- Initially posted on 16 October 2024, text last updated on 17 October 2024.
- Edit: 23 October 2024, I’ll now login again, especially to not let the mentees down (Contributor Mentorship program) but still do not appreciate to be forced to check the box and I continue to refuse to be part of any legal action.
- Edit: 11 November 2024, a reply from Matt Mullenweg, see at the end of the post
- Edit: 11 December 2024, update by court order, see at the end of the post
Statement on legal involvement and my continued contribution to WordPress
On 23 September 2024, in the “Announcements” channel on the Make Slack, Matt Mullenweg informed the community that WP Engine has initiated formal legal action, and that anything we communicate on Slack, including in direct messages (DM), could be part of legal discovery. Then, on 9 October 2024, in a Meta channel thread, Matt clarified that everyone who participates in WordPress.org is in the position of possibly needing legal representation.
23 September 2024 capture from Slack (link to the thread in Slack)
9 October 2024 capture from Slack (link to the thread in Slack)
I take Matt at his word when he says that we may all need legal representation. That said, I want to make it clear that I have no desire or intention to be involved in any legal actions.
On 9 October 2024, a checkbox appeared on WordPress.org stating, “I am not affiliated with WP Engine in any way, financially or otherwise.” To this date, it has not been made clear what “or otherwise” refers to.
Therefore, I would like to declare the following:
- I purchased a lifetime ACFPro license from Elliot Condon Web Development PTY LTD on 25 September 2018, under invoice 140707. I retain access to my license.
- I purchased a lifetime Genesis Framework license from StudioPress on 22 November 2012, including Adorable, Genesis, and the Pro Plus package, under invoices 120175 and 120176. I retain access to my licenses.
- I have used Local by Flywheel (the free software version) but never their hosting services. The software remains installed on my computer, though I no longer use it.
I’m not sure if the above makes me “Affiliated with WP Engine in any way, financially or otherwise”.
Furthermore, I’m not affilliated with WordPress.com or Automattic, and only purchased now expired products from the WooCommerce marketplace.
I do not have any websites hosted either on WP Engine services or paid1 on Automattic’s WordPress.com/Pressable. My clients sites are hosted on Infomaniak, AlpHosting, o2Switch, and other European hosts. My own sites are hosted on Hetzner cloud servers with a panel service by RunCloud. Two of the free projects I’m involved with use robotstxt.es and cyon as hosts.
I have not logged in to WordPress.org since 9 October 2024, but I may need to log in after publishing this statement on 16 October 2024, and thus check the box even though I find unethical to ask us to do so (edit 23 October 2024: I log in), in order to continue with the following contributions, some of which are dear to my heart:
- Accessing my profile in case I need to update the number of hours I contribute to the WordPress project.
- Accessing the WordCamp dashboards I am currently mentoring in my role as an “event supporter”.
- Participating in the current cohort 3 of the Contributor Mentorship program ❤️.
- Organising a Contributor Day focused on BuddyPress ❤️ and bbPress ❤️ as part of the Contributor Mentorship Program.
- Participating in the current Translation Week event.
- Translating strings into French for various plugins.
- Accessing the GatherPress ❤️ support forum in case I need to help a user.
- Accessing other plugin support forums if I need assistance or want to raise concerns.
- Getting tickets for several events ❤️ as an organiser, a volunteer, a speaker or a simple attendee.
- (My involvement with the WordCamp Europe 2025 ❤️ organising team does not require me to log in to WordPress.org until I need to get my ticket).
Lastly, I want to make it clear that, as a resident of Geneva, Switzerland, my place of jurisdiction is Geneva, and I categorically refuse to be cited in any legal actions elsewhere. I also want to state that I cannot afford legal representation.
I remain dedicated to the WordPress community and my continued contributions. However, I also maintain my right to protect myself from unnecessary legal complications arising from this situation.
Update from Matt Mullenweg
Added on 11 November 2024: Matteo Spirandelli (@matteospi), from the Italian Community, asked Matt about it in a personal message. Matt gave some clarification and the permission to share the conversation. I add the screen captures below, but here is the important part:
To Matteo’s question:
“Many people in the Italian Community asked what the login checkbox for WP.org means. It should be applied also to WPE customers? Marketing affiliates? or how exactly?”
Matt replied:
“so just a customer of WPE, I don’t think that matters
if they’re an affiliate, then yes they’re an affiliate
if they’re an employee of WPE, then definitely”
Update, court order
On 10 December 2024, the Court (United States District Court, Northern District of California, Case No. 24-cv-06917-AMO) ordered on preliminary injunction to:
removing the checkbox at login.wordpress.org that Defendants added on or
about October 8, 2024 asking users to confirm that they are “not affiliated with WP Engine in any way, financially or otherwise”
pdf document, lines 13-15, page 42, available on CourtListener, document # 64
Again, whatever the problem between the parties is, it’s not our attendees’ concern to check a box or not, so I’m relieved the checkbox is going away.
Added on 17 October 2024
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not represent the views of my sponsors or the projects I am part of, such as the WordCamp Europe organising team, the WordPress Contributor Mentorship Program, my roles in the Make Community team, or GatherPress community engagement. If there is any conflict with these projects, I welcome any feedback, and I am open to stepping down from my roles.
These opinions and texts are mine, with the assistance of ChatGPT solely to improve the quality of the English language.
Footnote:
- Added on 17 October 2024. I have a free wordpress.com account which I used in the past in conjunction with free Jetpack and Akismet services. I still use it to subscribe to notifications from other sites and to log into some P2 workspaces in conjunction with my role on the WCEU organising team. I also have free accounts on Tumblr, Gravatar and Crowdsignal. ↩︎
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