What is Happening at WordPress?

A significant conflict has erupted between WordPress.org and WP Engine, a major WordPress hosting provider. Below is a summary of the key events that have led to this situation:

Ban and Resource Block

WordPress.org has banned WP Engine from accessing its resources. This decision has several implications:

• WP Engine customers can no longer update or install plugins and themes via WP Admin (Source).
• WP Engine's servers are now blocked from communicating with WordPress.org servers (Source).

Reasons for the Conflict

1. Trademark Issues: WordPress Foundation claims that WP Engine has violated its trademark policy (Source).
2. Contributions: Matt Mullenweg, WordPress co-founder, accuses WP Engine of profiting from WordPress without contributing to its development (Source).
3. User Experience: Mullenweg argues that WP Engine compromises WordPress's integrity by modifying the core software, such as disabling post revisions (Source).

Legal Battle

• WP Engine has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Mullenweg and Automattic (Source).
• Automattic responded with a cease-and-desist letter over trademark infringement issues (Source).

Impact and Concerns

• The ban prevents WP Engine-hosted sites from accessing crucial security updates, which poses risks for those websites (Source).
• This affects a large portion of the web, as WordPress powers nearly 40% of websites globally (Source).
• The WordPress community is divided, with some users contemplating forking the platform (Source).

Broader Implications

This dispute brings into question the balance between open-source projects and commercial entities that profit from them. It also raises concerns about the future direction of WordPress and its ecosystem (Source).

Update October 2024

It seems like WPEngine is filing a complaint.

Matt Mullenweg and Automattic’s self-proclaimed scorched earth campaign against WP Engine has harmed not just our company, but the entire WordPress ecosystem. The symbiotic relationship between WordPress, its community and the businesses that invest millions to support WordPress…

— WP Engine (@wpengine) October 3, 2024

Listen to a podcast episode discussing the complaint:

Drupal CMS (Starshot) as a Potential Alternative

Oh its gets juicierhttps://t.co/MCniMDDcId

— Peter Steele (@pb_steele) September 25, 2024

Drupal CMS is happy to transport all Wordpresses into their ecosystem ☺️. In fact the AI-migration that is currently being developed might do this quite smoothly.https://t.co/t6fi6ugnOJ

— Stef Van Looveren | exploring AI (@stefvanlooveren) September 25, 2024