Even More WordPress Drama
Monday, October 14, 2024
WordPress.org’s latest move involves taking control of a WP Engine plugin - The Verge
It’s not clear what security problem Mullenweg is referring to in the post. He writes that he’s “invoking point 18 of the plugin directory guidelines,” in which the WordPress team reserves several rights, including removing a plugin, or changing it “without developer consent.” Mullenweg explains that the move has to do with WP Engine’s recently-filed lawsuit against him and Automattic.
To me, Mullenweg is totally abusing his power as the “sole owner” of WordPress.org here, and (as others point out) has forced a hostile takeover of the work of other developers. If he can do it for one, he can do it for all. I want no part of this kind of “open source” drama. It was the final straw in me abandoning the WordPress platform completely.
Though I have a couple of plugins of my own in the repository, I’ll only be maintaining them for security reasons. I considered pulling them altogether, but I don’t want to leave any users who may be using them stranded.