Automattic Removes WP Engine Client List From Tracker Site

Automattic eliminated a spreadsheet containing the domains of WP Engine clients from the WP Engine Tracker web site. The removing is in response to a preliminary injunction granted to WP Engine, ordering Automattic and Matt Mullenweg to take away the spreadsheet inside 72 hours.

The preliminary injunction was warmly obtained on X (previously Twitter), a tweet by Joe Youngblood consultant of the final sentiment:

“The ruling was a big win for small companies and entrepreneurs that depend on open supply holding it’s guarantees. That features permitting webhosts to host and never stealing code repositories.

I’m hopeful the complete consequence of this appears a lot the identical.”

Another person tweeted:

“Unbiased events watching on the sidelines assume the court docket bought it proper. This was apparent from day one.

Subsequent step for you guys is to attempt to settle out of court docket to stop additional embarrassment and scale back potential danger in damages.”

Mullenweg’s Dispute With WP Engine

Matt Mullenweg started an assault in opposition to WP Engine on September 20, 2024 after WP Engine declined to pay tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars}, what WP Engine’s lawyer’s known as “extortionate financial calls for” in a stop and desist letter despatched to Automattic’s Chief Authorized Officer on September twenty third.

On November sixth Automattic intensified the stress on WP Engine by launching a web site known as WP Engine Tracker that supplied an inventory of WP Engine clients that may very well be utilized by different net hosts to solicit the purchasers with provides to go away WP Engine.

Solicitations of WP Engine clients apparently adopted, as related by a Redditor in a dialogue in regards to the WP Engine Tracker web site:

“I used to be out of the workplace for some medical procedures, so I missed the WPE Tracker factor. Nevertheless, this explains why I’ve obtained unsolicited internet hosting calls from sure operations. Clearly, somebody is mining it to solicit enterprise. Completely aggravating and in addition fully anticipated.

All this does is additional entrench me on WP Engine. Good work, Matt, you dweeb.”

The WP Engine Tracker web site grew to become proof of the hurt Mullenweg was inflicting to WP Engine and was cited within the request for a preliminary injunction.

The decide sided with WP Engine and granted the preliminary injunction, requiring amongst many different issues that Automattic and Mullenweg take down the listing of WP Engine clients.

The court docket order states:

“Inside 72 hours, Defendants are ORDERED to:

…(a) take away the purported listing of WPEngine clients contained within the “domains.csv” file linked to Defendants’ wordpressenginetracker.com web site (which was launched on or about
November 7, 2024) and saved within the related GitHub repository situated at https://github.com/wordpressenginetracker/wordpressenginetracker.github.io.”

The CSV file was subsequently eliminated though the hyperlink to a non-existent file , with a hyperlink exhibiting zero :

Screenshot Of WP Engine Tracker Web site

Clicking the hyperlink results in a 404 error response message.

Screenshot Of 404 Error Response For CSV Obtain

A pull request on GitHub reveals {that a} request was made to take away the CSV file on December eleventh.

“Take away CTA to obtain listing of web sites #29

wordpressenginetracker commented 9 hours in the past
This PR removes the textual content and obtain hyperlink to obtain the listing of web sites which have are nonetheless utilizing WPE”

Screenshot Of GitHub Pull Request

Superior Customized Fields Plugin

Automattic eliminated WP Engine’s Superior Customized Fields (ACF) plugin from the official WordPress.org plugin repository and changed it with Automattic’s cloned model, renamed as Safe Customized Fields (SCF).

The preliminary injunction orders Automattic to additionally restore entry to the Superior Customized Fields (ACF) plugin repository:

“Inside 72 hours, Defendants are ORDERED to:

…(v) returning and restoring WPEngine’s entry to and management of its Superior Customized Fields (“ACF”) plugin listing itemizing at https://wordpress.org/plugins/advanced-customfields, because it existed as of September 20, 2024.”

The cloned SCF plugin at present nonetheless exists at that URL, though Automattic nonetheless has time to take it down.

Screenshot Of SCF Plugin In The ACF Listing Itemizing

Featured Picture by Shutterstock/tomertu