Stirring the WordPress Pot: A Fresh Twist in the Open Source Saga
In a dramatic turn of events, Automattic CEO and WordPress co-creator Matt Mullenweg has deactivated the accounts of several key members from the WordPress.org community. Among them are individuals suspected of planning to create a new fork of the open-source WordPress project—a move that has stirred the pot in an already vibrant community.
The latest uproar traces back to September when Mullenweg publicly criticized WP Engine, a commercial hosting company built on WordPress, accusing them of profiting without adequate contributions back to the community. The dispute escalated, leading WP Engine to file a lawsuit after being banned from essential WordPress resources. A court later ordered WordPress to restore their access.
Amidst this chaos, prominent figures in the WordPress ecosystem have voiced their thoughts. Joost de Valk, creator of the popular SEO tool Yoast, published a visionary piece outlining a new era for WordPress involving “federated and independent repositories.” Similarly, Karim Marucchi, CEO of Crowd Favorite, echoed these sentiments in a blog post.
“Just having mirrors of WordPress.org also doesn’t really solve the problem of a single party controlling our single update server,” de Valk wrote. “For that, we need to make sure that those mirrors federate with each other and share each other’s data…”
— Joost de Valk
Mullenweg has not shied away from supporting the idea of a new fork—a term representing when someone takes open source code and creates an independent version. However, de Valk and Marucchi clarify their intentions are not to fork but rather develop “mirrors” for themes and plugins that can communicate and share data.
In response to ongoing tensions, Automattic recently announced it would align its contribution hours to the core WordPress project with WP Engine’s own input. This prompted de Valk to express his willingness to lead the next WordPress release, with Marucchi’s team ready to support.
- Joost de Valk and Karim Marucchi collectively contribute around 10 hours weekly to the WordPress project.
- Mullenweg sarcastically suggested naming any new initiative “JKPress.”
Mullenweg also deactivated accounts of three other individuals without much explanation: Sé Reed, Heather Burns, and Morten Rand-Hendriksen. Reed is notable as president and CEO of a new non-profit aiming to foster collaboration in the open-source world.
“Why is he [Mullenweg] targeting Heather and me? Because we started talking about proper governance and accountability back in 2017,” Rand-Hendriksen speculated.
— Morten Rand-Hendriksen
This account suspension restricts users from contributing via WordPress.org but does not prevent access through GitHub. In a playful tone, Mullenweg mentioned they could hold a joint “WordPress + JKPress summit” next year.
In closing remarks, Mullenweg acknowledged de Valk and Marucchi’s bold ideas and expressed genuine curiosity about their potential outcomes. He highlighted how open source allows freedom for anyone to innovate without seeking permission—underscoring its role as a catalyst for innovation.
