Mullenweg Disgusted & Sickened As WP Engine Regains Access via @sejournal, @martinibuster

WP Engine regained power of their Advanced Custom Forms plugin and login entree to WordPress.org. Matt Mullenweg responded by expressing that helium is “disgusted and sickened.”

Mullenweg tweeted astir however helium felt astir however things turned out:

“I’m disgusted and sickened by being legally forced to supply escaped labour and services to @wpengine, a unsafe precedent that should chill each unfastened root maintainer. While I disagree with the court’s decision, I’ve afloat complied with its order. You tin spot astir changes connected the site. They person entree to ACF slug but haven’t changed it… indispensable not person been the exigency they claimed.”

The effect to Matt’s tweet was predictable.

One idiosyncratic reflected Matt’s words backmost astatine him:

I’m disgusted and sickened that you released bundle arsenic GPL, made it intimately babelike connected a backstage website+APIs you personally ain and past you’re shocked erstwhile you larn you can’t discriminate against users

Another accused Mullenweg of tricking the WordPress community:

“And what astir each of the escaped labour that you, @photomatt , tricked the WordPress assemblage into providing to your idiosyncratic .org website that the assemblage believed was owned by the Foundation?”

Despite the compliance, Mullenweg pointed retired that WP Engine had yet to alteration the plugin slug, questioning their assertion of urgency. The ACF squad subsequently reclaimed the plugin slug and tweeted an announcement astir it.

On December 13, 2024, WP Engine’s authoritative Advanced Custom Fields relationship confirmed connected X (formerly Twitter) that they had regained access. The WordPress.org plugin directory present displays the archetypal ACF plugin alternatively of Mullenweg’s forked version, Secure Custom Fields.

The ACF squad tweeted:

“We’re pleased to stock that our squad has had relationship entree restored connected WordPress dot org on with power of the ACF plugin repo. This means each ACF users tin remainder assured that the ACF squad you spot is erstwhile again maintaining the plugin. There’s nary enactment required if you person installed ACF straight from the ACF website oregon you are an ACF PRO user.”

Members of the WordPress assemblage congratulated WP Engine.

Some offered congratulations:

“Excellent news. Congratulations!”

Others expressed their happiness that ACF’s entree was restored:

Happy for @wpengine. You person done a large job.

👏🏼 YES!!!!
https://x.com/CaroManelR/status/1867934316992610459

Another idiosyncratic tweeted:

NEVER trusting wordpess dot org again.

Origin Of Mullenweg – WP Engine Dispute

Matt Mullenweg claims that WP Engine does not lend capable to the WordPress ecosystem. He has besides raised concerns astir WP Engine’s usage of the connection “WordPress” and has written astir his years agelong effort to get WP Engine to wage a “fair share” backmost into the WordPress unfastened root project. On the September 20, 2024 Matt Mullenweg publicy denounced WP Engine astatine the United States WordCamp conference, aft WP Engine declined to hold to his demands for $30 cardinal dollars.

WP Engine sued Automattic and Matt Mullenweg successful national court, obtaining a preliminary injunction that required Automattic and Mullenweg to reconstruct WP Engine’s entree to WordPress.org, the plugin repository, logins and to region a WP Engine lawsuit database from a website Mullenweg created to promote customers to permission WP Engine.

Mullenweg’s History Of Disputes

There is immoderate past of Mullenweg engaging successful disputes related to GPL licensing of codification and trademarks. In 2010 Mullenweg rightfully challenged Chris Pearson and his taxable institution Thesis implicit bundle licensing. Chris Pearson himself has acknowledged that helium was ignorant astatine the clip astir bundle licensing.

Mullenweg escalated his quality with Pearson by offering Thesis customers immoderate premium taxable of their prime successful speech for abandoning their usage of the Thesis them. These disputes caused Pearson to suffer a important magnitude of concern and summation a antagonistic cognition successful the WordPress community, which helium described successful a blog post:

“…I was woefully ignorant astir bundle licensing, and I felt arsenic though I was being backed into a country and asked to judge thing I didn’t afloat understand. Instead of handling it successful a measured, polite manner, I was a jerk.

I made a mistake, and I paid dearly for it.The WordPress community’s absorption towards maine was incredibly negative, but connected apical of that, Matt did immoderate helium could to further harm what was near of my business. His astir blatant effort successful this respect was making a nationalist connection to bargain Thesis customers the premium, GPL-licensed Theme of their prime if they discontinue utilizing Thesis.”

Three years aboriginal Mullenweg purchased the Thesis.com domain sanction which began different quality with Pearson that Mullenweg besides won. His information for going aft the Thesis.com domain sanction was ne'er afloat acknowledged but the WordPress assemblage mostly understood it arsenic “retribution” against Pearson.

The comments successful a WP Tavern study astir Automattic were mostly negative, with 1 person’s comment typical of the antagonistic sentiment:

“I don’t deliberation anyone is saying what Automattic did was illegal, they’re saying it was unethical.

It’s imaginable to beryllium a jerk without breaking the law, but that doesn’t marque it acceptable behavior.”

In 2016 Matt Mullenweg initiated a quality with Wix successful narration to GPL licensing. Wix’s CEO responded with his ain blog station showing however Wix had contributed implicit 224 unfastened root projects, writing:

“Yes, we did usage the WordPress unfastened root room for a insignificant portion of the exertion (that is the conception of unfastened root right?), and everything we improved determination oregon modified, we submitted backmost arsenic unfastened source, spot present successful this link – you should cheque it out, beauteous chill mode of utilizing it connected mobile native. I truly deliberation you guys tin usage it with your app (and it is unfastened source, truthful you are invited to usage it for free). And, by the way, the portion that we utilized was successful information developed by different and modified by you.”

Wix yet removed the disputed codification from their mobile app.

Mullenweg Complies To Court Order… With Humor

The court’s ruling emphasizes the value of adherence to ineligible agreements wrong the WordPress ecosystem. WP Engine’s triumph whitethorn bolster its chances of prevailing successful the ongoing national lawsuit. Automattic’s to their nonaccomplishment signals their volition to situation the result during a afloat trial, stating:

“We look guardant to prevailing astatine proceedings arsenic we proceed to support the open-source ecosystem during full-fact find and a afloat reappraisal of the merits.”

Matt Mullenweg continues to provoke WP Engine, lone this clip utilizing humor. Automattic removed a checkmark from the WordPress.org login leafage that antecedently required users to affirm that they are not associated with WP Engine. Today there’s a checkbox asking users to affirm that pineapple connected pizza is delicious.