#wordpressdrama — Public Fediverse posts

Search Engine Journal: WordPress Jubilee Of Forgiveness Continues. “Last week, WordPress declared a ‘jubilee’ and is unblocking all community members who were previously blocked. The official WordPress X (formerly Twitter) account posted a reminder that the unblocking is still ongoing.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/02/search-engine-journal-wordpress-jubilee-of-forgiveness-continues/

How Will the Recent WordPress Drama Impact Open-Source Software?

In case you missed it, the #WordPressDrama is a giant hoohaa where it seems the founder of WordPress has gone off the deep end burning everything down around him. All that really has happened is the guy has had a series of tantrums and is now facing lawsuits resulting from his actions.

There are far better summaries of the WordPress drama by WPBeginner and The Verge if you want all the hot gossip. This behaviour has not been without consequences. This is why I invited CEOs, business founders, and other experts to help me answer how the drama with WordPress will impact open-source software.

These are the replies I received.

Decentralization Is the Future of Open Source

As CTO of a platform serving 100K+ users, the recent WordPress drama taught me a crucial lesson: decentralization is the future of open source. While maintaining our WordPress-based products, we’ve already shifted our new projects to a federation-based development model where no single entity has complete control.

Build governance protocols before they’re needed. We now require a 75% consensus from our core contributor community for major architectural changes, preventing the exact situation WordPress faced. The WordPress drama isn’t about updates or testing-it’s a wake-up call that open source needs democratic governance as much as it needs open code.

Jessica Shee, Tech Editor & Marketing Manager, M3datarecovery.com

Redefine Innovation and Community Cohesion

I think the #WordPressDrama will force open-source projects to redefine the intersection between innovation and community cohesion. As I’ve witnessed, incidents like these illustrate how easily trust gets damaged when contributors aren’t treated well. It will probably push open-source communities to formalize decision-making, such as contributor councils or weighted voting.

These frameworks guarantee that key decisions are made by the masses and not the few, which would help avoid conflict and strengthen feelings of ownership. This would, I believe, lead to a higher adoption rate for releases and enhancements because both developers and users feel more engaged in the direction of the project.

Most open-source projects are heavily based on volunteers and thus cannot scale as effectively. This drama, I believe, will drive more initiatives to do hybrid funding, with a mix of community and paid services or sponsorships. This would provide predictable resource usage for important releases without sacrificing the open-source community feel.

Anders Bill, Cofounder/CPO, Superfiliate

Balance Between Commercial and Open-Source Ethos

The #WordPressDrama highlights the ongoing tensions between commercial interests and the open-source ethos, which could fundamentally reshape the future of open-source software. As WordPress continues to evolve, the increasing corporate influence might push the platform toward more closed systems, challenging the community-driven ideals that initially made open-source software so successful. At Software House, we see this as an opportunity for developers and companies to innovate in a way that emphasizes transparency and collaboration, ensuring that the spirit of open-source remains intact despite external pressures.

However, this also presents a chance for the broader open-source community to reflect on its sustainability. If more proprietary elements are introduced into core platforms like WordPress, other open-source projects may need to adopt new business models to remain viable without compromising their values. As we look ahead, businesses and developers will need to be proactive in preserving open-source principles while adapting to the evolving landscape. The future of open-source could depend on finding a balance between innovation, community involvement, and financial sustainability.

Shehar Yar, CEO, Software House

Offer Diverse CMS Solutions

At Maplin.com, we’ve been closely watching the WordPress situation since many of our tech-savvy customers use it for their online stores and blogs. Just yesterday, I had a long chat with our development team about possibly offering more diverse CMS solutions in our business services package, especially seeing how this drama has made some of our clients nervous about relying too heavily on one platform. I think this whole situation will actually lead to more innovation in the open-source space, with smaller players getting more attention and potentially better funding.

Ollie Marshall, CEO, Maplin

Contribute More to Open-Source Communities

The saga is stirring up some big questions about the future of open-source software and how companies should contribute to the communities they benefit from. It’s basically about the tension between staying true to open-source values and dealing with the realities of businesses making money off those platforms without giving much back. This isn’t just a WordPress thing, it’s a wake-up call for how open-source projects are run and how they can stay sustainable.

It’s clear that companies using open-source tools need to do more than just take; they need to contribute in meaningful ways, whether that’s code, funding, or support. At the same time, these communities need better rules and systems to keep things fair and balanced. Honestly, it’s a tough but necessary conversation, and it might push the whole open-source world to step up and figure out how to handle these relationships better. If anything, it’s proof that the open-source ecosystem is evolving, and hopefully for the better.

Inge Von Aulock, Founder & COO, Penfriend

Over to you

I am extremely grateful for the time this post’s contributors took to give me answers. I think they offer a lot of hope that this is neither the end of WordPress nor of Open Source as a whole.

Now I would love to hear what you think. How will this drama shape the future of WordPress and Open Source projects?

• websitebrid.gy

#experts #OpenSource #theFuture #WordPress #WordPressDrama #TechNews

"Because let’s face it folks, if I wanted to spend my Saturdays having frothing-at-the-mouth paranoia thrown at me by an semi-incontinent substance addict with mutually obsessive mother issues, I’d have stayed married."

Heather Burns turns Matt Mullenweg into a smoldering heap of ashes.

https://heatherburns.tech/2025/01/12/another-day-of-stochastic-harassment-for-old-times-sake/

#Wordpress #Wordpressdrama

I created a bluesky account this morning purely so I could conveniently follow a thread about the #wordpressdrama courtroom action. I don't plan on posting there though.

Here's a good reason to not be reliant on privately-owned platforms and how you don't own your account, your followers, or any of it: https://www.404media.co/xs-objection-to-the-onion-buying-infowars-is-a-reminder-you-do-not-own-your-social-media-accounts/

@BobWP With all the #WordPressDrama I think there might not be as much uptake as might have been in other years

牢 Matt 正在视奸所有还在用 WP Engine 的用户，并且还在给迁出 WP Engine 的客户提供荣誉勋章
#wpdrama #wordpressdrama #wpengine #wordpress

I published “Some Thoughts About the Wordpress Drama (including the 2005 foreshadowing)🤯⁠🍿⁠🤔” at
https://www.ii.com/wordpress-drama-wpdrama/
#Wordpress #WPEngine #WPdrama #Wordpressdrama #Law #Lawsuit #WTF #OpenSource #FLOSS
#InfiniteInk #Activism #Hacktivism #Business #Economics #Money #Forked #WebDev #Words
#Byℵ #ByNM

»If the AspirePress project is successful, one man’s ego will no longer be an existential threat to the future of an estimated 43% of websites on the Internet, or to the livelihoods of the people that rely on them.«

#WordPress #WordPressDrama https://scottarc.blog/2024/10/24/aspirepress-is-what-the-wordpress-community-needs-today/

Hmm, an email from Akismet (a Automattic Inc. brand) asking for a (5-star) review on wordpress.org.

Also asking if it's not 5-star then please don't leave a review and reply to the email with feedback...

That one can wait for while.

I assume they are currently getting review bombed...

#WordPress #WordPressDrama

@pixolin
Das finde ich persönlich sehr schade, denn du warst eine der Personen, die es mir ermöglicht haben, in der (anfangs für mich doch etwas fremden) WordPress-Community heimisch zu werden.

Mal sehen, wie es in diesem #WordPressDrama weitergeht.

Just got a notice that public WordPress comunity workspaces on Slack will now have enabled Single-Sign-On:

Your Workspace Administrator at Making WordPress has enabled Single sign-on (SSO for short!) for your workspace.

I assume that means Automattic will take over control who can or cannot login to these workspaces by forcing use of wordpress.org SSO :blobcatthink: And we all know Matt Mullenweg's modus operandi :blobcatnotlikethis:

#wordpressdrama :wordpress:

Something I've found with #wordpress alternatives is a lot of good aspects of WP can't be replicated due to the alts' business models.

Such as users - I have a client with a crapload of editors/contributors for magazine articles, and most alts have a limit on users until you get to a high paying plan.

Or audience views - this applies more to hosted solutions but doesn't affect the WP CMS itself.

Or weird pro licences for additional features or hosting opportunities.

It all very much depends on your requirements I suppose; for simple blogs there are a lot of options (especially if you're dev-inclined) but for more broad client requirements you'll probably be looking at a more complex platform.

#wordpressalternatives #wordpressdrama

Inspired by https://phpc.social/@phoopee3/113335231999864221

Saw this on Facebook, top comment: Damage control to Major Tom.

“The board of directors” is of course just three people with Matt as the only one with a meaningful stake in WP.

This donation is pure damage control and puppetry to make the foundation look like it’s a real thing.

Glad for the IA at least. There are worse ways ”WP” could waste its money (e.g. decorating a bridge).

#WordPressDrama

Democratize WordPress.

https://wpmustwin.org/

(Thanx to @wpmustwin for setting this up)

#WordPress
#DemocratizeWordPress
#WPDrama
#WordPressDrama

Many of you I am sure are awaiting this position statement. I can reassure you that the current #WordPressDrama has no effect at all on SPLOT themes https://splot.ca for which we fortunately did not brand as WP SPLOT ;-)

@pixolin
UPDATE: There is a new blog post with the same URL.

The tone is less inflammatory and includes an apology:

»I’ve been attacked so much the past few days; the most vicious, personal, hateful words poisoned my brain, and the original version of this post was mean. I am so sorry.«

The apology however does not include the shenanigans about the login checkbox, hostile ACF takeover, blocking people on Slack and so on.

#wordpress #WPdrama #WordPressDrama

https://ma.tt/2024/10/on-dhh/

@kev What would you expect from a techbro who compares himself to Oprah :blobcatshrug:

On Monday, I got to be Oprah for a few minutes.

Matt Mullenweg simply can't stop :blobcatgooglytrash:

#wordpressdrama

Du hast etwas gebaut, von dem echt viele Leute profitieren, wie zum Beispiel ein Framework mit dem 43% aller Websites laufen?

Vielen Dank dafür, wir nehmen Dir das jetzt weg.

Im Gegenzug bekommst Du eine schicke Tafel in unserer Hall of Fame, eine lebenslange Bahncard 100 und überall Gästeliste +1 auf unseren Nacken.
Genieß dein Leben und lass dich feiern, während wir verhindern dass Du dich doch noch auf den letzten Metern zum Horst machst.

Herzlichst, Deine Zivilgesellschaft

#Wordpress #WordpressDrama

Spent a good chunk of my afternoon reading up on the #WordPressDrama, and my flying spaghetti monster I don't even care what WPE might have done wrong, this Matt guy is a piece of work

WordPress.org’s latest move involves taking control of a WP Engine plugin

https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/12/24268637/wordpress-org-matt-mullenweg-acf-fork-secure-custom-fields-wp-engine

#WordPress #WordPressDrama

Joomla is another popular web cms next to Wordpress and Drupal. Joomla was actually a fork from an older cms called Mambo, and I had to look that name up because I'd completely forgotten it. Libre Office is also a fork, from Open office, and also left the original in the dust.

Just saying, if the Wordpress stuff gets too ridiculous, there can be a WritePresser or BlogEngine or EasyCMS or whatever fork. And it can work very well.

#wordpress #wordpressdrama #drama

First it was Secure Custom Fields. What will it be next?

Elementar?
Toast SEO?
Contact Form 8?

#wordpress #wordpressdrama

Remember, by moving your WordPress to something else you are not helping WordPress in any shape or form.

#WordPress #WordPressDrama

1/5

A very good (and looong) summary of the events known as the #WordPressDrama

I'll post a few quotes that strike me as important:

»Some might agree with Matt’s original reasoning. But his egregious actions and reactions since then have utterly nullified any previous merit.«

»On most days, if you wanted to have a conversation about how much WP Engine sucks, frankly, I’d be a happy participant.«

To be continued in the thread

https://joshcollinsworth.com/blog/fire-matt

WordPress.org Login Gets Mandatory Affiliation Checkbox Following WP Engine Dispute ↴
https://wptavern.com/wordpress-org-login-gets-mandatory-affiliation-checkbox-following-wp-engine-dispute

“The ongoing WP Engine-Automattic issue shows no signs of being resolved and has, in fact, increased in intensity.”

“Several community members have reported being blocked from WordPress Slack”

#WordPress #WordPressDrama