WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg had already said that either WP Engine would pay a royalty (reportedly 8% of its multimillion-dollar profits), or it would be “nuclear war.” Ultimately, the latter has occurred, with a series of disagreements that could have deep consequences for open-source code. The latest chapter in this saga is that WP Engine no longer has access to WordPress.org resources, so they have to figure things out on their own.
Losing access to WordPress.org (unless they pay for it) means they now have to use their own login system, update servers, their own directory of plugins, themes, patterns, and they lose access to translations, conferences, and much more. In other words, the issue is huge, and WP Engine users can no longer easily update their WordPress installations for security as they did before.
Matt encourages WP Engine to continue offering its version of WordPress under an open-source license, modified as they see fit, but without using WordPress.org services, which is quite complicated in the short term.
In a new statement published by Matt Mullenweg on WordPress.org, the open-source part of the platform, Matt assures that WP Engine customers should turn to that company and not to WordPress or Automattic for solutions to their problems.
Matt is upset because not only does WP Engine modify WordPress to save money and increase profits, but they also removed the news feed from the main screen of the backend in an attempt to prevent Mullenweg’s updates, which appear there, from reaching WP Engine customers. This was the final straw, along with the cease-and-desist letter, of course.
Mullenweg’s article ends by stating that WP Engine is not WordPress, as he believes the company has led many to think it is an “official” service, but in fact, it didn’t have a license, and its version of WordPress was limited in some aspects.
Throughout this war, the community has not been very supportive of Mullenweg, mainly because many have commercial projects and businesses that could also be affected by this controversy. The way the WordPress brand is used going forward will inevitably change, and there is some nervousness within the community.
By the way, on another note, Automattic has made it clear that they will not regulate or take further action on the abbreviation “WP.” It’s a different story with the word “WordPress” or “WooCommerce.” Fortunately, at CMS MAG, we are a media outlet, and we have certain freedoms and rights, such as the right to quote, protected by fundamental basic rights like freedom of expression and the public’s right to information.
WP Engine’s Response
The full tweet says: “Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic, has misused his control of WordPress to interfere with WP Engine customers’ access to WordPress.org, asserting that he did so because WP Engine filed litigation against WordPress.org. This simply is not true. Our Cease & Desist letter was a letter – not a lawsuit – and was directed at Automattic for Matt’s pattern of serious and repeated misconduct – behavior that must stop for the health and stability of the entire community.
Matt Mullenweg’s unprecedented and unwarranted action interferes with the normal operation of the entire WordPress ecosystem, impacting not just WP Engine and our customers, but all WordPress plugin developers and open-source users who depend on WP Engine tools like ACF. We are taking immediate steps to remediate the impact of this action. We remain steadfastly committed to supporting WP Engine customers, users, and the entire WordPress community.”
* Article written by Jorge Mediavilla, translated using chatGPT and reviewed in english by Jorge Mediavilla.
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