A single tweet has sparked a new storm around the so-called Wpdrama. The legal battle is ongoing and could last for years and according to Matt Mullenweg, it could end up causing his bankruptcy and even shutting down WordPress.org—an outcome that would have huge ramifications for the community, given the substantial costs required to maintain the platform’s infrastructure.
All of this originated from a tweet by a WordPress user who, over the last twelve years, had published nearly 600 free WooCommerce tutorials and 500 newsletters. In that tweet, the user pleaded with Mullenweg to reconsider the instability he had triggered, laying the blame at his feet.
In response, Mullenweg doubled down on his position, insisting that the dispute can only be resolved if WP Engine withdraws the lawsuit it filed in response to the conflict he originally initiated.
“Everything I’m doing is to safeguard WordPress’s long-term health. The lawsuits can only be withdrawn by WPE, as they’re the ones who started them. These lawsuits will last for years and could drive me to bankruptcy or force WordPress.org to shut down. They also take up a huge amount of time—there’s no ‘legal work on that,’” declared the Automattic founder on X.
These statements have reignited widespread frustration and uncertainty among WordPress users. Extending the debate further, the discussion moved over to Reddit, where the topic continued with a range of comments, many of them critical of Mullenweg.
In this regard, numerous users faulted the WordPress co-founder for disrupting the company’s harmony and making certain decisions. They also noted that they might be considering other options, such as Drupal—which, it should be noted, is set to release a new version (Drupal CMS) on January 15 with the clear objective of competing head to head with WordPress.
Is this truly the end for WordPress? Is there still a path to prevent these lawsuits from running their course or to stop high costs from ruining the company? At CMS MAG, we believe there is a strong tradition in U.S. law of reaching settlements, so it is very likely this dispute can be resolved without exhausting all legal avenues. It’s important to remember that both sides have enlisted high-profile legal teams. We hope and trust that a satisfactory agreement can be reached—for the good of the entire community.
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