I Support the Mad King  ## Metadata - Author: [[Manton Reece]] - Full Title: I Support the Mad King - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #MantonReece - #WPEngine - #Automattic - #OpenWeb - #Leadership - #WordPress - #Community - #WebDevelopment Author: Manton Reece Source: Manton.org Reference: [I support the mad king](https://www.manton.org/2024/12/21/i-support-the.html) date created: {{date:2025-01-07}} {{time:12:00}} --- # Title: I support the mad king ## 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 (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) Assessment](#deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical validity](#logical-validity) - [🔍 DARVO Analysis](#darvo-analysis) - [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#seo-evaluation) - [🎯 Conclusion](#conclusion) ## 📝 Summary: Manton Reece discusses the ongoing drama between Automattic (WordPress) and WP Engine, with particular attention to Matt Mullenweg's controversial actions against WP Engine. Despite their competition, Manton aligns with the principles of open-source software and leadership qualities seen in Matt, though he acknowledges Mullenweg’s sometimes divisive behavior. He critiques WP Engine’s lack of leadership visibility and stresses the importance of maintaining the open web. Manton’s reflections also touch on the broader consequences of leadership decisions in open-source projects. ## 📖 Main Content: Manton Reece analyzes the current conflict between Automattic and WP Engine, recognizing Mullenweg’s critical stance toward WP Engine. He also highlights the paradox of Mullenweg’s behavior, which he believes is sometimes erratic but ultimately driven by a strong vision for the open web. Manton critiques WP Engine for its lack of transparency and leadership visibility, contrasting it with Automattic’s more visible leadership. He also discusses the importance of a strong, singular vision in leadership, using Mullenweg’s decision-making around WordPress and Gutenberg as examples of what makes leadership effective, even when controversial. ### 🗒️ Notes: - **Mullenweg’s Leadership**: Manton respects Mullenweg’s leadership despite his controversial actions, especially in the conflict with WP Engine. - **WP Engine’s Leadership Void**: Criticism of WP Engine for lacking visible leadership, especially with the company’s shift to private equity ownership. - **Gutenberg and Innovation**: Manton defends Mullenweg’s decision to move WordPress towards Gutenberg, arguing that strong leadership drives innovation even when it’s unpopular. - **The Open Web**: Manton highlights the shared mission between Micro.blog and WordPress in supporting the open web, despite their competition. - **Public Perception of Leadership**: Manton reflects on how leaders in open-source communities are often vilified, but he argues that their bold decisions are necessary for growth. - **The Importance of Vision in Leadership**: Strong leadership requires a clear, unifying vision, which can sometimes create friction within communities. ## 📖 References: - [I support the mad king](https://www.manton.org/2024/12/21/i-support-the.html) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: 1. "Mullenweg’s war on WP Engine has also cast a shadow over the entire world of open-source software." - Paraphrased: Mullenweg’s actions against WP Engine have raised concerns about the direction of the open-source community. 2. "The safe, predictable path would be to take a step back. But good leaders often go against the flow of what everyone else thinks." - Paraphrased: The conventional approach would be to retreat, but strong leaders often challenge the status quo, which is essential for progress. ## 📰 Newsletter: **Manton Reece Supports the Visionary Leadership of Matt Mullenweg Despite Controversy** In a blog post that dives deep into the WP Engine and Automattic conflict, Manton Reece takes a reflective look at Matt Mullenweg's leadership. While acknowledging the drama and some of Mullenweg’s controversial actions, Manton stands by his leadership in the open-source world. He defends Mullenweg’s bold decisions, particularly with Gutenberg, as necessary for the growth of WordPress and the wider open web. Reece critiques WP Engine’s lack of leadership visibility, contrasting it with Automattic's transparency and vision. This nuanced reflection is a must-read for anyone interested in leadership in open-source projects and the future of the web. ## ✅ Action Items: - **Goal Alignment**: The article reinforces the need for strong, visionary leadership within the open-source ecosystem, which aligns with my focus on transparent leadership and strategic growth within open-source communities. - **Next Steps**: Encourage discussions on leadership transparency and vision, particularly in open-source companies, to prevent situations where leaders become disconnected from their communities. - **OSPO Director Aspiration**: As I move towards an OSPO Director role, I aim to learn from the balance between bold decision-making and community support that Mullenweg exemplifies, applying it to my advocacy for sustainable funding solutions and contributor engagement. ## 🧪 Hypotheses: 1. Strong leadership in open-source organizations can be polarizing but is ultimately necessary for long-term success and innovation. 2. Transparency in leadership, particularly in the case of companies like WP Engine, is a key factor in maintaining community trust. ### 📊 Methodology: - **Leadership Analysis**: Research could explore how different open-source organizations balance community involvement and centralized decision-making, with a focus on leadership visibility. - **Surveying Community Perception**: Conduct surveys to gauge how open-source communities view leadership actions in contentious situations. ## ❓ Questions: 1. How does strong leadership influence the direction of open-source projects, especially when decisions are divisive? 2. What are the long-term effects of a lack of transparency in leadership on community trust and company growth? ## 🔮 Future Research: - Investigate the impact of leadership visibility on the success of open-source projects and companies, especially in highly competitive markets. - Study the role of vision-driven decisions in maintaining a cohesive strategy within open-source organizations. ### 💡 Implications: - Future research could shape the way open-source organizations view leadership, encouraging a more transparent, visionary approach to management. - Understanding the balance between innovation and community relations could help prevent backlash and improve the overall health of the open-source ecosystem. ## 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment: - **Visual Learners**: The article could benefit from visual diagrams comparing leadership models or illustrating the conflict’s impact on the community. - **Aural Learners**: An audio version of this article could help auditory learners engage with the material. - **Verbal Learners**: The language used is descriptive and rich with analogies, making it suitable for verbal learners. - **Physical Learners**: Adding actionable tasks, such as leadership exercises or role-playing activities, could engage kinesthetic learners. - **Logical Learners**: The article’s logical structure and reasoning behind Mullenweg’s actions would appeal to logical learners. - **Social Learners**: The article’s focus on community dynamics makes it ideal for social learners, sparking conversations about leadership in open-source. - **Solitary Learners**: The reflective tone encourages solitary learners to think about leadership in open-source and make their own conclusions. - **Naturalistic Learners**: While the article doesn't touch on nature-based analogies, incorporating comparisons to ecological systems could appeal to naturalistic learners. ## 📊 Accessibility Assessment: - **Sc - Document Tags: [[Matt Mullenweg]] [[wpdrama]] - Summary: I’ve been thinking about the WP Engine drama and whether I should take a side. Users move between Micro. - URL: https://www.manton.org/2024/12/21/i-support-the.html I’ve been thinking about the WP Engine drama and whether I should take a side. Users move between Micro.blog and WordPress regularly. We’ve long had WordPress import and export, and even native posting directly to WordPress from the mobile app, plus connecting external WordPress RSS feeds. No other platform supports WordPress as extensively as we do in Micro.blog. We *compete* with WordPress for hosting and *also embrace it*. This is what the open web is about. In many ways, the missions of Automattic and Micro.blog are aligned. We all make software to help people write, post photos, publish podcasts, and communicate on the open web. It’s less clear what WP Engine stands for because it is no longer run by one of its founders, Jason Cohen, someone who had a public personality and clear voice. It’s owned by private equity and the leadership has kept silent. As far as I can tell, Heather Brunner, WP Engine’s CEO, does not blog, and neither does the top leadership at Silver Lake. In other words, they do not use their company’s own product. (As an aside, Heather is well respected in the Austin business community and praised for her mentorship to entrepreneurs. I also enjoyed her love letter to Austin [in Austin Women Magazine](https://atxwoman.com/i-am-austin-woman-heather-brunner/). I would rather have more Heathers here in Austin and fewer Elons.) Back to the drama… I’ve followed the news and related blog posts of WP Engine vs. Automattic ever since it began. I’ve watched Matt Mullenweg’s keynotes at WordCamp US Portland (where he called out WP Engine) and WordCamp Tokyo (last week). I’ve posted briefly a few times about how Matt’s actions have hurt the community, even if he has a defensible position in trademark law. Now there’s [this article in Inc magazine](https://www.inc.com/dfreedman/matt-mullenweg-wordpress-wp-engine/90994969). Matt, writer David Freedman suggests, just might be a mad king, a benevolent dictator for life taking WordPress in the wrong direction: > Mullenweg’s war on WP Engine has also cast a shadow over the entire world of open-source software—software that, like WordPress, can be freely downloaded and modified. Open-source software of various types is widely used throughout the world, precisely because it is seen as being free from the risk of proprietary abuse. But the WordPress debacle has demonstrated all too sharply that this belief may have been misplaced. > > Most of all, it has raised questions about Mullenweg himself. > > Matt responded [on his own blog in detail](https://ma.tt/), including this bit about taking the long view: > It’s funny to talk about the last big controversy in WordPress world being in 2010, I think it actually speaks to our stability. Since 2010, when “some eventually even left WordPress”, the platform has grown market share from under 10% to 43%. I think in a few years we’ll look back at WP Engine as inconsequential as Thesis, and Heather Brunner as credible as Chris Pearson. > > I don’t know Matt personally but I get the impression that he is exhausted. I’m sure I would be overwhelmed in his shoes. I honestly lose sleep even when only a few customers on Micro.blog are upset about something I wrote. I hope that my customers and readers, even when they disagree with me — even new readers finding this very post — still respect that I’m dedicated to making my product better because that in turn helps users make the web better. I’m putting my WordPress thoughts down in writing on my blog because I believe in the open web. One positive outcome of this whole drama is shedding light on the WordPress Foundation, the WordPress.org website, and the plugin directory. I do think the community would benefit from expanding the WordPress Foundation to a slightly larger board and more transparent management of WordPress.org. Matt could add two more members to the board and ask for nominations from the community. Some people think that wouldn’t go far enough, that WordPress would be better off with someone new taking over Matt’s role across the project. I’m not convinced. WordPress and Automattic didn’t *accidentally* become successful. They are successful in large part because of Matt and the teams he built. WordPress with completely new leadership from the community would risk watering down the vision, bogged down by committee. The Gutenberg editor is a good case study. Such a massive, controversial change needed a champion with power. The block-based design of Gutenberg isn’t for me, and in Micro.blog we are taking the opposite approach — focus on Markdown and HTML, formats that scale well from microblog posts to full-length posts — but if you are competing with Squarespace and thinking of the needs of non-bloggers, going all-in on Gutenberg is justifiable. The safer choice that had been advocated for by some in the community — to support both Gutenberg and the classic editor indefinitely, as peers — would have slowed down development, eventually leading to a UI mess without a unifying purpose. I’m singling out Gutenberg but take any other potential feature and run it through the feedback of an oversight committee, the outcome is the same. Bloat. Directionless products fail. They lose their soul. On the internet we are too quick to vilify our heroes. Someone who has built up a great reputation over many years makes a mistake and boom, they’re out. I can’t get behind that. When the mob gathers, that’s when we should stop to take a breath, to be certain we’re right. When the narrative turns against you, even harmless decisions are questioned. Matt announced this week that WordPress.org would pause registrations and plugin reviews for the holidays. At any other time without the WP Engine backdrop this decision would not be controversial. The narrative warps reality, amplifying only one side. Because Micro.blog is a competitor to Automattic for blog hosting, it would be an easy business decision for me to use the WP Engine drama to entice WordPress customers looking for a new blog host. That would come dangerously close to caring more about money than principles, though. Instead, everything starts with what we believe in, and the business priorities follow that. If I must take a side, I will side with people who share my vision for a better web. I believe Matt shares that vision. Perhaps the best summary of my take is [this post on my blog last month](https://www.manton.org/2024/11/17/in-when-i.html), which didn’t have anything to do with WordPress: > In 2018, when I added ActivityPub support to Micro.blog, I faced a choice: do I fight other “competing” platforms or do I embrace them? In hindsight that decision is obvious. I support anything that makes the web better. Twitter / X migration to Bluesky at scale makes the web better, so I’m for it. > > Let’s keep our eyes on the big picture. Is Matt a little crazy to go to war against WP Engine, in the process also appearing vindictive to his critics in the community? Yes. The safe, predictable path would be to take a step back. And Matt can be reflective and self-critical, like when he realized he went too far in his blog post attacking David Heinemeier Hansson and [so retracted it](https://ma.tt/2024/10/on-dhh/). But good leaders often go against the flow of what everyone else thinks. This is the same quality that makes them capable of building something new. No one else would have risked their reputation to continue to attack WP Engine. But also, no one else would have acquired Tumblr and run it at a loss to preserve the culture and post archive, just because they saw the potential for what it could become again. How quickly we forget the triumphs of the mad king. Years ago on Core Intuition, I said to Daniel that of all the new web companies, there are only two that will last 100 years, still hosting our stuff at URLs that don’t change: GitHub and Automattic. I stand by that. There are now cracks in Automattic’s inevitably, but the foundation is strong and it will hold., I Support the Mad King, Manton Reece, 01jgvyjtxxshjm1brsb5651wsg.