A California district court judge on Tuesday ruled that Automattic and its CEO Matt Mullenweg must restore WP Engine's access to WordPress.org, a theme
  • schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    19·
    23 hours ago

    Is there a good ELI5 what this entire dispute is about anywhere? I have been reading many news stories about it, but they all seemed to assume I already knew about it.

    • Ganbat@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      192·
      23 hours ago

      A very short summary that may not be entirely accurate but is close enough:

      WP Engine made a good amount of money off of WordPress without contributing back, and Automattic broke their own license to fight them, all the while the CEO became increasingly unhinged.

      • deegeese@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        52·
        19 hours ago

        Oh no! “not contributing back” for free software managed by a profit driven company.

        Automattic’s actions have proven exactly why WPEngine shouldn’t pay them squat.

      • etchinghillside@reddthat.comEnglish
        51·
        23 hours ago

        Does WP Engine have much of a product without Automattic’s blessing? How much damage has already been done implanting into a WP Engine’s customer’s mind that they should start thinking about alternatives?

        Is it anything other than a sinking ship?

        • catloaf@lemm.eeEnglish
          24·
          22 hours ago

          WP Engine doesn’t need Automattic’s blessing. Wordpress is GPL software.

        • RobotToaster@mander.xyzEnglish
          13·
          22 hours ago

          The whole thing has implanted into the mind of any wordpress user paying attention they should start thinking about alternatives.

          • schizo@forum.uncomfortable.businessEnglish
            9·
            20 hours ago

            100% this: the sole owner of the foundation, trademark, and primary web portal has come across as absolutely unhinged, vengeful, and petty as all hell.

            If I had any wordpress sites that I relied on professionally/ran a business on/made money with I’d be SERIOUSLY investigating any option that didn’t involve wordpress since the last thing I want is my business on software beholden to someone who is perfectly willing to be visibly nuts online.

            Not a good thing for stability in general, you know?

            • Alphane Moon@lemmy.worldEnglish
              1·
              18 hours ago

              I was honestly surprised how unstable the Automattic CEO sounded. He is literally sabotaging his own company/product/project.

              It’s a public mental implosion.

            • limer@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
              1·
              18 hours ago

              I think this is like a parallel situation as seen in the Reddit ceo driving migration to lemmy.

              The wp meltdown was destructive and healthy at the same time. A minority of wp users will look into alternatives, which will help make those better to use because the devs get more support, and/or the alternative communities and ecosystems start to grow