For anyone unaware of the #Wordpress drama, this post on Reddit makes it reasonably easy to understand.
@dick_turpin So this is an ethical dispute? WP Engine builds a successful business on the back of an open source project and is reluctant to share back financially.
OTOH, Automattic demanding a specific amount of revenue and, when not receiving it, blocking access to resources for WP Engine isn't exactly playing nice.
I guess this scenario could play-out for any successful open source project (particularly for SaaS ones) and I don't see either party as being "on the right side" of this one.
There have been plenty of similar examples.
It's kind of exactly what AGPL is for.
I'm just waiting for someone to fork it, given how much bad feeling the founder is now seeding.
Totally, he's acting in bad faith to the project.
@dick_turpin @intrbiz Eh? If WP Engine is a Wordpress hosting platform, why are they employing a different (and incompatible) license to the product they host?
I understand that enterprises don't like the GPL because it forces them to be open with any modifications they make but the GPL doesn't permit distribution of modified sources under another license.
@intrbiz @neil As you know, WP is licensed under the GPL; however, WP Engine is licensed under MIT.
As you also know, nothing is stopping you from selling GPL software, which is not what Matt is doing but instead wants to be paid for, including WP Engine.
It seems to me Matt threw his rattle out of the pram when he didn't get the price he demanded. Then again, we don't know if there were any behind-the-scenes negotiations that went bad. 🤷♂️