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Is Matt Mullenweg defending WordPress or sabotaging it?

(torment-nexus.mathewingram.com)
154 points davidandgoliath | 3 comments | 17 Oct 24 18:53 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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runjake ◴[17 Oct 24 20:28 UTC] No.41873436[source]▶
One important people to keep in mind as they read this post, the linked Google Doc, and tweets from the past day where a bunch of people are receiving unsolicited DMs[1] from Automattic with grammar that matches Matt's:

- Matt, under various guises, is shifting blame to different entities that are effectively himself.

- Automattic is Matt. Matt is the CEO of Automattic.

- The WordPress Foundation is, effectively, Matt.

- The problem is Matt. Maybe he's right about WP Engine, but the way he has and continues to handle everything has been disastrous.

1. https://x.com/GergelyOrosz/status/1846448485979107824

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zeruch ◴[17 Oct 24 20:48 UTC] No.41873619[source]▶
"Maybe he's right about WP Engine, but the way he has and continues to handle everything has been disastrous."

This is the best single line distillation of the current lunacy. I mean with every passing day, it all becomes more and more unhinged, and I see no good outcome in the long term. The overall damage to the ecosystem I think begins it's death spiral now.

It's a boon for competitors I suppose, but that's about it.

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codetrotter ◴[17 Oct 24 21:37 UTC] No.41874079[source]▶
> It's a boon for competitors I suppose

I would think so too, but it’s not guaranteed.

Everyone thought for sure that Twitter would die with what Elon Musk has been doing to it, but somehow it seems to still be alive.

Likewise, everyone thought there would be a total exodus of users from Reddit to Lemmy or Kbin. And while those platforms did get a lot of new users, it feels like it didn’t reach the level of significance of the Digg -> Reddit mass-migration.

Therefore I am not convinced that people will actually be leaving Wordpress in droves. No matter how bad the situation currently seems for WP users.

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1. jeltz ◴[17 Oct 24 22:55 UTC] No.41874646{3}[source]▶
Reddit is much worse today than before the exodus, it is recovering and maybe it will eventually fully recover. The issue with the Reddit exodus is that people fled to various different platforms and not just one. Plus some people likely just stopped using social media. This shattering to various different platforms stopped the momentum from totally killing Reddit. And maybe the same will also project WordPress.

I am still at Reddit but many subreddits are just not the same.

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2. square_usual ◴[17 Oct 24 23:42 UTC] No.41874951[source]▶
Yeah, entire parts of reddit have been hollowed out and a lot of the subs have changed in many ways. I don't enjoy using reddit any more, even as someone who mostly didn't care about the protest.
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3. phatskat ◴[19 Oct 24 10:07 UTC] No.41886882[source]▶
Apollo was the only reason I could tolerate Reddit. I only wanted to use Reddit on my phone, and most other apps were meh at best (especially the official app, eww). When Reddit pulled the API crap and Apollo officially shut down, I left and haven’t gone back. As someone who spent hours a day on Reddit, I had no qualms leaving.

As someone who worked years in the Wordpress space, I’m feeling the same about never touching it again which is a shame. I’ve enjoyed the projects, I’ve enjoyed contributing to the WP Stack Exchange and helping other people, and I’m done.