Daily Kos has always been built by its community. That’s not just a slogan—it’s a miracle of the internet age.
For more than two decades, thousands of people from every corner of the country and beyond have come together not just to read the news, but to shape it. To organize, to grieve, to debate, to celebrate, to fight. That this community still exists—vibrant, engaged, and relentless—is a testament to what we’ve built together. And as we look to the future, it’s that community we’re centering once again.
As we begin the process of migrating Daily Kos to a new platform—moving from our aging, custom-built system to WordPress—we’re doing something we’ve never done before (to our great shame): formally empowering a group of community leaders to help guide the process.
Meet the inaugural Community Advisory Panel—a small group of longtime contributors who’ve graciously agreed to help guide the early stages of this platform rebuild:
These are trusted voices and thoughtful advocates for the Daily Kos community. They’ve lived through the highs and lows, understand how the site works (and how it breaks), and care deeply about preserving what makes this place feel like home.
That’s exactly why they’re helping us navigate what comes next. Because this migration isn’t just a technical project—it’s a series of tough choices. To stay within budget and launch on schedule, we’ll need to winnow the site’s features down to the essentials. That means some familiar tools may be left behind at first. In the past, we’d cut something and promise to bring it back—but working within a fragile, bespoke system, we rarely could.
This time is different. With WordPress, we can finally keep those promises—and do it faster, cheaper, and more reliably than ever before.
The Community Advisory Panel will help us make those decisions wisely. They’ll identify which features matter most, weigh tradeoffs, pressure-test assumptions, and serve as a bridge to the broader community. Their role isn’t to make the final calls—that’s my job—but to help surface the best ideas, raise red flags, and make sure more voices are reflected in the process. And their work won’t end at launch. They’ll continue helping shape the product roadmap and holding us accountable to what the community truly needs.
That said, this isn’t the only group that will have input—and it won’t be the last. No one panel can represent the full breadth of this community, and we don’t expect them to. That’s why we’ll be opening up more ways for everyone to weigh in, including surveys, comment threads, and beta testing opportunities. The strength of this site has always come from the people who use it. That won’t change.
And what we’re building isn’t just about software—it’s about survival. It’s about Trump-proofing Daily Kos. We need a platform that can withstand whatever chaos, disinformation, threats, or legal challenges this fascist movement throws at us. This rebuild gives us that chance. And the Community Advisory Panel is helping us get there with clarity, urgency, and accountability.
Even if we don’t all agree on every decision I ultimately make, what you will get is radical transparency. You’ll know the “why” behind each choice. And you’ll know that your voice was part of the process.
We’ve always believed this site belongs to the people who power it. Now we’re asking you to help us build its future.
This migration will cost around $500,000. That’s not just for design and development—it includes preserving two decades of content (millions of stories and comments), rebuilding community features, and making sure the site is secure, modern, and sustainable for years to come. We’re not recreating the 2006 version of Daily Kos. We’re building something for 2026 and beyond: a platform for productive activism, deep community engagement, and independent progressive media—yet one that still feels like the Daily Kos you’ve always called home.
You’ll be hearing more about the project from me and the Advisory Panel in the weeks ahead—about what we’re building, what we’re prioritizing, and how you can weigh in. But for now, join us in thanking these nine community members for stepping up. This is a pivotal moment, and they’re helping guide us forward.
Together, we’re not just preserving Daily Kos. We’re evolving it—so it can keep serving the progressive movement for another generation. And if you believe in what this community can be, please consider making a donation to our Capital Campaign to support the rebuild.
