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The WordPress vs. WP Engine drama, explained
- A heated controversy has arisen in WordPress, one of the most popular hosting solutions for creating websites.
- Automattic founder Matt Mullenweg and WP Engine are at the center of the conflict.
- Mullenweg called WP Engine a “cancer to WordPress” for disabling a feature that tracks users’ post revisions. WP Engine then sent a cease-and-desist letter, to which Automattic replied with its own cease-and-desist letter to WP Engine for trademark rules violations.
- Mullenweg has since banned WP Engine from accessing resources of WordPress.org, leading to concerns about communities being left helpless.
- On October 3, WP Engine filed a lawsuit against Automattic and Mullenweg, arguing that WP Engine had not been allowed to develop its products in a free-competition market.
- The lawsuit also includes texts from Mullenweg proposing to hire WP Engine CEO Heather Brunner as an executive director of WordPress.org.
- Developers are worried that if the WordPress Foundation is successful in trademarking “Managed WordPress” and “Hosted WordPress,” it could be used against them.
- Automattic also asked organizers of community events to share social media credentials for “safe storage of future events,” according to leaked letters.
- Some contributors were banned from the WordPress.org community Slack for opposing an additional checkbox that verified if the user was associated with WP Engine.
- On October 17, Mullenweg posted an offer on the Automattic Slack with a four-hour response window, offering a nine-month severance to those who accepted, with the caveat that they would no longer have access to the Word Press community.
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