We keep seeing news stories and commentary about Matt Mullenweg’s extortion campaign against WP Engine and all the fallout of that, which gets basic details wrong. That is in large part because Matt Mullenweg has been very successful in making it seem that things are different than they are. For example, lots of people have understandably believed that the WordPress website was controlled by the WordPress Foundation, but it isn’t. The foundation has little control over WordPress.
On example of confusion that needs addressing is a post titled, “If WordPress is to survive, Matt Mullenweg must be removed,” which seems to be getting a lot of attention. The important questions to ask in response to that are what Matt Mullenweg would be removed from and how would that happen. [Read more]