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The ACF plugin on the WordPress directory has been taken over by WordPress.org

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Re: The ACF plugin on the WordPress directory has been taken over by WordPress.org

#101

Post by pluc »

esskay wrote: post #77
lolinder wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's stolen the ACF permalink, reviews, download count, active installations (including the ability to push auto updates), etc. Sure, the code is free, but that's still a lot of theft. https://wordpress.org/plugins/advanced-custom-fields/

To add to that he is now violating their trademark by still using their name, branding and logo, all of which are registered trademarks. The copy you download still has all of these in. Way to speed run wiping out trust in your product. Any Wordpress plugin developer who relies on it for their livelihood should be EXTREMELY worried.

Not only that, but he's taken over all their customers as well if the update source was wordpress.org.

Re: The ACF plugin on the WordPress directory has been taken over by WordPress.org

#102

Post by Brian_K_White »

luuurker wrote: post #67
lexicality wrote: post #13

It's very funny that Matt's original complaint was that WPEngine didn't contribute enough, and he has now banned them from contributing and stolen what they had previously provided

> [...] and stolen [...] I'm not happy with the mess and Matt's behaviour, but you can't steal free code.

Where in the world, how the hell did you get the idea that stealing free code isn't stealing?

Re: The ACF plugin on the WordPress directory has been taken over by WordPress.org

#103

Post by neilv »

jzb wrote: post #58
bullenweg wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The inclusion of the nosebleed is not to make fun of Matt, it is to highlight something relevant to the medical issues that people have speculated about. The motivation is to bring to light Matt's wide-ranging exploits in one place, given it is abnormal for someone involved in high-profile litigation to spend their time arguing on Hacker News, Reddit, Twitter and live streams.

People are signaling to you that this particular thing crosses a line. You'd do well to heed that and take that part out. Speculating on his health / insinuating things undermines the points you're trying to make.

> People are signaling to you that this particular thing crosses a line.

It's a contagious theme.

Re: The ACF plugin on the WordPress directory has been taken over by WordPress.org

#104

Post by shash7 »

consumer451 wrote: post #18
sccxy wrote: post #9

Trust is lost forever. These are good times for Wordpress alternatives to shine.

Ghost.org seems pretty cool.

Ghost is good for blogging and newsletters.

But that's the problem. Wordpress is used for much much more. You can use it as a CMS, LMS, news platform, saas platform, and much more. You can literally customize it to the bone.

Ghost is a good alternative to wordpress, only if you're using it for 2-3 specific usecases.

Re: The ACF plugin on the WordPress directory has been taken over by WordPress.org

#105

Post by chx »

hooverd wrote: post #93
luuurker wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> [...] and stolen [...] I'm not happy with the mess and Matt's behaviour, but you can't steal free code.

What Matt did is basically a supply chain attack.

Not the first one. Cutting WPEngine customers off the plugin repository was one, too.

Re: The ACF plugin on the WordPress directory has been taken over by WordPress.org

#106

Post by throw16180339 »

chiefalchemist wrote: post #88
Scaevolus wrote: post #65

Does anyone want to play armchair internet psychologist with me to speculate as to Matt's thinking here? My guess is that he was focused on these facts: 1) I own Wordpress 2) WPEngine is profiting from Wordpress and I'm not benefiting 3) This is unfair And it was stuck in his mind like a thorn, irritating him whenever the thought arose, and never went away. Commercializing open source is hard for myriad reasons, but…

I hate to speculate, especially from a distance. But I do wonder: - Why now? What snapped? Clearly WPE didn't go to "billions" over night. So why go nuclear now? - Doesn't he have a close and immediate circle of advisors and confidants? Are they speaking to him and he's not listen? Or has he locked himself in a room so to speak and is completely unapproachable? Either way, not good. - Is he trying to force WPE to for…

> Am I the only one who can't imagine a good outcome from all this?

Here's a possible good outcome.

1. The board fires Matt, stops chasing windmills, and settles with WP Engine. I'm kind of surprised they haven't done so already - it's all downhill from here. He's either lying to them, not listening, or they're drinking the Kool Aid.

2. Matt steps down from the WordPress Foundation and transfers ownership of wordpress.org to them. He takes his hundreds of millions of dollars and does something else.

3. The new CEO apologizes to the community and establishes public processes for removing extensions and such. Checks and balances are added.

4. The WordPress Foundation's new director orders a house clearing. Many hosting providers and developers are invited to join the board. It's no longer an instrument of Matt's will, but represents the community.

The first step will probably happen at some point.

The second step could happen, but seems unlikely. I think there's a significant chance Matt would go on a rampage if he was fired. He clearly thinks of WordPress as his personal property. If he retains control of the foundation, there's nothing to stop him from continuing his crusade there. He's certainly got the funds to do so.

The third step is effectively required if he's fired. It's even mentioned in the 48 Laws of Power.

I don't think this outcome is particularly likely, but it could happen. People do sometimes win the lottery.

Re: The ACF plugin on the WordPress directory has been taken over by WordPress.org

#107

Post by chx »

justin66 wrote: post #57

Imagine being an Automattic employee who turned down the severance offer, realizing only now that you're on the train to crazytown.

If cutting off some Wordpress users from plugin upgrades just because some beef between matt and wpengine didn't make you realize that's the train you are on, nothing will.

Re: The ACF plugin on the WordPress directory has been taken over by WordPress.org

#109

Post by throw16180339 »

baggy_trough wrote: post #87
addedlovely wrote: post #70

Matt you've lost the plot, time to step down or put independent governance in-place. How can you expect any developer to devote time to writing a plugin if the dictatorship of Matt can rug pull it at any time.

This action is astonishing in its malignity. At this point I'm simply hoping for Matt Mullenweg to be excruciated in court.

It's a sad, sad day when you find yourself rooting for private equity vs. an open source company.

Re: The ACF plugin on the WordPress directory has been taken over by WordPress.org

#110

Post by [deleted] »

chx wrote: post #107
justin66 wrote: post #57

Imagine being an Automattic employee who turned down the severance offer, realizing only now that you're on the train to crazytown.

If cutting off some Wordpress users from plugin upgrades just because some beef between matt and wpengine didn't make you realize that's the train you are on, nothing will.

[deleted]
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