WP Engine Is Not WordPress  ## Metadata - Author: [[WordPress News]] - Full Title: WP Engine Is Not WordPress - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: [#WordPress, #WP-Engine, #open-source-governance] - #WordPress - #WP-Engine - #open-source-governance Author: [Author's Name] Source: WordPress News Reference: [WordPress News: WP Engine](https://wordpress.org/news/2024/09/wp-engine/) date created: 2024-09-23 12:45 --- # Title: WP Engine and WordPress Governance Controversy ## 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) - [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#🔍-seo-evaluation) - [🎯 Conclusion](#🎯-conclusion) ### References: - WordPress News: [WP Engine](https://wordpress.org/news/2024/09/wp-engine/) ## 📝 Summary: The article covers the latest developments in the WordPress community, where WP Engine faces criticism regarding their role in the open-source governance of the platform. The tension revolves around accusations that WP Engine's practices may not align with the collaborative values of the WordPress project, raising questions about the balance between corporate interests and open-source ethos. ## 📖 Main Content: WP Engine, a major player in the WordPress hosting market, has come under scrutiny for practices that some say compromise the spirit of open-source governance. While WP Engine contributes to WordPress, there are concerns about how their business model impacts community trust and collaboration. The article also touches on larger issues around the influence of for-profit companies in the open-source ecosystem and how they navigate the balance between profit and contribution. ### 🗒️ Notes - **WP Engine’s Contribution**: - WP Engine is a leading contributor to WordPress but faces criticism for their influence on governance. - Concerns arise about the alignment between their business interests and the WordPress open-source values. - **Corporate Influence in Open-Source**: - The debate highlights the role of corporations in the WordPress community. - Raises concerns about whether companies can remain both profitable and ethically aligned with open-source collaboration. - **Community Reactions**: - WordPress contributors are divided on whether WP Engine is acting in the best interests of the project. - The situation exposes broader issues in open-source governance. ## 📖 References: - WordPress News: [WP Engine](https://wordpress.org/news/2024/09/wp-engine/) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase:  1. "WP Engine's role in the WordPress project is critical, but their business practices have raised concerns about the company's commitment to open-source principles, causing tension in the community." - WP Engine plays a vital part in the WordPress ecosystem, yet their corporate strategies have led to doubts about whether they truly adhere to open-source ideals, fueling discord within the community. 2. "As WordPress grows, the challenge remains to balance the involvement of corporate entities with the need to maintain a community-driven, open-source project." - With WordPress expanding, the difficulty lies in harmonizing the participation of businesses while preserving its open-source, community-centric foundation. ## 📰 Newsletter: In the latest WordPress news, the role of WP Engine is being questioned as concerns arise about their influence on open-source governance. While WP Engine is a major contributor to the platform, their business practices are raising eyebrows. This has sparked a debate about the balance between corporate profit and open-source collaboration. How can businesses stay aligned with WordPress' community-driven principles? Catch the full story [here](https://wordpress.org/news/2024/09/wp-engine/). ## ✅ Action Items: This article directly aligns with my focus as a Developer Advocate on balancing corporate influence with open-source ethics. As WP Engine faces scrutiny, the situation brings to light the challenges we face in fostering a transparent and inclusive WordPress ecosystem. In my goal to become an OSPO director, understanding how companies like WP Engine navigate governance is crucial for ensuring sustainable open-source engagement. The article highlights the importance of maintaining ethical integrity while growing the community. ## 🧪 Hypotheses: 1. Corporate influence in open-source projects can erode community trust if not managed transparently. 2. WP Engine’s involvement in WordPress governance may lead to long-term shifts in contributor engagement, depending on the resolution of this conflict. ### 📊 Methodology: 1. **Survey**: Conduct surveys among contributors to gauge perceptions of WP Engine’s involvement in governance. 2. **Longitudinal Study**: Track changes in contributor engagement and community sentiment over time following the controversy. ### ❓ Questions: 1. How can the WordPress community create clear boundaries for corporate involvement in governance while still benefiting from their contributions? 2. What steps can WP Engine take to regain community trust without compromising their business objectives? ### 🔮 Future Research: - Explore the relationship between corporate contributions and community governance in other open-source ecosystems. - Investigate long-term impacts of business-driven decisions on community-driven projects like WordPress. ### 💡 Implications: Future research on corporate involvement in open-source governance could inform policy changes in the WordPress community and beyond. This would provide a framework for balancing corporate interests with the need for a strong, independent contributor base. ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment: 1. **Visual Learners**: - **Present**: The article lacks visual aids. - **Improve**: Suggest adding infographics or flowcharts to map out the relationships between corporate entities and open-source governance. 2. **Aural Learners**: - **Improve**: Incorporate audio versions or podcasts for further auditory engagement. 3. **Verbal Learners**: - **Present**: The article uses clear language and examples but could benefit from more storytelling. - **Improve**: Introduce more narrative elements to explain the history of WP Engine’s involvement in WordPress. 4. **Physical Learners**: - **Improve**: Recommend adding practical examples, such as how contributors can get involved in governance discussions. 5. **Logical Learners**: - **Present**: The argument is well-structured, but could use data to support claims about corporate influence. - **Improve**: Provide statistics on the impact of corporate governance in open-source projects. 6. **Social Learners**: - **Present**: Community feedback is highlighted, but lacks engagement opportunities. - **Improve**: Include discussion prompts for contributors to weigh in on the governance debate. 7. **Solitary Learners**: - **Improve**: Encourage personal reflection on the role of businesses in open-source and how individuals can contribute to governance. 8. **Naturalistic Learners**: - **Improve**: Use nature-based analogies to explain the balance between growth (corporate involvement) and sustainability (community-driven governance). ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment: - **Screen Reader Compatibility**: Ensure future articles include proper alt-text for images. - **Keyboard Navigation**: Check that all interactive elements are keyboard-accessible. - **Contrast and Readability**: Recommend improving font contrast for better readability. ### 🌍 DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) Assessment: - **Cultural Relevance**: The article does not reference diverse perspectives. - **Improve**: Include examples from non-Western communities or companies to broaden the scope. - **Inclusive Language**: The article is neutral but could be m - Document Tags: [[Matt Mullenweg]] [[open source corporate contribution]] [[wordpress]] [[wordpress contribution]] [[wpdrama]] [[wp engine]] - Summary: It has to be said and repeated: WP Engine is not WordPress. My own mother was confused and thought WP Engine was an official thing. Their branding, marketing, advertising, and entire promise to cus… - URL: https://wordpress.org/news/2024/09/wp-engine/ It has to be said and repeated: *WP Engine is not WordPress*. My own mother was confused and thought [WP Engine](https://wpengine.com/) was an official thing. Their branding, marketing, advertising, and entire promise to customers is that they’re giving you WordPress, but they’re not. And they’re profiting off of the confusion. [I spoke yesterday at WordCamp](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnI-QcVSwMU) about how [Lee Wittlinger](https://www.silverlake.com/people/lee-wittlinger/) at [Silver Lake](https://www.silverlake.com/), a private equity firm with $102B assets under management, can hollow out an open source community. Today, I would like to offer a specific, technical example of how they break the trust and sanctity of our software’s promise to users to save themselves money so they can extract more profits from you. WordPress is a content management system, and the content is *sacred*. Every change you make to every page, every post, is tracked in a revision system, just like the Wikipedia. This means if you make a mistake, you can *always* undo it. It also means if you’re trying to figure out why something is on a page, you can see precisely the history and edits that led to it. These revisions are stored in our database. This is very important, it’s at the core of the user promise of protecting your data, and it’s why WordPress is architected and designed to never lose anything. **WP Engine turns this off.** They disable revisions because it costs them more money to store the history of the changes in the database, and they don’t want to spend that to protect your content. It strikes to the very heart of what WordPress does, and they shatter it, the integrity of your content. If you make a mistake, you have no way to get your content back, breaking the core promise of what WordPress does, which is manage and protect your content. Here is a screenshot of [their support page](https://wpengine.com/support/platform-settings/#Post_Revisions) saying they disable this across their 1.5 million WordPress installs.  They say it’s slowing down your site, but what they mean is they want to avoid paying to store that data. We tested revisions on *all* of the recommended hosts on WordPress.org, and *none* disabled revisions by default. **Why is WP Engine the only one that does?** They are strip-mining the WordPress ecosystem, giving our users a crappier experience so they can make more money. **What WP Engine gives you is not WordPress**, it’s something that they’ve chopped up, hacked, butchered to look like WordPress, but actually they’re giving you a cheap knock-off and charging you more for it. This is one of the many reasons they are a cancer to WordPress, and it’s important to remember that unchecked, cancer will spread. WP Engine is setting a poor standard that others may look at and think is ok to replicate. We must set a higher standard to ensure WordPress is here for the next 100 years. If you are a customer of “WordPress Engine,” you should [contact their support](https://wpengine.com/contact/) immediately to at least get the 3 revisions they allow turned on so you don’t accidentally lose something important. Ideally, they should go to unlimited. **Remember that you, the customer, hold the power; they are nothing without the money you give them.** And as you vote with your dollars, consider literally any other WordPress host as WP Engine is the only one we’ve found that completely disables revisions by default., WP Engine Is Not WordPress, WordPress News, 01j8bh0fv6nw6kd1qa8bf0ekrp.