Automattic Quietly Intensifies WP Engine Tracker Site  ## Metadata - Author: [[Roger Montti]] - Full Title: Automattic Quietly Intensifies WP Engine Tracker Site - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: [#Automattic, #WPEngine, #WordPress, #Hosting, #Controversy] - #WebHosting - #OpenSource - #Legal Author: Roger Montti Source: Search Engine Journal Reference: [Article Link](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/wp-engine-tracker-feature-update/534006/) date created: 2024-12-03 14:00 --- # Title: Automattic Escalates WP Engine Tracker Controversy ## Table of Contents: 1. [📝 Summary](#-summary) 2. [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#-notes) 3. [📖 References](#-references) 4. [🗣️ Paraphrase](#-paraphrase) 5. [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) 6. [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) 7. [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) 8. [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) 9. [❓ Questions](#-questions) 10. [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) 11. [💡 Implications](#-implications) 12. [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) 13. [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) 14. [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-belonging-assessment) 15. [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) 16. [🔍 DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis-prompt) 17. [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#-seo-evaluation) 18. [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) --- ## 📝 Summary: Automattic’s WP Engine Tracker site update intensifies a dispute with managed WordPress host WP Engine. The site now displays real-time migration data of domains leaving WP Engine and links to competitor hosting promotions. The tracker’s existence has drawn criticism for transparency, data use ethics, and its role in an ongoing legal conflict between Automattic and WP Engine. --- ## 📖 Main Content: ### 🗒️ Notes: - **Tracker Overview**: - WP Engine Tracker lists domains moving from WP Engine since September 21, 2024. - Includes downloadable customer data and competitor promotions. - **Site Updates**: - Added “Activity Log Today” for real-time migrations. - Improved visuals, including “Recently Moved” and “Top Destinations” graphics. - **Controversies**: - Blocked by Cloudflare for phishing concerns on November 10, 2024. - Legal implications in WP Engine’s lawsuit cite the tracker as evidence of “attacks.” - **Community Reaction**: - Reddit users report privacy concerns and unsolicited hosting offers. - Some criticize the ethical implications of publicizing customer migrations. --- ## 📖 References: - [Search Engine Journal Article](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/wp-engine-tracker-feature-update/534006/) --- ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: 1. Original: "Automattic escalated what the WP Engine Tracker website does by adding an additional feature that shows a continually updated running list of domains that have migrated away from WP Engine and the destination host." - Paraphrase: Automattic enhanced the WP Engine Tracker by introducing a live feed displaying domains moving away from WP Engine and their new hosting providers. 2. Original: "The preliminary injunction filed by WP Engine explains: '[...] Defendants created a website—www.wordpressenginetracker.com—that “list[s] . . . every domain hosted by @wpengine, which you can see decline every day.'" - Paraphrase: WP Engine’s preliminary injunction highlights Automattic’s tracker site, accusing it of displaying a daily tally of domains leaving WP Engine. --- ## 📰 Newsletter: 🚨 **WP Hosting Showdown: Automattic vs. WP Engine** Automattic’s controversial WP Engine Tracker escalates hosting wars by publishing live migration data. Critics raise privacy and ethical concerns, while WP Engine cites the site in ongoing legal disputes. Learn more about what this means for WordPress hosting at [Search Engine Journal](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/wp-engine-tracker-feature-update/534006/). 🖥️ --- ## ✅ Action Items: 1. Monitor legal developments for WP Engine’s lawsuit and its implications for hosting competition. 2. Discuss privacy ethics in hosting practices with WordPress contributors and developers. 3. Create educational resources about managing sensitive hosting data. --- ## 🧪 Hypotheses: - Public data sharing of hosting migrations may deter customers from leaving their providers. - Competitor promotion via public tracking sites could influence market dynamics. --- ## 📊 Methodology: - **Data Collection**: Analyze migration data from tracker logs. - **Comparative Analysis**: Compare WP Engine’s customer retention trends before and after tracker launch. - **Surveys**: Gather user opinions on privacy concerns and hosting competition ethics. --- ## ❓ Questions: - How does the WP Engine Tracker influence customer trust in hosting providers? - Are there legal precedents for publicizing customer migration data? --- ## 🔮 Future Research: - Examine the long-term effects of public migration data on hosting market shares. - Investigate the legal boundaries of sharing customer migration data. --- ## 💡 Implications: - Could establish new norms for hosting transparency and competition. - Might prompt legal and ethical guidelines for data use in marketing. --- ## 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment: 1. **Visual**: Clear screenshots of tracker features enhance understanding. - **Improve**: Add infographic explanations of legal context. 2. **Verbal**: Strong narrative; lacks examples of ethical alternatives. - **Improve**: Include expert commentary or interviews. 3. **Logical**: Presents legal arguments systematically. - **Improve**: Add comparative case studies for legal analysis. --- ## 📊 Accessibility Assessment: - **Alt-Text**: Screenshots lack detailed descriptions. - **Improve**: Add alt-text for visual elements. - **Contrast**: Ensure site visuals comply with WCAG contrast standards. --- ## 🌍 DEIB Assessment: - **Cultural Relevance**: No global hosting comparisons. - **Improve**: Include diverse perspectives on hosting practices. - **Inclusive Language**: Neutral tone, avoids exclusionary language. - **Representation**: Limited focus on small-scale hosting providers. - **Improve**: Broaden scope to include smaller hosting players. --- ## ✅ Logical Validity: - **Strength**: Causal links between tracker features and hosting competition. - **Weakness**: Lacks robust counterarguments addressing Automattic’s legal defense. - **Improve**: Include Automattic’s justifications for tracker transparency. --- ## 🔍 DARVO Analysis Prompt: 1. **Deny**: Automattic frames tracker as factual rather than a targeted attack. 2. **Attack**: Tracker may implicitly criticize WP Engine by promoting competitors. 3. **Reverse Victim and Offender**: Automattic positions itself as offering transparency rather than engaging in harmful practices. --- ## 🔍 SEO Evaluation: 1. **Keywords**: Effective use of “WP Engine Tracker,” “Automattic,” and “hosting.” 2. **Meta Description**: Needs stronger summarization for SEO. 3. **Headers**: Organized with clear, keyword-rich headings. --- ## 🎯 Conclusion: Automattic’s WP Engine Tracker fuels debates on transparency, competition, and ethics in hosting. The site's updates intensify its role in an ongoing legal battle, raising questions about privacy and marketing strategies in the WordPress ecosystem. - Document Tags: [[governance]] [[matt mullenweg]] [[wordpress]] [[wpdrama]] [[wp engine]] - Summary: Automattic's update to the WP Engine Tracker site intensifies Mullenweg's self-described "nuclear war" against managed web host WP Engine - URL: https://search.app/?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Esearchenginejournal%2Ecom%2Fwp%2Dengine%2Dtracker%2Dfeature%2Dupdate%2F534006%2F&utm_campaign=57165%2Dor%2Digacx%2Dweb%2Dshrbtn%2Diga%2Dsharing&utm_source=igadl%2Cigatpdl%2Csh%2Fx%2Fgs%2Fm2%2F5 Automattic's update to the WP Engine Tracker site intensifies Mullenweg's self-described "nuclear war" against managed web host WP Engine SEJ STAFF [Roger Montti](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/author/roger-montti/) * ⋅ * 3 min read  Automattic quietly updated the WP Engine Tracker website with an activity log showing a continuously updated list of domains that have switched away from managed WordPress host, WP Engine. This update is part of Mullenweg’s self-described “nuclear war” against WP Engine, with the Tracker site actively promoting competitors by offering links to their hosting promotions. #### WP Engine Tracker Automattic created a website for the purpose of tracking how many sites have abandoned WP Engine six September 21st, 2024, the date that Matt Mullenweg started went “nuclear” on WP Engine after they rebuffed his request for $32 million dollars. The website promotes deals with other web hosts for moving away from WP Engine, and a CSV spreadsheet with the domain names of the sites that have left WP Engine. At some point after launching the website was updated with a list of the top web hosts that WP Engine customers have migrated to and a constantly updated list of sites that have recently moved. #### WP Engine Tracker “Activity Log Today” Automattic escalated what the WP Engine Tracker website does by adding an additional feature that shows a continually updated running list of domains that have migrated away from WP Engine and the destination host. ##### Screenshot Of Activity Log Today Feature [](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/wpenginetracker-activity-log-today-580.png) #### WP Engine Lawsuit The [WP Engine Tracker](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/wpengine-tracker-website/531973/) website, created by Automattic and Matt Mullenweg to publicly monitor and offer links to promotions to other web hosts, was cited in a [preliminary injunction filed by WP Engine](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/wp-engine-escalates-legal-battle-with-automattic-and-mullenweg/532831/) as evidence of Mullenweg’s purposeful “attack on WPE” as part of his “nuclear war” against the managed WordPress host. *The preliminary injunction filed by WP Engine explains:* > “Just last week, in an apparent effort to brag about how successful they have been in harming WPE, Defendants created a website—www.wordpressenginetracker.com—that “list[s] . . . every domain hosted by @wpengine, which you can see decline every day. 15,080 sites have left already since September 21st. > > September 21 was not selected randomly. It is the day after Defendants’ self-proclaimed nuclear war began – an admission that these customer losses were caused by Defendants’ wrongful actions. In this extraordinary attack on WPE and its customers, Defendants included on their disparaging website a downloadable file of ‘all [WPE] sites ready for a new home’—that is, WPE’s customer list, literally inviting others to target and poach WPE’s clients while Defendants’ attacks on WPE continued..” > > But available transcripts of the preliminary injunction hearing of November 26th do not show that it was mentioned. The judge at that hearing asked the plaintiff and defendants to return to court on Monday December 2nd with an agreement on a narrow and specific scope for a preliminary injunction, having said that the original request was too vague and consequently unenforceable. *Featured Image by Shutterstock/Gearstd*, Automattic Quietly Intensifies WP Engine Tracker Site, Roger Montti, 01jdzpgc7y335tvqn578egh2g3.