Marketing Junto - Open Source Talk: The WordPress War

I intend on THIS newsletter to not always be about WordPress, but since I'm pretty active in that particular open source community. I'll probably highlight it quite a bit.

Am I concerned about the future of WordPress, the open source project? A bit. I'm not going to lie. The keys sit with Matt Mullenweg. People are leaving Automattic, accepting buy-outs, and there's a big lawsuit filed.

Is there a chance for the open source project to survive. Hell yea. Will it be stronger after this? I'm not sure.

Seriously, this whole WP/WPE craziness is tough to keep track of. I'll try to help.

ALSO!!!!! If you don't want this you can unsubscribe from this and stay on the main list.

Here's the stuff I'm finding. 😵‍💫

But before that here's a Mastodon poll I made:

This is getting messy. And now those who interviewed Matt Mullenweg are gettign cited in the lawsuit. Geezus I feel from Theo, the interviewer, but not surprised he got sucked in. Has my view of Matt changed? Yes. Has my view of WPE changed? Not really, I don't think they're innocent here. But Matt's might be burning down the house. Stay tuned.

Per discussions on WordPress related Slacks and a now-deleted tweet, Josepha Haden Comphosy, the former Executive Director of the WordPress Project and an employee of Automattic has left Automattic. Again... geezus. Losing Josepha is a big blow to the the community. So many of us love and admire Josepha. I sincerely wish her the best.

Automattic Publishes WP Engine Term Sheet Amidst Controversy

As the Automattic-WP Engine controversy continues, Automattic published the term sheet delivered to WP Engine on September 20, 2024. “In the interest of transparency, we’ve published the term sheet…

WP Tavern •Plugin Vulnerabilities

For those who don't know WP Tavern is owned by Audry Capital, which is Matt Mullenweg's VC company/fund.

WP Engine sues Automattic and Matt Mullenweg, alleging abuse of power, extortion, and anti-competitive behavior

WP Engine is taking legal action against Automattic and Matt Mullenweg, accusing the rival hosting company and its CEO of abuse of power, attempted extortion, and leveraging trademark law for anti-competitive purposes. The lawsuit is the latest volley between the companies after Mullenweg accused WP Engine of profiting off the WordPress project and violating trademarks […]

The Repository •Rae Morey

The Repository, which is written by the Rae Morey is a great newsletter for all things WordPress. Not owned or associated with Matt Mullenweg.

The World Without Matt Mullenweg: A WordPress Odyssey | Freelancer Web Help

In a parallel universe, the tech industry was rocked by an unprecedented event: Matt Mullenweg, the visionary co-founder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic the

Freelancer Web Help •Andrew

A great thought experiment. Andrew Palmer, the author, even has an audio version. His British accent is amazing! IMHO.

Thoughts on Automattic vs. WP Engine

In this post, I’m sharing my personal thoughts on the Automattic vs. WP Engine trademark dispute. These views are my own and may not reflect those of my employer or anyone else on my team.

Colin Devroe •Name *

Another good take on the whole fiasco.

“Nice Guy” Matt Mullenweg, CEO of WordPress.com Cries Foul and Threatens Me With Legal Action

TL;DR: Matt Mullenweg, the CEO of Automattic, co-founder of WordPress, and single point of failure for WordPress.org is trying to bully me…

Medium •Kellie Peterson

Yikes.

The WordPress Saga: Does Matt Mullenweg Want a Fork or Not?

Users are getting caught in the feud between the WordPress co-founder and WP Engine. Is it an omen for a bigger storm in open source?

The New Stack •Alex Williams

Why would he want two versions of WordPress out there? I'm befuddled.

Stay well folks. Always focus on your mental health!

-Seth

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