The WordPress power struggle

There are two parts to WordPress. There’s the open source WordPress.org project and a commercial business called WordPress.Com which is part of Automattic.

Matt Mullenweg was the co-founder of WordPress and is the sole founder of Automattic.

Last month Mullenweg started a verbal fight with a company called WP Engine. The spat has now gone well beyond words. It has already changed the way many see WordPress and it looks set to alter the course of the web publishing software’s future.

Not necessarily for the better.

WordPress is important

WordPress is important because it is the technology behind about 40 percent of all websites on the open web. One estimate says there are a total of 65 million WordPress sites.

On the surface the fight started because Mullenweg was angry that WP Engine profits off WordPress without contributing anything.

This needs explanation.

WordPress is open source software. Open source means anyone can use the software, they can also update the code or even take the code and incorporate it into new projects. There are restrictions, but not many.

Open source and control

One point of open source software is that the initial developers can’t stop others from using it.

They also can’t stop others from profiting from it, so long as they obey basic rules. There are moral obligations, but, in theory anyway, developers can’t force users to contribute money or time.

That’s just not how open source usually works, although there are many complications and variations on the open source theme where these things might happen.

Despite this, typically businesses that profit from open source project do contribute towards it. They might donate money or, perhaps more important, they might lend programmers or developers to work on the software.

Apparently WP Engine does not do enough of that.

Maker versus taker

This is sometimes described as a maker versus taker problem and its a version of something know as the Tragedy Of The Commons.

Either way, when there is an imbalance between major contributors and those who contribute minimally it harms everyone in that community. When one or more parties makes a killing off the work of others who see little reward, there are potential conflicts.

Maker-versus-taker stops some would be idealistic entrepreneurs from starting open source projects. This is sad because everyone gains from open source. It is a far better way of building applications, but it can be a better way of running things too.

Blurred lines

The difference between makers and takers is not always clearcut. But in general makers invest directly in the open source project as they grow their businesses. Meanwhile, takers are all about extracting money from the project.

Not contributing gives takers an advantage over makers.

This can discourage makers. If they see others getting rich from their work, they might take their foot off the pedal. It’s harder to be motivated when all you do is make others rich.

If takers go too far, it can give makers an incentive to flip their identity and become takers.

This isn’t quite what is happening with WordPress and WP Engine, but it sets up the background to the dispute.

Show me the money

WP Engine is owned by Silver Lake, a powerful private equity firm and it makes a lot of money. Mullenweg effectively argues it is a taker.

This is where it gets complicated. WP Engine’s biggest rival is a hosted version of WordPress called WordPress.com, which is owned by Matt Mullenweg.

In other words, Mullenweg’s fight is not just about abstract ideas of fairness, it is about market competition.

WP Engine responded to Mullenweg’s criticism by showing its contributions to the WordPress open source project. And then, for good measure, it opened legal proceedings against Automattic.

Blocked

Next Wordpress blocked WP Engine from accessing its servers. This is serious for WP Engine’s customers who need to continually update their software to keep their websites secure.

It turns out that before the fight was public, Automattic proposed a deal where WP Engine would commit to handing over 8 percent of revenue to licence the WordPress trademark. It could chose to pay money or use the money to fund its own employees working on WordPress projects.

Until now Automattic, WordPress.org and the nonprofit foundation that owns the WordPress trademark presented themselves to the world as three independent organisations. Ultimately they are all owned by Mullenweg and the distinctions between them have blurred.

Mullenweg told The Verge: “WordPress.org just belongs to me personally”.

Legal

His complaints about WP Engine have expanded. He accused the company of hacking Woo-Commerce, which is also owned by Automattic, as a way of collecting commissions that would have gone to Automattic. He also says WP Engine is infringing on the WordPress trademark.

Unless there is a sudden rapprochement this is going to be a long drawn out legal battle between billionaire Mullenweg and Silver Lake which has more than US$100 billion in assets.

That will be a bruising fight, but Mullenweg has more to lose than Silver Lake. Of course there is the money, but there is reputation and the moral high ground.

Who are the good guys?

For years Mullenweg has enjoyed a reputation as a leading open source entrepreneur. In the eyes of many, open source is synonymous with ‘the good guys’.

Even though he is fighting the kind of organisation most in the open source community would think of as ‘the bad guys’, Mullenweg has burnt through most of his social capital and lost the community’s kudos and respect.

No doubt the 40 percent of the web running on WordPress will carry on regardless, but it’s unlikely much good will come from this dispute.

There is a bigger concern here, the dispute has huge implications for the entire open source world. Automattic versus WP Engine could shape the future of many other projects. It would be a tragedy if all that expertise and idealism was lost as a result.