Mullenweg Rebuffs Plea To Restore Automattic’s WordPress Core Contributions via @sejournal, @martinibuster

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AA WordPress developer pleaded with Matt Mullenweg astatine WordCamp Asia 2025, asking him to reconstruct Automattic’s contributions to the WordPress core. Mullenweg apologized and said it’s not up to him; it’s up to WP Engine to driblet their lawsuit, and helium encouraged the assemblage to enactment unit connected WP Engine.

Automattic’s Scaled-Back WordPress Contributions

Automattic announced successful January 2025 that they were scaling backmost contributions to the WordPress halfway to those related to information and captious updates. Contributions that would different had gone to halfway would beryllium diverted to for-profit initiatives related to Automattic and WordPress.com.

Automattic attributed its January 2025 determination to WP Engine’s lawsuits:

“We’ve made the determination to reallocate resources owed to the lawsuits from WP Engine. This ineligible enactment diverts important clip and vigor that could different beryllium directed toward supporting WordPress’s maturation and health. We stay hopeful that WP Engine volition reconsider this ineligible attack, allowing america to refocus our efforts connected contributions that payment the broader WordPress ecosystem.”

WP Engine’s lawsuits, however, were a effect to Matt Mullenweg’s WordCamp USA 2024 statements and besides activities against WP Engine (like the WP Engine Tracker website) . A national justice has since sided with WP Engine and granted its petition for a preliminary injunction against Automattic and Mullenweg.

WordCamp Attendee Urges Mullenweg To Reinstate Core Contributions

A WordCamp Asia 2024 attendee stepped up during the Q&A information of the league and shared his concerns, arsenic a concern proprietor and a plugin developer, for the stagnation of WordPress halfway development.

He said:

“Hi Matt. So this is not astir a question, but I americium a spot acrophobic astir similar if I spot that the past 5 years oregon adjacent 10 years Automattic is the biggest halfway contributor successful the codification basal and everything. So it’s not really biggest, possibly 60%, 70% of the commit… arsenic a company, Automattic bash that.

So you precocious published successful a blog station that you are pulling retired each the publication and everything. So arsenic a developer, arsenic a concern owner, …my full concern depends connected WordPress. We physique WordPress plugins, I deliberation if determination is nary Automattic successful the halfway contribution, the full improvement volition beryllium ace slow.

I privation to petition you to reconsider that, and astatine slightest successful the halfway improvement possibly you tin marque immoderate changes, springiness much resources successful the core. Because it’s complicated, …someone needs to enactment and I deliberation Automattic has tons of resources, experienced radical successful there, truthful I privation to petition you to reconsider your presumption and springiness much developers to the core.”

Matt Mullenweg States Condition For Restoring Core Contributions

Mullenweg responded that Automattic’s spending millions of dollars to support itself against WP Engine. He insisted that the determination to reconstruct Automattic’s halfway contributions hinges connected WP Engine dropping their lawsuits and encouraged the idiosyncratic to inquire WP Engine.

Mullenweg answered:

“Yeah, convey you. Well, it’s decidedly not a concern I privation to beryllium in. As we said, we’re pausing things. But very, precise excited to instrumentality to having each those hundred-ish folks backmost doing immoderate of the enactment we were doing before.

But close present we’re facing not conscionable a shaper and taker programme problem… but maker-attacker. So good Automattic’s having to walk millions of dollars, per period sometimes, to support against these attacks from WP Engine and with the tribunal injunction, it’s conscionable hard to beryllium some beryllium motivated and to conscionable spare the resources to lend truthful much.

Now, they could extremity it tomorrow. And I would emotion to invited WP Engine backmost into the fold, backmost astatine WordCamp and everything. But we can’t extremity it, we tin lone support it, you know, to each the ineligible attacks and they are expanding actually. And they’re coming aft maine personally too. As soon arsenic they halt that, we’ll get backmost to it.

So please, I can’t halt it. Ask them.”

Mullenweg Asks Audience To Pressure WP Engine To Drop Lawsuit

The idiosyncratic asking the question said helium understood Mullenweg’s presumption but insisted that, arsenic an extremity user, helium wants the bundle to proceed to thrive. For that reason, helium pleaded for Automattic to find a mode to reconstruct halfway contributions.

Mullenweg answered the developers 2nd plea and asked the assemblage to unit WP Engine to driblet the lawsuit:

“I can’t until the suit is over. So if there’s thing y’all tin bash to enactment unit for the suit to end, that would beryllium the fastest happening to get our contributions back.”

He ended his effect with a smile, saying:

“So… atrocious astir that.”

Concern Over Cuts To Core Contribution

The WordPress developer expressed heavy interest and anxiousness astir the gait of WordPress halfway development. He emphasized that Automattic has historically provided a important information of halfway contributions and feared that without its support, WordPress improvement would dilatory significantly, impacting his concern and those of others who trust connected the platform.

Matt Mullenweg’s effect did not straight code the WordPress developer’s plea to reconsider Automattic’s halfway publication cuts. His reply framed the determination to reconstruct halfway contributions arsenic retired of his power due to the fact that it is babelike connected WP Engine dropping its lawsuit. He stated that the suit costs Automattic millions of dollars.

Mullenweg’s main points successful his effect to restoring Automattic’s halfway contributions were:

Automattic’s reduced contributions effect from the fiscal and ineligible load of defending against WP Engine’s lawsuit.
WP Engine’s ineligible actions marque it hard for Automattic to lend astatine erstwhile levels.
He urged the assemblage to unit WP Engine to driblet the lawsuit.