The New Normal  🔗 **Source:** [The New Normal](https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/08/automattic_tracking_wpengine/) > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: #WordPress #Automattic #WP_Engine #Web_Hosting #Open_Source #Trademark_Dispute > Author: Thomas Claburn > Source: The Register > Reference: [Automattic creates website tracking WP Engine departures](https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/08/automattic_tracking_wpengine/) > date created: 2024-11-10 18:35 > > # Title: Automattic Creates Website Tracking WP Engine Departures > <!-- deep-read:sections start --> ## Table of Contents: - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#-notes) - [📖 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🔍 DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#-seo-evaluation) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ## 📝 Summary: Automattic, led by CEO Matt Mullenweg, has launched a website tracking WordPress customers leaving rival WP Engine, a move tied to a heated dispute over trademark use and contributions to the open-source WordPress ecosystem. The tracker has reported over 16,700 departures from WP Engine since September 2024. This public display has sparked debate, with some critics viewing it as an aggressive strategy that could be considered doxxing WP Engine customers. ## 📖 Main Content: Automattic’s recent move to create a website monitoring WP Engine customer departures highlights ongoing tension between the two companies. The tracking site was created amidst a conflict involving trademark use, with Automattic’s leadership claiming WP Engine profits from WordPress without contributing sufficiently. This has led to actions such as Automattic blocking WP Engine-hosted sites from updates and forking plugins maintained by WP Engine. The situation escalated with 159 Automattic employees leaving the company and a lawsuit filed by WP Engine, alleging extortion, libel, interference with contracts, and other accusations. Community reactions are mixed, with some defending Automattic’s position on protecting the WordPress community’s values, while others view the public listing of customer data as problematic. ### 🗒️ Notes **Automattic’s Strategic Move**: - **Launch of Tracking Site**: Automattic launched a tool that tracks sites moving away from WP Engine. This move is seen as a method to exert pressure on WP Engine by making customer departures public. - **Data Insight**: The tracker notes 16,700+ site migrations since September 21, 2024. **Purpose and Criticism**: - **Stated Purpose**: Automattic claims the tracker’s purpose is to highlight WP Engine’s alleged lack of contribution and profiting from WordPress. - **Community Backlash**: Critics argue that publishing customer migrations can be seen as a form of doxxing. Concerns about privacy and ethical boundaries have been voiced, particularly on forums like Reddit. - **GitHub Response**: A pull request on the site’s GitHub repository proposed changing its description to reflect criticism of CEO Mullenweg's tactics, but this request was dismissed. **Background of the Dispute**: - **CEO’s Stance**: Matt Mullenweg has been vocal about his belief that WP Engine profits without giving back to the community. - **Previous Actions**: Automattic has implemented measures such as blocking WP Engine sites from accessing core updates and forking plugins that WP Engine maintained. - **Lawsuit Details**: WP Engine responded by filing a federal lawsuit accusing Automattic and Mullenweg of several offenses, including unfair competition and computer fraud. **Employee Departures**: - **Internal Conflict**: The tension led to the resignation of 159 employees from Automattic, a sign of significant internal disagreement or strategic fallout. - **Impact on Automattic’s Reputation**: These departures may affect Automattic’s public image and trust within the WordPress community. **Legal and Ethical Implications**: - **Preliminary Injunction**: A hearing for WP Engine's request for an injunction is set for later this month. The outcome could set a precedent for competitive practices within open-source ecosystems. - **Ethical Dilemmas**: The use of public tracking for competitive leverage raises questions about responsible data use and community-oriented ethics. **Community Reactions and Analysis**: - **Mixed Opinions**: Supporters see Automattic’s actions as a necessary defense of WordPress’s open-source integrity. Detractors argue that these tactics could harm smaller site owners and weaken trust in Automattic’s leadership. - **Reddit Discussions**: Some describe the tracker as a strategic form of doxxing, warning that public data lists could have unintended negative consequences for individual site owners. - **Transparency vs. Privacy**: The balance between transparency in open-source practices and the right to user privacy is under scrutiny. This debate extends to discussions on how data should be shared within competitive markets. **Lessons for the Open-Source Community**: - **Contribution and Accountability**: The dispute spotlights the complex nature of contributions in open-source projects and the tension between for-profit entities and community values. - **Advocacy for Guidelines**: The need for clear guidelines on competitive practices and responsible data usage within open-source communities is evident. - **Potential Ramifications**: The outcome of this dispute could influence future interactions between hosting providers, contributors, and other stakeholders in the WordPress ecosystem. **Technical and Strategic Insights**: - **Operational Risks**: The approach Automattic has taken could have ripple effects on partnerships and collaborative projects. - **Alternative Measures**: Suggests that future disputes might be better managed with private negotiations or moderated discussions within community forums rather than public tracking. - **Precedent Setting**: If WP Engine’s lawsuit succeeds, it could set a boundary for competitive and marketing practices in open-source domains. ## 📖 References: - [Automattic creates website tracking WP Engine departures](https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/08/automattic_tracking_wpengine/) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: 1. **Original**: "Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg’s dispute with WP Engine led to the creation of a website that publicly tracks WordPress customers departing from WP Engine." - **Paraphrase**: The conflict between Automattic’s CEO, Matt Mullenweg, and WP Engine has resulted in the launch of a site that displays the migration of WordPress customers leaving WP Engine. 2. **Original**: "Some critics describe the tracking website as 'doxxing' WP Engine customers due to its public listing of sites as a downloadable .csv file." - **Paraphrase**: Critics have labeled the tracking website as a form of 'doxxing' because it makes a downloadable .csv file of WP Engine-hosted sites available to the public. ## 📰 Newsletter: 🚨 **WordPress Community Update**: Tensions between Automattic and WP Engine have risen with the launch of a site tracking customer migrations from WP Engine. While Automattic argues this highlights issues of contribution in the WordPress ecosystem, critics see it as a concerning move bordering on customer doxxing. With over 16,700 sites leaving WP Engine since September 2024, this dispute is reshaping conversations about open-source ethics, data privacy, and competition. Keep an eye on the upcoming court hearing for WP Engine’s injunction request. Stay informed! Read more here: [link]. ## ✅ Action Items: - **Developer Outreach**: - Foster discussions on ethical data use and transparency within the WordPress community. - Create webinars and workshops focusing on how hosting providers and developers can maintain collaborative, responsible practices. - **Open-Source Advocacy**: - Use this case to promote stronger community guidelines on competitive practices in open-source environments. - Encourage balanced contributions from for-profit companies involved in open-source projects. - **Contributor Education**: - Emphasize education on the legal and ethical implications of competitive strategies and how they impact community trust. ## 🧪 Hypotheses: - Public tracking of customer migration could lead to decreased trust in open-source platforms. - Aggressive competitive strategies may discourage smaller site operators from engaging with larger service providers. ### 📊 Methodology: - **Qualitative Analysis**: Conduct interviews with site owners affected by Automattic’s actions. - **Data Collection**: Analyze user activity metrics on the tracking website and forum discussions. - **Comparative Study**: Review similar cases of public competitive practices in open-source communities. ### ❓ Questions: - How do public competitive practices affect the trust within open-source communities? - What measures can ensure ethical transparency while avoiding privacy infringements? ### 🔮 Future Research: - Explore guidelines for handling disputes within the open-source ecosystem that balance transparency with user privacy. - Study the impact of public tracking tools on user behavior and platform loyalty. ### 💡 Implications: Findings could inform policies that ensure fair play in open-source projects, protecting user privacy while promoting contribution transparency. ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment: 1. **Visual Learners**: - **Present**: Limited visuals. - **Improve**: Add flowcharts depicting the relationship between Automattic, WP Engine, and the WordPress community. 2. **Aural Learners**: - **Present**: No audio content. - **Improve**: Include podcasts discussing the implications of competitive strategies in open-source. 3. **Verbal Learners**: - **Present**: Detailed descriptions. - **Improve**: Simplify legal terms with relatable analogies. ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment: - **Screen Reader Compatibility**: Ensure descriptions for all data points in articles. - **Improve**: Integrate headers and alt-text for any charts or data tables. - **Text Resizing**: Confirm responsiveness to different text size adjustments. ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment: - **Cultural Relevance**: Limited; consider case studies from diverse WordPress users. - **Improve**: Expand on user impact across various socioeconomic backgrounds. ### ✅ Logical Validity: - **Strengths**: Strong use of data to support tracking migration numbers. - **Weaknesses**: Limited counterarguments regarding potential negative impacts on privacy. - **Improve**: Include perspectives from smaller site owners for balance. ### 🔍 DARVO Analysis: - **Not Applicable**: No evidence of DARVO strategies detected in the article. ### 🔍 SEO Evaluation: - **Keywords**: Present but could be improved with terms like "WordPress migration." - **Meta Description**: Ensure it encapsulates key disputes and court actions. - **Improve**: Use headers that align closely with trending SEO searches. ## 🎯 Conclusion: The dispute between Automattic and WP Engine sheds light on critical issues within open-source contributions, competitive practices, and data ethics. Upcoming legal proceedings will be pivotal in defining these standards moving forward. <!-- deep-read:sections end --> 📄 **Full text:** ![[Full Document Contents/Articles/The New Normal|The New Normal, Thomas Claburn]] ## Highlights - Hostilities between the two camps led last month to the departure of 159 Automattic staff members and [a federal lawsuit](https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/04/automattic_offers_dissident_employees_incentive/) from WP Engine alleging attempted extortion, libel, interference with contractual relations, computer fraud and abuse, and unfair competition, among other claims. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jcc1a2zdmgw0xrdhxc0njjxc)) - The purpose of this site is to demonstrate how utterly asinine Matt Mullenweg can be." ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jcc1av7na7sjj0cvpm6e08mp)) - GitHub Issues posts have [pointed](https://github.com/wordpressenginetracker/wordpressenginetracker.github.io/issues/5) out the irony of Automattic making a trademark claim against WP Engine while simultaneously using the trademarked "WP Engine" on its tracking website. It's also been [argued](https://github.com/wordpressenginetracker/wordpressenginetracker.github.io/issues/6) that the tracking site violates WordPress' own [trademark policy](https://wordpressfoundation.org/trademark-policy/) by using "WordPress" in a domain name. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jcc1b69xmx06hm58ta0yhzn4))