In case you haven’t heard, there’s a perplexing dispute brewing between Matt Mullenweg, one of the co-creators of WordPress, and WP Engine, a popular hosting service for websites. Here’s a brief summary of the situation.
Recently, the WordPress login page introduced an odd new checkbox that mandates users to affirm they are not associated with WP Engine in any capacity.
Update: On December 10th, a judge issued a preliminary injunction that reinstated access and eliminated the controversial login checkbox.
The WordPress vs WP Engine Conflict
The relationship between WordPress and WP Engine (WPE) has been strained for quite some time. As a hosting provider for WordPress sites, Mullenweg has consistently criticized WPE for not contributing enough to the WordPress community.
Tensions escalated when Automattic demanded that WPE pay millions for a trademark license. In response, WPE launched a legal battle against Automattic, claiming that it was being extorted.
In recent weeks, [WordPress] has executed a strategy to exclude WPE from the WordPress community unless they consented to pay tens of millions for a dubious trademark license they don’t even require.
This plan was alarming, offering WPE only 48 hours to either comply or face exclusion and public defamation. During this timeframe, WPE received threatening messages designed to coerce them into an excessive payout. When WPE refused to yield, threats of an all-out ‘nuclear’ campaign against them were enacted.
Mullenweg reacted by banning WPE from WordPress.org.
Due to their ongoing legal claims against WordPress.org, WP Engine can no longer access the resources on WordPress.org for free […] Why should WordPress.org offer these services at no cost to WPE given their hostile actions toward us? WP Engine is welcome to provide their altered version of WordPress’s GPL code to their clients, experiencing WordPress as WPE chooses, profiting while assuming all service responsibilities.
CIO, many opted for the latter.
Mullenweg decided to incentivize those who disagreed with him to depart, offering what he described as “the most generous buyout package possible”: either $30,000 or six months’ salary, whichever was more beneficial. Two stipulations were that decisions had to be made by 1 p.m. Pacific Time on October 3, and there would be no rehiring by Automattic.
Ultimately, 159 employees — about 8.4% of the total workforce — accepted the exit offer, including one individual who had just started two days prior.
New Requirement for WordPress Login
According to 404Media, a checkbox has recently been added to the WordPress login process.
Users on WordPress.org must now verify that they are not “affiliated with WP Engine in any manner, whether financially or otherwise” before they can register for a new account or log in […] Those who do not check that box will be unable to log in or create a new account.
WPTavern indicates that several notable WordPress contributors find themselves locked out as a result of this new requirement.
Multiple community members have reported being barred from WordPress Slack, including Javier Casares (Hosting Team Representative and Lead for the WordPress Advanced Administration Handbook), Ryan McCue (WordPress committer and co-lead on the WordPress REST API), Jono Alderson (technical SEO consultant), Alex Sirota (founder of NewPath Consulting), and Andrew Hutchings (Chief Contributions Officer at MariaDB Foundation).
DMN’s Perspective
While Mullenweg might have a point regarding the need for WPE to show more appreciation to WordPress, it’s crucial to remember that WordPress’s code is open-source and available for commercial use.
No matter the disagreements, the recent response to these issues is not constructive. The introduction of the new login checkbox appears more like a petty outburst than a solution. Let’s keep WordPress users out of this conflict.
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