My WordPress Slack Ban • Hacker News Board

Re: My WordPress Slack Ban

#11

Post by kemayo » Sat, Oct 12, 2024, 2:10 AM UTC

pocketsand wrote: post #10

For me, the fact he tried to compel the WPE CEO to work for him or else he would expose that she was in negotiations with him is the most unhinged thing I’ve ever heard in a hiring process. Quite literally an affront to freedom. My most charitable guess at what is going on is severe mental illness.

It did all seem to blow up around when he came back from a sabbatical, presumably taken because he really needed a break. Though I guess that he also had a bit of a PR disaster with Tumblr during that sabbatical, so...

Re: My WordPress Slack Ban

#12

Post by Spivak » Sat, Oct 12, 2024, 2:12 AM UTC

Glant wrote: post #2

Can't wait for Matt to show up in the comments here saying how he isn't a bad guy and banning people who ask questions is actually for the benefit of WordPress.

[flagged]

Re: My WordPress Slack Ban

#13

Post by mikeortman » Sat, Oct 12, 2024, 2:13 AM UTC

This checkbox will absolutely not look good in front of a jury. It's petty at best.

Re: My WordPress Slack Ban

#14

Post by jb1991 » Sat, Oct 12, 2024, 2:17 AM UTC

Spivak wrote: post #12

Glant wrote: post #2

Can't wait for Matt to show up in the comments here saying how he isn't a bad guy and banning people who ask questions is actually for the benefit of WordPress.

[flagged]

Hey Matt, I sent you an email. I know you probably are getting a lot of emails right now, so I just wanted to let you know here. Whenever you get a chance, I have some additional questions about this. Thanks!

Re: My WordPress Slack Ban

#15

Post by tptacek » Sat, Oct 12, 2024, 2:17 AM UTC

pocketsand wrote: post #10

For me, the fact he tried to compel the WPE CEO to work for him or else he would expose that she was in negotiations with him is the most unhinged thing I’ve ever heard in a hiring process. Quite literally an affront to freedom. My most charitable guess at what is going on is severe mental illness.

"Quite literally an affront to freedom"? Really? Say more.

Re: My WordPress Slack Ban

#16

Post by kemayo » Sat, Oct 12, 2024, 2:17 AM UTC

Threadreader of the linked twitter thread with all the Slack discussion (since X was completely not working for me): https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1843963052183433331.html

...Matt doesn't come across well in it. Lots of refusing to state what he thinks the checkbox that he added means.

Re: My WordPress Slack Ban

#17

Post by DannyPage » Sat, Oct 12, 2024, 2:19 AM UTC

I saw an interesting tweet from DHH to Matt that seems relevant:

> I have nothing but the out-most respect for what you've built with WordPress. It's an incredible achievement, and you're been justly rewarded for that accomplishment. No need to squeeze the lemon that hard. It's undermining open source as a whole. [1]

A lot of folks had compared it to DHH/Basecamp because of the voluntary severance. But for the most part, those issues did not spill into Rails like this. I think if anyone can talk Matt down from the ledge, it would be another "Benevolent Dictator".

That said, I think DHH misses something: lots of people built Wordpress, not just Matt. And we are slowly seeing the most engaged people, some who do it for the love of Wordpress instead of the money, either back away or get forced out. THAT is what will kill the ecosystem that has been built. Any harm that WP Engine may have been doing cannot compare with the harm that's happening right now from their own spiteful actions.

1: https://x.com/dhh/status/1843809648123752586

Re: My WordPress Slack Ban

#18

Post by appendix-rock » Sat, Oct 12, 2024, 2:28 AM UTC

jb1991 wrote: post #14

Spivak wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Hey Matt, I sent you an email. I know you probably are getting a lot of emails right now, so I just wanted to let you know here. Whenever you get a chance, I have some additional questions about this. Thanks!

That’s…not Matt.

Re: My WordPress Slack Ban

#19

Post by beaconify » Sat, Oct 12, 2024, 2:28 AM UTC

GiorgioG wrote: post #3

Matt is just burning WordPress down with one dumb move after another.

From a PR and Marketing point of view certainly. I love WP but wary to use it now. This stuff make me nervous. WP is it's ecosystem, and these moves may slowly kill that. I see WP as the quiet never talked about on HN nocode superpower! Here is hoping for no more drama.

Re: My WordPress Slack Ban

#20

Post by pocketsand » Sat, Oct 12, 2024, 2:28 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #15

pocketsand wrote: post #10

For me, the fact he tried to compel the WPE CEO to work for him or else he would expose that she was in negotiations with him is the most unhinged thing I’ve ever heard in a hiring process. Quite literally an affront to freedom. My most charitable guess at what is going on is severe mental illness.

"Quite literally an affront to freedom"? Really? Say more.

Work for me or I will publicly shame you, try to damage your reputation, and make your employees potentially question your loyalty.

Threatening people if they don’t take a job with you is in the most literal way a challenge to your autonomy as a human being.