forces. This merger kept the Selenium name while introducing WebDriver's approach under the Selenium umbrella. The project developed a standardized wire protocol that allowed one set of APIs to interact with multiple browsers using the best automation approach for each browser. Grammar/Clarity Fix grammatical issues and typos (e.g., "Comiitter", "Sales Force", "Bi-Di" vs "BiDi", headings like "Watch the Recording the first Episode") and improve sentence flow for readability. The Selenium project recently celebrated a significant milestone - 20 years of browser automation. To mark this occasion, we hosted our first-ever Selenium Community Live event, featuring an in-depth conversation between Jim Evans, Principal Technical Advisor, Sales Force, one of Selenium's longest-standing Comiitter, and TLC Committee member and Manoj Kumar, Practice Leader at Cognizant, Committer to Selenium Project and PLC Committee member. ## The Evolution from Selenium to WebDriver The distinction between Selenium and WebDriver remains a source of confusion in the community. Jim Evans clarified this important historical context: Selenium began as a browser automation project 20 years ago, while WebDriver was a separate competing project developed by Simon Stewart at Google around 15 years ago. The breakthrough came when the founders of both projects - Jason Huggins for Selenium and Simon Stewart for WebDriver - decided to join forces. This merger kept the Selenium name while introducing WebDriver's approach under the Selenium umbrella. The project developed a standardized wire protocol that allowed one set of APIs to interact with multiple browsers using the best automation approach for each browser. ## WebDriver Becomes a W3C Standard One of Selenium's most significant achievements was establishing WebDriver as a W3C standard. The process involved creating the Browser Testing and Tools Working Group within the W3C, bringing together major browser vendors including Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Mozilla. The standardization process requires consensus among all working group members and mandates at least two independent implementations before a specification can advance to candidate recommendation status. Throughout this process, all discussions happen in the open, with public meetings, published minutes, and open GitHub repositories where anyone can file issues or participate in discussions. ## W3C Working Group Meetings and Collaboration The Browser Testing and Tools Working Group conducts its work through multiple types of meetings throughout the year. The group holds regular face-to-face meetings where members from different time zones can collaborate more effectively than through remote participation alone. These in-person sessions typically occur about twice per year, allowing for more immediate feedback and intensive working sessions on complex specification issues. Additionally, the W3C hosts an annual major gathering called TPAC (Technical Plenary and Advisory Committee sessions) every fall, where all working groups convene in one location. This event serves multiple purposes: individual working groups can conduct intensive sessions, the W3C Advisory Committee meets to handle governance matters, and cross-working group collaboration can occur. Recent TPAC meetings have been held in locations like Anaheim, California, with future meetings planned for international venues such as Japan. For those who cannot attend in person, remote participation is available, though time zone coordination remains challenging given the global nature of the W3C membership. The meeting minutes from all sessions are meticulously recorded and published publicly, ensuring transparency and allowing the broader community to follow the progress of standards development. This meeting structure enables the consensus-driven approach that has been fundamental to WebDriver's development, where every feature must gain agreement from all major browser vendors before inclusion in the specification. ## Addressing Common Misconceptions ### "Selenium is Outdated and Slow" This perception stems from several factors, but it's largely a misunderstanding of Selenium's architecture. The original WebDriver protocol operates on a request-response model using HTTP, which can lead to challenges when dealing with dynamic web pages that modify the DOM at runtime. The perceived slowness often results from improper implementation of waiting strategies. Many developers resort to hard-coded sleeps instead of using more sophisticated polling wait patterns or WebDriverWait mechanisms. When elements become stale or unavailable, Selenium raises exceptions by design - expecting developers to understand and handle the state of the page they're automating. ### "Selenium Tests are Flaky" Test flakiness is typically not a Selenium issue but rather stems from poorly designed automation infrastructure and inadequate handling of timing-related challenges. Modern web applications with single-page architecture and JavaScript-heavy frontends require proper waiting strategies and robust automation frameworks that handle retries and polling automatically. ## Modern Frontend Development and WebDriver BiDi Recognizing the evolution of web development, the W3C working group is actively developing WebDriver BiDi (Bidirectional), a next-generation specification that addresses many limitations of the current protocol. WebDriver BiDi uses JSON messaging over WebSocket instead of HTTP, enabling true bidirectional communication. This allows not only the traditional command-response pattern but also real-time event notifications from the browser. For example, instead of polling to detect when a new browser window opens, applications can receive immediate notifications. Several major projects are already showing interest in WebDriver BiDi: - Puppeteer has committed to migrating from Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) to WebDriver BiDi - Other automation tools are actively evaluating or beginning integration - Browser vendors (Chromium, Firefox) have started implementing the specification ## The Advantage of Standards-Based Automation Using CDP for automation limits you to Chromium-based browsers, while WebDriver BiDi is designed specifically for cross-browser automation. Browser vendors themselves maintain the automation technology, ensuring it works optimally with their browsers. Apple consistently participates in W3C standards processes, including WebDriver and WebDriver BiDi specifications, suggesting future Safari support for the new standard. ## Future Directions for Selenium The Selenium project is considering a "batteries included" approach, providing more built-in features while continuing to promote ecosystem projects that add value on top of Selenium's core browser automation capabilities. The project has already introduced capabilities like network traffic capture and console log access in Selenium 4, though these features haven't received widespread attention yet. Future development will focus on better promoting existing features and expanding baseline capabilities. While the project won't venture into machine learning or AI generation directly, the community encourages the development of complementary tools and frameworks that build upon Selenium's solid foundation. ## Getting Involved The Selenium community maintains its welcoming and open culture that has sustained it for two decades. Community members are encouraged to participate through: - IRC and Slack channels for discussions - GitHub issues for contributing code and reporting bugs - W3C working group processes for standards development - Community events and conferences The project's success depends on community involvement as Jim Evans noted, "when we all pull on the oars together, we go a lot faster." ## Looking Forward Selenium's 20-year journey from a single browser automation tool to the foundation of modern web testing demonstrates the power of open standards and community collaboration. With WebDriver BiDi on the horizon and continued innovation in the browser automation space, Selenium remains positioned to serve the testing community for decades to come. The project's commitment to standards-based, cross-browser automation ensures that as web technologies evolve, Selenium will continue to provide reliable, vendor-neutral automation capabilities that serve the entire web development ecosystem. --- ## Links for the various projects which were discussed in the event - **<a href="https://www.w3.org/news-events/w3c-tpac/" target="_blank">TPAC</a>** **<a href="https://www.w3.org/groups/wg/browser-tools-testing/" target="_blank">W3C Browser Testing Working Group</a>** **<a href="https://github.com/w3c/webdriver/" target="_blank">WebDriver</a>** **<a href="https://github.com/w3c/webdriver-bidi/" target="_blank">WebDriver Bi-Di</a>** **<a href="https://github.com/webdriverbidi-net/webdriverbidi-net/" target="_blank">WebDriver Bi-Di .net implementation by Jim Evans </a>** ## Watch the Recording the first Episode of Selenium Community Live Couldn’t join us live? Watch the entire episode here - 📹 Recording Link: [Watch the Event Recording on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4tZOXGQGRQ) Style/Consistency Ensure consistent terminology and formatting: "WebDriver BiDi" capitalization, use of en dashes/em dashes, bullet styles, link labels, and section heading hierarchy; avoid duplicate or redundant sections. ## Modern Frontend Development and WebDriver BiDi Recognizing the evolution of web development, the W3C working group is actively developing WebDriver BiDi (Bidirectional), a next-generation specification that addresses many limitations of the current protocol. WebDriver BiDi uses JSON messaging over WebSocket instead of HTTP, enabling true bidirectional communication. This allows not only the traditional command-response pattern but also real-time event notifications from the browser. For example, instead of polling to detect when a new browser window opens, applications can receive immediate notifications. Several major projects are already showing interest in WebDriver BiDi: - Puppeteer has committed to migrating from Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) to WebDriver BiDi - Other automation tools are actively evaluating or beginning integration - Browser vendors (Chromium, Firefox) have started implementing the specification ## The Advantage of Standards-Based Automation Using CDP for automation limits you to Chromium-based browsers, while WebDriver BiDi is designed specifically for cross-browser automation. Browser vendors themselves maintain the automation technology, ensuring it works optimally with their browsers. Apple consistently participates in W3C standards processes, including WebDriver and WebDriver BiDi specifications, suggesting future Safari support for the new standard. ## Future Directions for Selenium The Selenium project is considering a "batteries included" approach, providing more built-in features while continuing to promote ecosystem projects that add value on top of Selenium's core browser automation capabilities. The project has already introduced capabilities like network traffic capture and console log access in Selenium 4, though these features haven't received widespread attention yet. Future development will focus on better promoting existing features and expanding baseline capabilities. While the project won't venture into machine learning or AI generation directly, the community encourages the development of complementary tools and frameworks that build upon Selenium's solid foundation. ## Getting Involved The Selenium community maintains its welcoming and open culture that has sustained it for two decades. Community members are encouraged to participate through: - IRC and Slack channels for discussions - GitHub issues for contributing code and reporting bugs - W3C working group processes for standards development - Community events and conferences The project's success depends on community involvement as Jim Evans noted, "when we all pull on the oars together, we go a lot faster." ## Looking Forward Selenium's 20-year journey from a single browser automation tool to the foundation of modern web testing demonstrates the power of open standards and community collaboration. With WebDriver BiDi on the horizon and continued innovation in the browser automation space, Selenium remains positioned to serve the testing community for decades to come. The project's commitment to standards-based, cross-browser automation ensures that as web technologies evolve, Selenium will continue to provide reliable, vendor-neutral automation capabilities that serve the entire web development ecosystem. --- ## Links for the various projects which were discussed in the event - **<a href="https://www.w3.org/news-events/w3c-tpac/" target="_blank">TPAC</a>** **<a href="https://www.w3.org/groups/wg/browser-tools-testing/" target="_blank">W3C Browser Testing Working Group</a>** **<a href="https://github.com/w3c/webdriver/" target="_blank">WebDriver</a>** **<a href="https://github.com/w3c/webdriver-bidi/" target="_blank">WebDriver Bi-Di</a>** **<a href="https://github.com/webdriverbidi-net/webdriverbidi-net/" target="_blank">WebDriver Bi-Di .net implementation by Jim Evans </a>** ## Watch the Recording the first Episode of Selenium Community Live Couldn’t join us live? Watch the entire episode here - 📹 Recording Link: [Watch the Event Recording on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4tZOXGQGRQ)

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PR Code Suggestions ✨

Explore these optional code suggestions:

Category	Suggestion	Impact
High-level	Correct factual inaccuracies The post contains several potentially inaccurate or overstated claims (e.g., W3C requiring two independent implementations before Candidate Recommendation, Puppeteer “committed to migrating” from CDP to BiDi, and the cross-browser scope of Selenium 4 network capture). Please verify these against authoritative sources (W3C Process docs, official project announcements, Selenium docs) and either correct, soften, or cite them. Ensuring precise statements will prevent misinformation and maintain the credibility of the blog and project. Examples: website_and_docs/content/blog/2024/selenium-community-live-episode1.md [37] The standardization process requires consensus among all working group members and mandates at least two independent implementations before a specification can advance to candidate recommendation status. Throughout this process, all discussions happen in the open, with public meetings, published minutes, and open GitHub repositories where anyone can file issues or participate in discussions. website_and_docs/content/blog/2024/selenium-community-live-episode1.md [68] - Puppeteer has committed to migrating from Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) to WebDriver BiDi Solution Walkthrough: Before: ## WebDriver Becomes a W3C Standard ... The standardization process ... mandates at least two independent implementations before a specification can advance to candidate recommendation status. ... ## Modern Frontend Development and WebDriver BiDi ... - Puppeteer has committed to migrating from Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) to WebDriver BiDi ... ## Future Directions for Selenium ... The project has already introduced capabilities like network traffic capture and console log access in Selenium 4... After: ## WebDriver Becomes a W3C Standard ... To advance from Candidate Recommendation to Proposed Recommendation, the process mandates evidence of at least two independent implementations. ... ## Modern Frontend Development and WebDriver BiDi ... - The Puppeteer team has stated its intention to migrate from Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) to WebDriver BiDi. ... ## Future Directions for Selenium ... The project has already introduced capabilities like network traffic capture and console log access in Selenium 4, which leverage the Chrome DevTools Protocol and are thus primarily available on Chromium-based browsers. Suggestion importance[1-10]: 8 __ Why: The suggestion correctly identifies several potentially inaccurate technical statements in the blog post, which is critical for maintaining the credibility of official project documentation.	Medium
General	✅ Fix typos and company naming Suggestion Impact: The commit updated the sentence to fix a typo by changing "Comiitter" to "Committer". Other suggested fixes like "Sales Force" to "Salesforce" and broader phrasing changes were not applied. code diff: -The Selenium project recently celebrated a significant milestone - 20 years of browser automation. To mark this occasion, we hosted our first-ever Selenium Community Live event, featuring an in-depth conversation between Jim Evans, Principal Technical Advisor, Sales Force, one of Selenium's longest-standing Comiitter, and TLC Committee member and Manoj Kumar, Practice Leader at Cognizant, Committer to Selenium Project and PLC Committee member. +The Selenium project recently celebrated a significant milestone - 20 years of browser automation. To mark this occasion, we hosted our first-ever Selenium Community Live event, featuring an in-depth conversation between Jim Evans, Principal Technical Advisor, Sales Force, one of Selenium's longest-standing Committer, and TLC Committee member and Manoj Kumar, Practice Leader at Cognizant, Committer to Selenium Project and PLC Committee member. Correct misspellings and company naming to avoid misinformation and maintain credibility. Adjust phrasing for readability and consistent committee naming. website_and_docs/content/blog/2024/selenium-community-live-episode1.md [25] -The Selenium project recently celebrated a significant milestone - 20 years of browser automation. To mark this occasion, we hosted our first-ever Selenium Community Live event, featuring an in-depth conversation between Jim Evans, Principal Technical Advisor, Sales Force, one of Selenium's longest-standing Comiitter, and TLC Committee member and Manoj Kumar, Practice Leader at Cognizant, Committer to Selenium Project and PLC Committee member. +The Selenium project recently celebrated a significant milestone - 20 years of browser automation. To mark this occasion, we hosted our first-ever Selenium Community Live event, featuring an in-depth conversation between Jim Evans, Principal Technical Advisor at Salesforce, one of Selenium's longest-standing committers and a TLC member, and Manoj Kumar, Practice Leader at Cognizant, a committer to the Selenium project and a PLC member. [Suggestion processed] Suggestion importance[1-10]: 7 __ Why: The suggestion corrects multiple factual and grammatical errors ("Sales Force" to "Salesforce", "Comiitter" to "committers"), significantly improving the professionalism and accuracy of the blog post.	Medium
	Correct heading grammar Correct the heading grammar to improve readability and professionalism. This also helps searchability and consistency across the blog. website_and_docs/content/blog/2024/selenium-community-live-episode1.md [119] -## Watch the Recording the first Episode of Selenium Community Live +## Watch the Recording of the First Episode of Selenium Community Live Apply / Chat Suggestion importance[1-10]: 5 __ Why: The suggestion corrects a grammatical error in a heading ("Recording the" to "Recording of the"), which improves the readability and professionalism of the article.	Low
Security	Add noopener/noreferrer to external links Add rel="noopener noreferrer" to all anchors that use target="_blank" to prevent reverse tabnabbing and improve security. Apply this to each newly added external link that opens in a new tab. website_and_docs/content/blog/2024/selenium-community-live-episode1.md [108-116] -**<a href="https://www.w3.org/news-events/w3c-tpac/" target="_blank">TPAC</a>** +**<a href="https://www.w3.org/news-events/w3c-tpac/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TPAC</a>** -**<a href="https://www.w3.org/groups/wg/browser-tools-testing/" target="_blank">W3C Browser Testing Working Group</a>** +**<a href="https://www.w3.org/groups/wg/browser-tools-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">W3C Browser Testing Working Group</a>** -**<a href="https://github.com/w3c/webdriver/" target="_blank">WebDriver</a>** +**<a href="https://github.com/w3c/webdriver/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WebDriver</a>** -**<a href="https://github.com/w3c/webdriver-bidi/" target="_blank">WebDriver Bi-Di</a>** +**<a href="https://github.com/w3c/webdriver-bidi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WebDriver Bi-Di</a>** -**<a href="https://github.com/webdriverbidi-net/webdriverbidi-net/" target="_blank">WebDriver Bi-Di .net implementation by Jim Evans </a>** +**<a href="https://github.com/webdriverbidi-net/webdriverbidi-net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WebDriver Bi-Di .net implementation by Jim Evans </a>** Apply / Chat Suggestion importance[1-10]: 6 __ Why: The suggestion correctly identifies a security best practice by adding rel="noopener noreferrer" to links with target="_blank", which helps prevent tabnabbing vulnerabilities.	Low
Update

[Copilot]

Pull Request Overview

This PR significantly expands the blog post about Selenium Community Live Episode 1 from a brief summary to a comprehensive article covering the event's key discussions and insights.

• Transformed a short blog post into detailed coverage with proper sections and structure
• Added comprehensive content about WebDriver evolution, W3C standards process, and community involvement
• Reorganized content flow with better headings and moved the video link to the end

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[alaahong]

LGTM

[pallavigitwork]

Thank you.