WP Engine Sues WordPress for Libel, Extortion 30
WP Engine, a major web hosting provider, has filed a federal lawsuit against WordPress [PDF] co-founder Matt Mullenweg and Automattic, alleging libel and attempted extortion. The suit stems from a public dispute over WordPress trademark usage and open-source licensing.
WP Engine, which hosts over 200,000 websites, accuses Mullenweg and Automattic of "abuse of power, extortion, and greed." The conflict escalated after Mullenweg called WP Engine a "cancer to WordPress" on his blog, prompting a cease-and-desist letter. Automattic subsequently demanded 8% of WP Engine's monthly revenue as royalties for alleged trademark infringement. The lawsuit includes 11 complaints, ranging from slander to violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
WP Engine, which hosts over 200,000 websites, accuses Mullenweg and Automattic of "abuse of power, extortion, and greed." The conflict escalated after Mullenweg called WP Engine a "cancer to WordPress" on his blog, prompting a cease-and-desist letter. Automattic subsequently demanded 8% of WP Engine's monthly revenue as royalties for alleged trademark infringement. The lawsuit includes 11 complaints, ranging from slander to violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
Third opinion (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Third opinion (Score:4, Informative)
I'm going to join in with you here and at least one of us will be downmodded, probably me. Even without adding questionable addons, Wordpress is a security shitshow. For example, there have been numerous SQL injection and XSS vulnerabilities in the WP core.
Cites: https://patchstack.com/databas... [patchstack.com]
Re: (Score:2)
That link doesn't provide the support for your argument that you claim.
A casual look at it shows that WP plugins are a security shitshow.
It's true that WP has had its share of security issues in the past, but I think that recently, it has been much better.
Re: Third opinion (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
That link doesn't provide the support for your argument that you claim.
Tell us you couldn't figure out how to operate the site without telling us.
A casual look at it shows that WP plugins are a security shitshow.
You have to click twice to see only core vulnerabilities. HTH, HAND.
Re: (Score:2)
scaling an image while changing the aspect ratio is just fine and doesn't know what JPG encoding levels even is.
How you even know you got JPG encoding levels, kid?
a childhood memory [youtube.com]
Re: (Score:2)
Welcome to modern IT. There is such a huge demand for software (and I loosely include websites as software) - there just aren't enough competent IT people to produce it all. There is the flip-side as well: what top-notch IT person wants to produce endless crappy websites? Hence, you get tools like WordPress that let marginally competent people produce stuff.
Why WordPress a mess? It is designed to let basically anyone do basically anything, either directly, or with any of a zillion plugins. There is no way
Re: (Score:2)
I'm presuming the KISS principle isn't an option? We have to have the most convoluted, jazz-fangled software/web sites imaginable.
This is like people complaining the touchscreens in their vehicles are a pain to use. Apparently there's no way to correct this situation.
Re: (Score:2)
there just aren't enough competent IT people to produce it all.
Oh, there are enough of them. There just aren't enough competent IT people WILLING to produce all that garbage for next to nothing.
What I used to think was unacceptably awful output from MS FrontPage would look lightweight and clean compared to most of those WP sites (where you must consider both the backend code, frontend, and the javascript in the middle). I wouldn't go so far as to say that such things have a right place and right time, but there's certainly a market for it.
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Wordpress and Drupal are terrible
Conflating Wordpress and Drupal is terribly ignorant.
Drupal has a far superior security record.
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"'scaling an image while changing the aspect ratio is just fine and doesn't know what JPG encoding levels even is."
Um, I've known all that since around 1995. I'm not an expert, no college, no training except my own self-taught.
So the experts, professionals, for so long, were designing web pages more than 18700 pixels tall, when common monitors were 800x600, and 1024 monitors were pricey and uncommon. Forcing most visitors to scroll to see the SUBMIT button just to accept the TOS/EULA agreements and actually
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Third opinion (Score:4, Insightful)
As a former web UI designer and web developer, I hate them both.
Wordpress solves a problem. So unless you have a better solution to that problem which is not massively more expensive (such as requiring people familiar with handcoding HTML, CSS, and JS to build websites), and is not massively more limited (Such as not capable of doing what wordpress can do to the same extent with the same ease for its userbase): The existence of Wordpress is a net positive for the internet as it makes things better for Wordpress' users, and the visitors to their websites.
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Name one good piece of furniture that would not exist if people had to know how to use a hand plane to make one.
The person you're replying to made a point that Wordpress is a tool and that it serves the needs of its users, who have unique and varied requirements.
But us engineer types LOVE to argue about which tools are superior.
It's true that Wordpress has been plagued with security issues over the years. That's a valid strike against Wordpress.
But it has also lowered the barrier of entry for people creatin
Re: (Score:2)
Wordpress solves a problem. So unless you have a better solution to that problem which is not massively more expensive (such as requiring people familiar with handcoding HTML, CSS, and JS to build websites), and is not massively more limited
It is called Drupal.
They have had far fewer vulnerabilities in the core, and in the popular modules. Today this is in large part because it is based on the Symfony framework, so they don't have to do that part.
The existence of Wordpress is a net positive for the internet
False. If it didn't exist, most of the people who use it would use Drupal, which is more secure.
Re: (Score:2)
The thing that strikes me is that you have WP Engine that uses WordPress as the core of what it offers to its customers/clients, but then decides to start saying how horrible WordPress is. Now, it makes some sense for WordPress to tell WP Engine, "Well, you don't like what we provide, so, fuck off!", then WP Engine suddenly realizes that without WordPress, their business is GONE.
When you are taking something and making a business based on what you are taking, going public and saying how much you dislike t
Re: A complete sh*t show in the making (Score:2)
When did WP Engine publicly trash WordPress?
Re: (Score:2)
This is a fight between a turd and a slightly polished turd.
They both need to be flushed.
My giveacrap-o-meter is reading below 0 (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously, this isn't as fundamental an argument as, say, SCO v Linux or the Java/Javascript trademark issue, or even deno v node. It doesn't need the daily attention on /. that the mods seem to be giving it.
Re: (Score:2)
All of this... (Score:2)
because one dude didn't like that a completely separate company wasn't enabling version control in its customers' web pages
JFC. How about you just make a marketing campaign that *your* company is superior because it has versioning? Rather than get into a pointless legal battle?
This could turn into a wild ride... (Score:3)
WordPress.com is a commercial entity. WordPress.org is a non-profit. Both of them are run by the same guy, Matt Mullenweg. From the outside, it does not appear that there is a meaningful separation to prevent a conflict of interest like this where the .org is being used as a weapon to defend the .com side.
IANAL, but Mullenweg could be starting to crack open Pandora's Box for his side by weaponizing a non-profit to materially benefit a for-profit entity he owns a substantial share in and runs.
To my knowledge, WP Engine is not accused of any sort of GPL violation. Literally their whole "evilnness" is being too competitive at hosting services without contributing what Mullenweg thinks is "their fair share."
I would be very curious to know if Mullenweg has the kind of legal team that can look at the situation holistically and tell him if he's truly safe or inviting a bloodbath from state and federal regulators over misuse of the non-profit.
wordpress is toxic garbage (Score:2)
Between the security issues in the core and the security issues in the endless plugins, wordpress is garbage. Our Marketing group uses outside help for the web site and they demand wordpress. I run it at a hosting provider I don't care about and the website stands completely alone in the world. I keep that toxic garbage as far from everything else as possible, just a matter of time before compromise.