Deciphering Matt's Take on WordPress, Which is Under Attack From Microsofters-Funded Aggravator
The company behind WordPress, a project I had helped since around 2004 (i.e. more than 20 years ago), kept trying to change the subject or at least change the narrative through the official WordPress blog. This has gone on for months. The timings and subjects of blog posts coincided with the legal clash. Then a few days ago, the cofounder of WordPress, Matt Mullenweg, posted this rant about the situation, stirring up some more debate. Joost de Valk wrote:
WordPress is at a crossroads, now even more clearly then when I wrote my previous post on WordPress’s roadmap. I had very much intended to leave this topic alone for a bit until after the holiday break, until, last night, Matt imposed a holiday break on us all.
Having seen WordPress drama since year 1, and having been part of it 2 decades ago, I have a lot to say about Matt's post. It's also interesting that the money sponsoring the legal attacks on WordPress and on Matt is connected very closely to Microsoft. Basically, what do they stand to gain here and what are their goals?
This is what Matt wrote:
In order to give myself and the many tired volunteers around WordPress.org a break for the holidays, we’re going to be pausing a few of the free services currently offered:New account registrations on WordPress.org (clarifying so press doesn’t confuse this: people can still make their own WordPress installs and accounts)
New plugin directory submissions
New plugin reviews
New theme directory submissions
New photo directory submissions
We’re going to leave things like localization and the forums open because these don’t require much moderation.
The mental fatigue is showing and it is likely intentional. Some press reports spoke of Matt rage-quitting a chat - very unusual for someone like Matt (I talked to him a lot when he was still a teenager). He is generally a calm person.
If you alter the way WordPress.org works to appease them, then they're winning. Don't let them do this. Fight on, Matt.
As you may have heard, I’m legally compelled to provide free labor and services to WP Engine thanks to the success of their expensive lawyers, so in order to avoid bothering the court I will say that none of the above applies to WP Engine, so if they need to bypass any of the above please just have your high-priced attorneys talk to my high-priced attorneys and we’ll arrange access, or just reach out directly to me on Slack and I’ll fix things for you.
He speaks of high-priced attorneys; the money comes from a notorious Microsoft-connected VC. So one might say that this alone speaks volumes. Matt often names this VC, even out in public. He wishes to hold accountable the litigants' sugar daddy. We too pointed out that the lawyer who keeps sending us threats received some Microsoft money through 'former' Microsoft staff. That's quite revealing.
I hope to find the time, energy, and money to reopen all of this sometime in the new year. Right now much of the time I would spend making WordPress better is being taken up defending against WP Engine’s legal attacks. Their attacks are against Automattic, but also me individually as the owner of WordPress.org, which means if they win I can be personally liable for millions of dollars of damages.
Sounds familiar? Threatening letters sent to my wife? Not even naming her correctly...
If you would like to fund legal attacks against me, I would encourage you to sign up for WP Engine services, they have great plans and pricing starting at $50/mo and scaling all the way up to $2,000/mo. If not, you can use literally any other web host in the world that isn’t suing me and is offering promotions and discounts for switching away from WP Engine.
The bottom line, if there is any, is that WP Engine's litigation campaign is funded by a notorious VC connected closely to Microsoft. That alone says a lot (to me in particular) and makes me a lot more sympathetic towards Matt and WordPress. There is a "personal attack" aspect to it. They want the founder (or cofounder) out. Then what?
Stay strong, Matt. █