This Man Controls 40% of The Internet and It's A Problem - by Aure's Notes - Notes - Nov, 2024 - Medium

This Man Controls 40% of the Internet and It’s a Problem | by Aure's Notes | Notes | Nov, 2024 | Medium
11/16/24, 9:42 AM
This Man Controls 40% of the

Internet and It’s a Problem
Meet Matt Mullenweg.
Aure's Notes
Source.
In the early 2000s, an 19-year-old developer named Matt Mullenweg forked

a CMS called b2/cafelog to add features he thought were missing.
By October 2009, the project, going by the name of WordPress, had become
the most popular open-source CMS on the Internet, today powering some
810 million websites worldwide, or 40% of the Internet.
About anyone, from the NYT to Neil Patel, uses WordPress for their blog, e-
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This Man Controls 40% of the Internet and It’s a Problem | by Aure's Notes | Notes | Nov, 2024 | Medium 11/16/24, 9:42 AM
com store, company website, portfolio, and more.
Free, light, great for SEO, easy to use, WordPress is also open-source which
means that anyone can copy, contribute to, and tweak it as they wish.
Until they couldn’t.
In September 2024, Mullenweg complained that the WordPress hosting

company WP Engine was a cancer to WordPress due to their little
contribution to the open-source project and their appropriation of the
WordPress brand.
A few days later, WP Engine sent a cease and desist letter to Mullenweg
asking him to stop making these comments.
In retaliation, Mullenweg blocked WP Engine from WordPress and their

customers could no longer update their website.
A few weeks later, Mullenweg appropriated a WP Engine-made plugin called

ACF through the dubious use of a clause outlying that the owner of
WordPress (a company called Automattic, owned and founded by
Mullenweg) could do so if the plugin represented a risk to the community.
Matt Mullenweg’s fight against WP Engine has since known no limits and
continues to unfold in the courts.
This led to a series of ethical and practical issues that the open-source world
had managed to avoid up until now.
To put it simply, there will be a pre and post-Mullenweg VS WP Engine

period.
There’s a concept in the open-source community known as benevolent
dictator for life which describes a developer’s willingness to distribute his

work for free while retaining exclusive rights and control over it, but whose
actions must be orientated toward helping the community.
The principle had been working well up until now.
WordPress powers over 810 million websites, but its existence rests entirely
in the hands of Mullenweg.
Too much power for one man? Without a doubt, yes.
Second, there’s a risk of conflicts of interest. Despite being free, Matt

Mullenweg earned billions from WordPress.
He owns Automattic which owns WordPress.com and Pressable (two hosting

companies for WordPress), the popular WordPress plugin Jetpack,
WooCommerce, and a ton of other stuff.
By attacking WP Engine, Mullenweg attacks a direct competitor of

Automattic, which earns half a billion dollars each year thanks to WordPress.
Third, nobody knows why Matt Mullenweg went this far.
Many respected people in the open-source community, including David

Heinemeir Hanson, have called Mullenweg to de-escalate and talk instead of
seeking the bankruptcy of WP Engine.
In response, Matt wrote a letter full of insults, mocking DHH for its failure to
capitalize on all of the great open-source products he created.
Which leads us to the fourth point: what does Mullenweg want?
He’s the owner and CEO of a company that makes $500 million a year and
built one of the most successful projects on the web.
His actions for the past three months have led many to wonder.
Conclusion
The Internet changed when Mullenweg cut access to WP Engine.
Everyone who owned a WordPress blog realized that their website did not
belong to them as much as they thought — especially if they hosted it with
the latter.
This has not only considerably fragilized WordPress, but the entire concept
of open-source software.
No one knows how this fight will end but it’s clear that the reputation and
image surrounding the WordPress project have considerably suffered since.
I don’t want to defend WP Engine, but Matt Mullenweg’s actions were

completely disproportionate in regard to the crimes he accused WP Engine
of committing.
My guess is that we’ll soon see a fork of WordPress for those who will want
to distance the project from Mullenweg.
I don’t wish it, but it seems hardly unavoidable at this point.
Maybe the worst part is that WordPress, despite its age and the number of
people who contributed to it, is a bad product.
It’s slow, buggy, and useless if you don’t use it with plugins. The same can be
said for other Automattic projects.
WooCoommerce is more than thirteen years old and still does not have any
native field for product variation despite that it’s a requirement for Google
Shopping.
Jetpack is essentially a scam plugin that slows down your website, and
WordPress.com has banned many users for no reason and is extremely
expensive for what it is.
Mullenweg should focus on improving his software instead of destroying the

work of other people…
…unless he really did go mad, in which case a few million people will soon
have to find a new home for their website.
For more articles, head to auresnotes.com.

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This Man Controls 40% of the Internet and It’s a Problem | by Aure's Notes | Notes | Nov, 2024 | Medium

This Man Controls 40% of the

In the early 2000s, an 19-year-old developer named Matt Mullenweg forked

com store, company website, portfolio, and more.

Until they couldn’t.

In September 2024, Mullenweg complained that the WordPress hosting

In retaliation, Mullenweg blocked WP Engine from WordPress and their

A few weeks later, Mullenweg appropriated a WP Engine-made plugin called

To put it simply, there will be a pre and post-Mullenweg VS WP Engine

There’s a concept in the open-source community known as benevolent

dictator for life which describes a developer’s willingness to distribute his

The principle had been working well up until now.

Too much power for one man? Without a doubt, yes.

Second, there’s a risk of conflicts of interest. Despite being free, Matt

He owns Automattic which owns WordPress.com and Pressable (two hosting

By attacking WP Engine, Mullenweg attacks a direct competitor of

Third, nobody knows why Matt Mullenweg went this far.

Many respected people in the open-source community, including David

Which leads us to the fourth point: what does Mullenweg want?

I don’t want to defend WP Engine, but Matt Mullenweg’s actions were

I don’t wish it, but it seems hardly unavoidable at this point.

Mullenweg should focus on improving his software instead of destroying the

For more articles, head to auresnotes.com.

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