WordPress Struggling to Maintain Its Course?
In recent times, the WordPress community, once renowned for its openness and collaboration, has found itself embroiled in a series of controversies that have shaken the faith of its contributors. The author, a long-standing member of the community, finds themselves questioning the project's direction due to a perceived lack of transparency and inclusivity.
The author's concerns stem from several incidents, including the abrupt disbanding of the WordPress Sustainability Team, the centralization of control over the ecosystem, and the emergence of the FAIR initiative. These events have led to a climate of distrust and skepticism about the willingness of the current leadership to embrace structural change.
The disbanding of the Sustainability Team, a move criticised by tech journalist Kara Swisher as "bizarrely heinous," was met with significant backlash from community members. Efforts to reinstate the team were rejected, causing frustration and a perception of dismissiveness towards community and environmental concerns.
The centralization of control, evidenced by incidents like the sudden blocking of critical WordPress updates and the shutdown of WordPress.org over the holidays, has exposed the risks of such a system. These decisions not only disrupted millions of sites but also fueled discontent about the concentration of power in WordPress’s infrastructure and governance.
The FAIR initiative, launched in response to concerns about centralization and leadership style, has become a focal point for community division. While some view FAIR as a hopeful step towards democratizing WordPress’s infrastructure, others worry it could fragment the ecosystem or deepen tensions between leadership and contributors.
Additional tensions have arisen from public disputes between Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress, and major hosting companies like WP Engine. These disputes have contributed to a fracturing atmosphere and a "war" mentality within parts of the community, further straining openness and collaboration.
The author believes that decisions are perceived as top-down, lacking transparency or responsiveness to community input, especially on sustainability and governance. This has led to a climate of distrust, skepticism about leadership accountability, and a desire among some contributors for more decentralized, inclusive governance models.
The shift from a historically open and collaborative culture to a more contentious and defensive one has caused many to reevaluate their involvement in the project. The author, among them, has stopped contributing to WordPress for nearly six months.
The author expresses a desire to reclaim their voice and feel truly at home again within the WordPress community. They call for greater transparency, clearer guidelines, and opportunities for constructive disagreement. The author also suggests that a significant statement could be made by choosing to stop contributing altogether, potentially amplifying WordPress's issues in public perception.
The WP Engine debacle, which disrupted websites and businesses and damaged trust, is another source of concern. The author feels that they are building Matt Mullenweg's personal project rather than an open community. They perceive Mullenweg's behaviour as acting more like a spoiled child than a responsible leader, shutting down progressive conversations instead of engaging constructively.
The author is uncertain about returning to WordPress, expressing concern over the "benevolent dictator" model in WordPress leadership. They suggest that personal conflicts or frustrations dictating who remains involved can harm the community. They propose that WordPress may need to move away from a "dictator for life" model, regardless of the leader's intentions.
The tension and confusion within the WordPress community are further compounded by blurred lines between WordPress.org, WordPress.com, and the WordPress Foundation. Investors involved in Automattic and companies reducing contribution hours have also contributed to the tension. The lively debates within the WordPress community have turned into whispered fears.
As the WordPress community navigates these challenges, the author hopes to return to a comfortable, non-conflictual space within WordPress, rather than feeling like they are stepping onto a battlefield. They express a desire to reclaim their voice and feel truly at home again within the WordPress community.
The author's call for greater transparency and inclusivity extends to the business aspects of WordPress, as they question the centralization of control and the potential consequences of such a structure on technology advancement within the project. They believe that a more democratic approach to WordPress’s infrastructure could foster better collaboration and innovation, and avoid the pitfalls of a "benevolent dictator" model.
In light of the perceived lack of collaboration and the acute centralization of decision-making, the author expresses concern about the long-term impact of these developments on the technological progress of the WordPress platform, and emphasizes the importance of maintaining an open and inclusive technology ecosystem.
