Fix ALT tags for avatars in BBPress (WordPress)

I recently discovered a little “error” on one of my websites running WordPress with BBPress.
The ALT tag for all avatars/gravatars used in my WordPress BBPress forum was set to: alt=””.

Bing, according to their webmaster tools, did complain over the lack of the BBPress avatars ALT tags on most pages in my forum.
Seeing all those error messages annoyed me too much, so I decided to fix it.

BBPress forum ALT tag fix.

So, here how to fix the problem:

You need to edit your themes functions.php file.
Add this bit of PHP code to the bottom of that file:

function filter_gravatar_alt($img) {
   if ( have_comments() ) {
      $alt = 'Avatar image';
   }
   else {
      $alt = 'Avatar image';
   }
   $img = str_replace('alt=\'\'', 'alt=\''.$alt.'\'', $img);
   return $img;
}
add_filter('get_avatar', 'filter_gravatar_alt');

Save the functions.php file and upload it or just update it if you’re using WordPress built-in editor.

Hopefully you’ll see that your BBPress avatars/gravatars contain the ALT tag with the text “Avatar image”.

Answer to: What is installatron_hide_status_test.php?

The “installatron_hide_status_test.php” plugin was previously installed by Installatron to help it manage WordPress automatic updates (if enabled by the customer).

It has been replaced by a new plugin, “automation-by-{brand}.php” where {brand} is replaced by the Installatron ID at Installatron Admin > Branding.

What is installatron_hide_status_test.php?

If you’re still seeing this plugin, it should be swapped with the new version the next time the installation is managed by Installatron.

Updated WordPress Blog Ping List (2021)

Have you seen a gigantic list of blog ping URLs or is currently using such a huge list of blog ping services?
I’m talking about close to hundreds of URLs.

Take a minute to look through them. I bet 90% probably are probably not working.

It will only take more unnecessary time for you to post your blog posts and it will also use more resources from your web server.

The screenshot below show my old WordPress ping list, there’s like 80 more blog ping services except the ones you see in the screenshot.

Too many old blog ping services.

You don’t gain much if you’re using the huge lists many other sites got.
They’re not updated anyway and contain a lot of 404 sites.

Instead, just use a few blog ping services that actually works in 2021. The following is a updated list of 8 ping sites.

Here’s the Blog Ping List for 2021 I currently use.

http://rpc.pingomatic.com
https://rpc.twingly.com/
http://blogmatcher.com/u.php
http://ping.feedburner.com
http://ping.blo.gs/
http://www.blogdigger.com/RPC2
http://pingoat.com/goat/RPC2
https://www.pingmyblog.com/ 

That’s all for now. 🙂