Automattic creates website tracking WP Engine departures • The Register

The feud between Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg and rival hosting agency WP Engine has led Automattic to create a web site that lists WordPress clients who’ve moved their website internet hosting away from WP Engine and those that have not.

“The aim of this website is to trace what number of websites have left WP Engine,” the positioning’s GitHub repo explains.

Mullenweg, co-creator of WordPress, head of economic WordPress internet hosting agency Automattic, and a board member of the WordPress Basis overseeing the open supply WordPress software program challenge, in September started disparaging WP Engine for, because the chief exec noticed it, refusing to pay tens of tens of millions of {dollars} yearly to make use of the “WordPress” trademark.

The CEO contends that WP Engine ought to pay as a result of it fails to adequately contribute again to the WordPress challenge. And to strain the corporate into doing so, Mullenweg supported steps reminiscent of blocking WP Engine-hosted web sites from connecting to WordPress.org for software program updates and forking a WP Engine-maintained plugin.

Hostilities between the 2 camps led final month to the departure of 159 Automattic workers members and a federal lawsuit from WP Engine alleging tried extortion, libel, interference with contractual relations, pc fraud and abuse, and unfair competitors, amongst different claims. A listening to on WP Engine’s request for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for later this month.

In keeping with the WP Engine Tracker website, greater than 16,700 websites have left already WPE since September 21 as of the time this text was filed, up from 15,080 on November 6. The location doesn’t say whether or not anybody has moved in the other way, from Automattic or different hosts to WP Engine or to a different content material administration ecosystem fully.

Critics of the monitoring website on Reddit describe it as “doxxing” WP Engine clients as a result of it makes a listing of WP Engine websites obtainable as a .csv file.

And a pull request submitted by developer Toby Nieboer suggests altering the web site’s said goal to learn: “The aim of this website is to exhibit how completely asinine Matt Mullenweg could be.” That pull request was closed.

GitHub Points posts have pointed out the irony of Automattic making a trademark declare in opposition to WP Engine whereas concurrently utilizing the trademarked “WP Engine” on its monitoring web site. It is also been argued that the monitoring website violates WordPress’ personal trademark policy by utilizing “WordPress” in a site identify.

The fantastic thing about open supply software program is that everybody is ready to entry information on a granular stage, as a result of it is all publicly obtainable info

A spokesperson for Automattic defended the web site, telling The Register, “The fantastic thing about open supply software program is that everybody is ready to entry information on a granular stage, as a result of it’s all publicly obtainable info.

“That public information has proven that ever since WP Engine filed its lawsuit – making it clear that they don’t have an official affiliation with WordPress and attracting better consideration to the corporate’s poor service, modifications to the WordPress core software program, growing and convoluted pricing construction, and repeated downtimes – their clients have left their platform for different internet hosting suppliers.

“WP Engine can and at all times has been capable of entry the WordPress software program and plugins obtainable on WordPress.org, as can anybody.”

Whereas information about WP Engine web sites could be gathered from public sources, it is not clear whether or not the .csv file of WP Engine web sites was obtained from a public supply. There’s some hypothesis that the info might have come from private WordPress.org entry logs reasonably than DNS queries or a web site crawler.

The Register requested Automattic whether or not that is the case. We have not heard again.

WP Engine declined to remark however The Register understands the agency is conscious of the monitoring web site. ®