Ladies and Gentlemen, lift the curtain for the Statamic Rad Pack! Picture this: A bunch of independent developers, banding together just like the Rat Pack of old, only swapping out Vegas shows for coding sessions and martinis for coffee. The mission? To cook up and maintain Addons and Starter Kits that matter to you.

It's like having Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra working on your web project - they're part of the show, but they're playing their own tunes. The Rad Pack focuses on crafting "second-party" Addons, bridging the gap between the Statamic core and third-party packages. These packages are third-party rockstars, but with a twist: they're backed up by first-party support, as reliable as Dean Martin's croon.

And we're not here to drop a one-hit wonder and then leave. These Addons are built, documented, and fine-tuned to the same standards as our core, with a commitment to regular maintenance. They won't end up like forgotten B-sides.

We believe that every artist in our group deserves their fair share of the spotlight, and that includes getting compensated for their gig. We're dedicating a part of our GitHub Sponsorships to keep the Statamic Rad Pack juiced up and ready to roll.

And here's where the chorus comes in: we want you to join in our jam session. Whether you're interested in joining the Rad Pack with your existing Addon or have an idea for a new one, we're all ears. It's all about the harmony of the community, after all. Have another idea or suggestions? Let us know!

The first act to hit the Rad Pack stage is Erin Dalzell's Mailchimp Addon. Erin wanted to take a bit of a backstage role for this addon, and we decided to step in to keep the Mailchimp integration grooving smoothly.

What Addons or Starter Kits are we looking for?

We prefer original scores. That doesn't mean remixes or mashups are not allowed.

This example from the README is a good way to illustrate it:

A Mailchimp integration is a great Rad Pack Addon because lots of people use Mailchimp, but nowhere near 80%. Therefore, it would not be a good candidate for a Core Feature as it just doesn't make sense to ship updates to Statamic just to make a Mailchimp fix.

As long as it adds value and makes the user experience simpler, it's okay to make the Addon a wrapper around another package or an external API.

Also, keep in mind that the goal is not to make money. All packages that are part of the Rad Pack are free. That's why we dedicate a share of our GitHub Sponsorships to the people involved.

To keep the show organized, we've set up our very own dressing room, a GitHub organization under the name statamic-rad-pack. Check it out, see what we're up to, and maybe join us for the encore. Head over to the organization on GitHub: Statamic Rad Pack on GitHub. More details can be found in its README.

So, buckle up and get ready for the ride, folks. With the Rad Pack, we're looking to make some sweet music, contribute to the Statamic ecosystem, and have a blast doing it. It's gonna be one helluva show! 🎸

If you want to join, have suggestions, or have any other questions, reach out to us on Twitter or Discord.