Darnell (Seize The Day)

I have been highly critical of how Matt Mullenweg has handled his confrontation with WP Engine. The fallout from this fight has hurt numerous customers and damaged WordPress's brand online.

However, it appears that Automattic's (the company behind WordPress and WordPress.com) feud with WP Engine has been simmering in the background for years and has only recently spilled over into public view.

Recently, @photomatt@mastodon.social went on @ThePrimeagen@hachyderm.io show on YouTube to try to defend his reputation to a skeptical audience and explain why he took drastic actions against a corporate behemoth that services thousands of WordPress customers.

After watching the video, I noticed that Mullenweg is frustrated that WP Engine is freeloading off of Automattic's Research & Development and taking advantage of the free labor from WordPress contributors. WP Engine allegedly does not assign employees to contribute work hours to improving the core of WordPress, & instead merely profits from the labor of others.

However, one item that seemed clear is that Mullenweg could not demonstrate why WP Engine needed to legally contribute back to the WordPress community (via work hours or financially) & instead is pursuing the trademark violation route in court.

So, Who Is In The WordPress Right‽ (Truth & Legalities)

Truthfully (or ethically) speaking, Matt Mullenweg is correct in demanding that WP Engine's relationship with WordPress be reciprocal, & wants the most successful WordPress company outside of Automattic to contribute back to the community, as well as remove the revisions restrictions.

Legally, I do not see how Automattic could force WP Engine to give back to the community. I am also highly skeptical that the courts will side with Mullenweg regarding the use of WP as a trademark violation, as plenty of other companies and individuals are also using WP without being sent a cease-and-desist order.

If my non-legal mind could offer a legal prediction in favor of Automattic, it would be that WP Engine is ordered by the courts to pay the WordPress Foundation between $1 and $10 million (yes, between one dollar and ten million dollars), and WP Engine rebrands itself under a different name.

WordPress Reprieve Towards WP Engine Customers

Matt Mullenweg wisely offered a brief reprieve to WP Engine to limit the collateral damage to businesses that depend upon WordPress.

I've heard from WP Engine customers that they are frustrated that WP Engine hasn't been able to make updates, plugin directory, theme directory, and Openverse work on their sites. It saddens me that they've been negatively impacted by Silver Lake's commercial decisions. [...]

We have lifted the blocks of their servers from accessing ours, until October 1, UTC 00:00. Hopefully this helps them spin up their mirrors of all of WordPress.org's resources that they were using for free while not paying, and making legal threats against us. (WordPress Foundation)

To my knowledge, WP Engine already has created a workaround to avoid this scenario from affecting their customers, but the temporary unblocking should help ensure WordPress customers are not hurt while the corporate giants battle it out in court.

Why Can't We Be Friends‽ (Possible WordPress Solution)

If I could wave a magic wand & resolve this issue with the least amount of money and emotional drama, I would require WP Engine to provide a dedicated team of employees (around a dozen) whose only job is improving the core of WordPress.

I would also require WP Engine to provide a premium option for unlimited revisions to satisfy their customers and WP Engine's finance department.

As far as Matt Mullenweg goes, I would have him step down as head of the WordPress foundation, & replace him with someone who is not connected to Automattic to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. I would leave it up to Matt to appoint his replacement (I suggest Mark Jaquith, but he may not want the job 😅).

Ultimately, what really matters is that both Automattic & WP Engine strive to make life better for the WordPress community overall, as a civil war between the two will only benefit proprietary solutions (who may or may not have users' best interests at heart).

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day 📧 darnell@darnell.day

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