Lots of you — maybe most of you — have been sitting on the sidelines whereas WordPress and WP Engine commerce authorized assaults on each other. It’s been extensively lined as we watch it unfold within the open; sarcastically, in a way.
This stuff can take twists and turns and it doesn’t assist that this simply so occurs to be an emotionally charged matter in sure circles. WordPress is nonetheless the main CMS in any case these years and by an extended shot. Many builders make their dwelling within the WordPress ecosystem. All of these builders want internet hosting. WP Engine is nonetheless the main WordPress-flavored host after a few years. Many builders host their businesses there and use it to administrate their shoppers’ websites.
And I haven’t even gotten to the drama. That’s not likely the purpose. The purpose is that there’s a bunch of heated phrases flying round and it may be troublesome to know the place they’re coming from, who they’re aimed toward, and most significantly, why they’re being stated within the first place. So, I’m going to spherical up a number of key voices contributing to the dialogue for the sake of context and to assist catch up.
Editor’s Observe: Despite the fact that CSS-Methods has no involvement with both firm, I believe it’s mentioning that Automattic was a looooooong time sponsor. This web site was additionally as soon as hosted by Flywheel, an organization acquired by WP Engine earlier than we moved to Cloudways following the DigitalOcean acquisition. Me? My private web site runs on WP Engine, however I’m not valuable about it having solely been there one yr.
Prelude to a tweet
We had honest warning that one thing was arising when WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg despatched this out over X:
I do know non-public fairness and buyers could be brutal (learn the guide Barbarians on the Gate). Please let me know if any worker faces firing or retaliation for talking up about their firm’s participation (or lack thereof) in WordPress. We’ll make certain it is a massive public deal and…
— Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt) September 19, 2024
There’s the ammo: Don’t let non-public fairness bully you into talking up towards the corporate you’re employed for when its contributions to WordPress are on the slim aspect of issues.
Non-public fairness. Lack of participation within the WordPress neighborhood. Making a giant public deal of it. Keep in mind this stuff as a result of that is someday earlier than…
WordCamp US 2024
Matt spoke at WordCamp US (WCUS) 2024 in Portland, OR, final week. September 20 to be actual. Making massive, daring statements at WCUS isn’t a brand new factor for Matt, as many people nonetheless have “Be taught JavaScript deeply” tattooed on the mind from 2016.
Matt’s statements this yr have been much less inspirational (tutorial?) as they took direct intention at WP Engine as a part of a presentation on the deserves of open-source collaboration. You possibly can watch and take heed to the place the primary jab was thrown roughly across the 10:05 marker of the recording.
Let’s break down the deal. Matt begins by evaluating the open-source contributions to WordPress from his firm, Automattic, to these of WP Engine. This stuff are tracked on WordPress.org as a part of a marketing campaign known as “5 for the Future” that’s designed to offer organizations an influential seat on the desk to type the way forward for WordPress in trade for open-source contributions again to the WordPress undertaking. Automattic has a web page totaling its contributions. So does WP Engine.
Earlier than Matt reveals the numbers, he goes out of his strategy to name out the truth that each Automattic and WP Engine are massive gamers within the neighborhood of $500 million {dollars}. That’s the setup for Matt to reveal how comparatively little WP Engine contributes to WordPress towards Matt’s personal firm. Granted, I neither have completely no clue what components into contributions, nor how the pages are administrated or up to date. However right here’s what they present…
Fairly the discrepancy! I’d think about Automattic dwarfs each different firm that’s pledged to the marketing campaign. Possibly it will be higher to match the contributions of one other non-Automattic pledge that has a reasonably sturdy fame for collaborating in WordPress neighborhood. 10up is likely one of the firms that comes straight to my thoughts and they’re exhibiting up for 191 hours per week, or roughly 5 occasions WP Engine’s reported time. I get conflicting data on 10up’s income, valuation, and measurement, so perhaps the comparability isn’t honest. Or perhaps it’s honest as a result of 10up is definitely smaller than WP Engine, and no estimate I noticed was even near the $500 million mark.
Regardless of the case, backside line: Matt calls out WP Engine for its lack of effort on a really public stage — perhaps the most important — in WordPress Land. He doesn’t cease there, happening to namecheck Silver Lake, a ginormous non-public fairness agency bankrolling the corporate. The insinuation is evident: there’s loads of cash and assets, so pony up.
That’s dangerous sufficient for attendees to boost eyebrows, nevertheless it doesn’t finish there. Matt encourages customers and builders alike to vote with cash by not buying internet hosting from WP Engine (11:31) and appears to counsel (23:05) that he’ll present monetary help to any WP Engine staff who lose their jobs from talking up towards their employer.
I believe I can get behind the final concept that some firms want somewhat prodding to drag their weight to one thing just like the 5 for the Future marketing campaign. Encouraging builders to drag their tasks from an organization and staff to jeopardize their careers? Eek.
“WP Engine isn’t WordPress”
That is once I consider issues bought noisy. It’s one factor to strongarm an organization (or its buyers) into doing extra for the neighborhood. However in a submit on his private weblog the day after WCUS, Matt ups the ante alleging that “WP Engine isn’t WordPress.” You’d suppose that is a part of the tough-guy stance he had from the stage, however his argument is far totally different on this submit. Discover it’s about how WP Engine makes use of WordPress in its enterprise somewhat than how a lot the corporate invests in it:
WordPress is a content material administration system, and the content material is sacred. Each change you make to each web page, each submit, is tracked in a revision system, similar to the Wikipedia. This implies if you happen to make a mistake, you possibly can all the time undo it. It additionally means if you happen to’re attempting to determine why one thing is on a web page, you possibly can see exactly the historical past and edits that led to it. These revisions are saved in our database. This is essential, it’s on the core of the person promise of defending your knowledge, and it’s why WordPress is architected and designed to by no means lose something.
WP Engine turns this off. They disable revisions as a result of it prices them extra money to retailer the historical past of the adjustments within the database, they usually don’t wish to spend that to guard your content material. It strikes to the very coronary heart of what WordPress does, they usually shatter it, the integrity of your content material.
OK, gloves off. That is extra private. It’s not about neighborhood contributions however neighborhood belief and the way WP Engine erodes belief by stopping WordPress customers from accessing core WordPress options for their very own revenue.
Required studying
That’s the place I’d like to finish this, a minimum of for now. A number of days have elapsed since Matt’s weblog submit and there are numerous, many extra phrases flying round from him, neighborhood members, different firms, and perhaps even your Nice Aunt. However if you happen to’re on the lookout for extra sign than noise, I’ve rounded up a number of alternative choices that I really feel contribute to the (heated) dialogue.
Reddit: Matt Mullenweg must step down from WordPress.org management ASAP
Matt responds to the requisite requires him to step down, beginning with:
To be very clear, I used to be 100% cordial and well mannered to everybody on the sales space, my message was:
* I do know this isn’t about them, it’s occurring a number of ranges above, it’s even above their CEO, it’s coming from their proprietor, Silver Lake and notably their board member Lee Wittlinger.
* A number of folks inside WP Engine have been anonymously leaking data to me about their dangerous habits, and I wished to allow them to know in the event that they have been caught or confronted retaliation that I’d help them in each approach attainable, together with overlaying their salaries till they discovered a brand new job.
* That *if* we needed to take down the WP Engine sales space and ban WP Engine that night, my colleague ChloĂ© may print all of them new private badges in the event that they nonetheless wished to attend the convention personally, as they’re neighborhood members, not simply their firm.
This was delivered calmly, they usually stated thanks, and their head of comms, Lauren Cox, who was there requested that they’ve time to regroup and focus on.
Automattic’s Actionable Misconduct Directed to WP Engine
WP Engine points a stop and desist letter designed to cease Matt from disparaging them publicly. However maintain up, as a result of there’s one other juicy declare in there:
Within the days main as much as Mr. Mullenweg’s September twentieth keynote handle on the WordCamp US Conference, Automattic all of the sudden started demanding that WP Engine pay Automattic massive sums of cash, and if it didn’t, Automattic would wage a warfare towards WP Engine.
And sure, they did concern it from their very own web site’s
/wp-contentlisting. That’s simple to lose, so I’ve downloaded it to hyperlink it for posterity.
Open Supply, Logos, and WP Engine
Simply as we speak, Matt printed a stop and desist letter to the Auttomatic weblog the place he alleges that WP Engine’s industrial modifications to WordPress Core violate the WordPress trademark. Once more, this has turn into about licensing, not contributions:
WP Engine’s enterprise mannequin is predicated on in depth and unauthorized use of those logos in ways in which mislead customers into believing that WP Engine is synonymous with WordPress. It’s not.
That is trademark abuse, not honest competitors.
That is not WordPress vs. WP Engine. It’s extra like Automattic vs. WP Engine. However with Matt’s title fairly actually within the title Automattic, let’s be actual and name this Matt Mullenweg vs. WP Engine.
WP Tavern protection
WP Tavern continues to be the closest factor we’ve got to an official WordPress information outlet. Nevermind that it’s funded and employed by Automattic (amongst others). I respect it, although I actually have been much less attentive to it since the workforce turned earlier this yr. It’s nonetheless an excellent spot to atone for the post-event protection:
There’s one other newer WP Tavern article I wish to name out as a result of it’s an enormous growth on this saga…
WP Engine Banned from Utilizing WordPress.org Sources
Dang. That is the purpose of no return. It not solely impacts WP Engine correct, however the Flywheel internet hosting it additionally owns.
WordPress.org has blocked WP Engine prospects from updating and putting in plugins and themes by way of WP Admin.Â
I used to be in a position to replace plugins on my web site as just lately as yesterday, however let’s see as of this morning.
Possibly I can nonetheless see particulars about my put in plugins…
This can be a dangerous, dangerous situatiuon. I’ve ideas about it and neither aspect seems to be good. Utilizing actual folks with no canine within the battle to make some extent isn’t gonna be a superb look. Then once more, each side have legitimate factors and I can see the place they’re coming from. I simply hate to see it come to a head like this.
