The dispute between WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg and hosting provider WP Engine continues, with Mullenweg announcing that WordPress is “forking” plugins developed by WP Engine.
Specifically, Advanced Custom Fields, a plugin that helps WordPress users customize their editing experience, is leaving WP Engine and being updated as a new plugin called Secure Custom Fields.
Mullenweg wrote that this step was necessary “to eliminate commercial upsells and resolve security issues.”
The Advanced Custom Fields team explained to X that plugins “currently under development” were “unilaterally and forcibly taken away from their authors without their consent,” adding, Nothing like this had ever happened inside.” WordPress. ”
“This important community promise has been violated, and we ask everyone to consider the ethics of such conduct and the new precedent set,” the ACF team wrote.
Mullenweg's blog post and the response from WordPress both claim that a similar situation has indeed happened before, but Mullenweg adds: ”
They also give WordPress the right to disable or remove plugins, remove developer access, and modify plugins “in the name of public safety and without developer consent.” He also pointed out the WordPress plugin guidelines it provides.
Background: WordPress is a free, open-source content management system used by many websites (including TechCrunch), but companies like WP Engine and Mullenweg's Automattic offer hosting and other commercial services. .
Last month, Mullenweg published a blog post criticizing WP Engine as the “cancer of WordPress.” His criticisms targeted everything from WP Engine's lack of support for revision history to investor Silver Lake, whose “WP” branding confused customers and caused the company to I also hinted that it sounded like it was officially related to WordPress.
The cease-and-desist letter was bidirectional, with WP Engine claiming that Mullenweg threatened to take a “scorched-earth approach” if the company didn't pay licensing fees for the WordPress trademark.
WordPress banned WP Engine from accessing WordPress.org, temporarily lifted the ban, but then reimposed the ban. This essentially prevents WP Engine from updating plugins through WordPress.org. As a result, we will no longer be able to provide automatic updates to address security issues.
However, WP Engine has published a workaround for users who want to update their plugin and continue using ACF. (We note that this workaround is only necessary for free users of ACF, as pro users will still receive updates through the ACF website.)
Mullenweg wrote that in the future, Secure Custom Fields will be available as a non-commercial plugin, and “if you are a developer and would like to participate in maintaining and improving it, please contact us.”