WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg ask on Reddit, What drama he creates in 2025? The WordPress community reacts.
In what can only be described as an ill-timed attempt at humor, WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg took to Reddit on Christmas Day to seemingly make light of recent controversies. His post asking “What drama should I create in 2025?” and suggesting changes like “naming releases after Drake lyrics” instead of jazz musicians drew swift criticism from the WordPress community.
The response was particularly pointed given the ongoing tension surrounding Automattic’s recent actions against WP Engine. One Redditor, WillmanRacing, delivered a scathing response highlighting potential legal implications of recent events, specifically mentioning Sherman Act violations and the possibility of class-action lawsuits.
The community’s frustration was perhaps best captured by zirconst, an enterprise WooCommerce user processing over $1M in annual transactions: “Your recent actions have made me seriously consider whether another platform would be better, despite our heavy investment in your ecosystem,” they wrote. “If you can simply shut down a company’s access to wordpress.org at will, or demand a % of revenue, or take over a plugin repository – a plugin that we use – that introduces a lot of risk and uncertainty.”
Several community members expressed concern about Mullenweg’s approach to the situation. “My concern here is that you imply our ongoing concerns are a joke. Matt, this is actually really serious and this isn’t either funny or appropriate,” wrote brianozm.
The discussion spilled over onto X (formerly Twitter), where industry figures weighed in. Kellie, a prominent voice in the WordPress community, pointed out the inconsistency in trademark enforcement: “You either enforce trademark or you don’t. It’s not a matter of how big, little, PE backed, or insignificant you believe the company you allege is infringing. You have to defend equally.”
Takis Bouyouris offered a more philosophical take, comparing the situation to Gabriel García Márquez’s “The Autumn of the Patriarch” and suggesting this might be indicative of a leader becoming increasingly detached from their community.
As we head into 2025, this holiday drama underscores the growing tensions within the WordPress ecosystem, particularly regarding governance, trademark enforcement, and the relationship between Automattic, the WordPress Foundation, and the broader WordPress community.
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[Author’s Note: I tried to maintain a professional tone while reporting on these events objectively, keeping the original quotes intact to preserve authenticity while providing necessary context for readers who might be new to the situation.]
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