The WordPress community is in turmoil, and at the center of the storm stands Matt Mullenweg, once hailed as a visionary but now increasingly viewed as an open-source dictator. His recent actions have exposed the alarming centralisation of power within WordPress and raised serious questions about the project’s future.
Mullenweg’s conflict with WP Engine has laid bare the ugly truth: despite its open-source ethos, WordPress is effectively controlled by one man. His decision to temporarily ban WP Engine from accessing WordPress.org resources not only disrupted countless websites but also demonstrated how easily he can weaponise his position against perceived threats.
This abuse of power isn’t just ethically questionable – it’s dangerous. By leaving websites unable to update plugins, Mullenweg exposed them to potential security risks, all in pursuit of a personal vendetta. The community’s outcry was swift, but the damage was done.
The hypocrisy is staggering. Mullenweg criticises WP Engine for “confusing” users, yet his own company, Automattic, profits from the intentional blurring of lines between WordPress.org and WordPress.com. He complains about WP Engine’s modifications while Automattic’s basic hosting plans strip WordPress of essential features.
Perhaps most concerning is the mass exodus of 159 Automattic employees who disagreed with Mullenweg’s direction. This internal dissent suggests the rot runs deep.
Is it time for a fork?
The WordPress community must ask itself: Is it time to follow in the footsteps of other open-source projects and create a fork free from Mullenweg’s iron grip?
Recent history provides compelling examples:
- Redis: When Redis abandoned its open-source license in 2024, the community swiftly responded. Within days, multiple forks emerged, including “Valkey” led by core Redis maintainers and “Redict” spearheaded by developer Drew DeVault.
- OpenTofu: After Hashicorp imposed restrictive licensing on Terraform in 2023, the community rallied around OpenTofu, preserving the project’s open-source spirit.
- MariaDB: Following Oracle’s acquisition of MySQL, concerns about its future led to the creation of MariaDB, which has since thrived as a community-driven alternative.
These examples demonstrate that forks can succeed when there’s a clear need and strong community support. While forking WordPress would be a monumental task, it may be necessary to preserve the values of openness and collaboration that made WordPress great in the first place.
Mullenweg’s actions have shown that, despite its open-source label, WordPress is dangerously centralised. His ability to unilaterally disrupt the ecosystem threatens the safety and integrity of the entire WordPress community.
The coming months will be crucial. Will Mullenweg course-correct and address the community’s concerns, or will his dictatorial tendencies drive WordPress towards fragmentation? The WordPress community must remain vigilant and be prepared to take drastic action if necessary to protect the platform we all depend on.It’s time for WordPress to live up to its open-source promise – with or without Matt Mullenweg at the helm.
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