Veteran WordPress core committers and contributors have described a “culture of fear” within the project, driven by co-founder Matt Mullenweg’s “outsized control” and the potentially career-ending consequences of opposing him. Many say the lack of formal governance has left them vulnerable to the whims of Mullenweg, whose recent actions have raised questions about the future direction of WordPress.

Bans of prominent voices critical of Mullenweg’s leadership, like WordPress REST API creator Ryan McCue, highlight what they describe as an unhealthy power dynamic, where speaking out risks livelihoods. “Angering Matt has the potential to render our ability to make a living as contributors moot,” according to one committer. “That’s scary as hell.”

In recent weeks, The Repository has spoken with numerous long-time committers and contributors who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation. While many agree that WP Engine should contribute more to WordPress—but aren’t required to do so, under the GPL—they disapprove of Mullenweg’s “nuclear” approach, which one committer described as “unnecessarily divisive.” As another contributor explained, “We can agree with Matt’s goals, but the way he’s treating people who disagree with him is unacceptable.”

Mullenweg’s “War” with WP Engine — and the Community

In September, Mullenweg declared a self-described “war” with WP Engine, a competitor to his company Automattic, calling it a “cancer to WordPress” and accusing it of trademark infringement and failing to contribute enough to the project. WP Engine responded by filing legal action, alleging abuse of power, extortion, and anti-competitive behavior.

Since then, Mullenweg has blocked WP Engine and its employees—including prominent community members like StudioPress founder Brian Gardner—from WordPress.org. Other actions, such as banning contributors who questioned his decisions, adding a checkbox on WordPress.org with vague legal implications, and publicly disclosing a vulnerability in Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) before taking it over, have left contributors concerned about the project’s stability and direction. For contributors whose careers depend on WordPress, these actions, and the ways in which Mullenweg has antagonized contributors, have raised serious concerns, highlighting the risks of an unchecked, “benevolent dictator for life” governance model.

One committer described his shock at seeing “private Matt” on the stage at WordCamp US 2024, as opposed to the affable “public Matt” the WordPress community is more familiar with. “For a lot of us who have gotten to know Matt in various capacities over the years, the sentiment itself (WP Engine not contributing enough) was not really news. But private Matt and public Matt are very different personalities, and in some ways it was shocking to see private Matt show his face in public with how he called out WP Engine,” they said.

Another contributor said they were upset that former Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy and key members of the WordPress Community team had left the project, including Naoko Takano, who quit in protest after 14 years at Automattic.

Growing Fear Amongst Contributors

“The fear of retribution from Matt for even seemingly innocuous feedback is very real at the moment. It’s very telling that so many high-level contributors aren’t speaking out,” said one committer, who has been instructed by their employer not to engage in public discussions about the WordPress “drama.”

Another said they feared losing their job: “The thing I have most to lose is Matt reaching out to [my employer] and saying, ‘Hey, get rid of [name removed].’ That’s the thing I worry about the most, really, is retaliation. Because I’ve heard he’s done that before.”

Contributors said they felt stuck, as publicly disagreeing with Mullenweg could result in a ban from WordPress.org, potentially ending their involvement with the project, but not speaking out was stifling meaningful discussion about how to move the open-source project forward.

“I know plenty of people who are working at various companies because of their level of influence in whatever area of WordPress. Absent that influence, their employability could be questionable though,” said one committer. And that all feeds right back into this pervasive fear. Matt holds an outsized amount of power over this community and he’s currently flexing it to silence a lot of people, intentionally or otherwise.”

Another committer said following WordCamp US 2024, it “quickly became apparent that Matt was doing ‘alignment’ in the community,” referring to Automattic’s recent buyout offers.

“We’re not speaking out because we fear retribution. We saw it with Ryan McCue being blocked—people are understandably cautious,” they said. “The culture of WordPress in the past few weeks has become a culture of fear among senior and established contributors.”

High-profile Contributors Step Back, Others Stuck

While many core contributors are keeping a low profile, others “who can afford to be brave,” as one committer described, have been vocal about stepping away from the project, including Colin Stewart, Tonya Mork, Andy Fragen, and Scott Kingsley Clark. Their departures last month followed McCue’s shock ban. McCue, a high-profile core committer, was instrumental in enabling WordPress to be used in custom and enterprise applications via the WordPress REST API.

McCue voiced his opposition to Mullenweg and Automattic’s trademark claims and offered ideas for how the WordPress Foundation could govern the project in two blog posts. It’s widely believed these posts led to his ban.

Many committers and contributors The Repository spoke to have already cut back their contributions or are contemplating leaving the project, questioning whether their continued involvement is sustainable under Mullenweg’s control. At least one has already quietly quit.

Others need to keep a roof over their head, as one committer put it. Some who hold influential roles feel they have no choice but to stay because leaving and starting again, potentially outside of the WordPress ecosystem, isn’t a possibility they want to entertain.

Unease Over Mullenweg’s Control

For many, the project’s historical governance model—or lack thereof—has long been accepted. But contributors agree that Mullenweg’s power has gone largely unchecked, and his recent actions, despite his informal title as the project’s BDFL, have escalated concerns. They now want proper governance and believe it’s the only way forward if the WordPress community is to survive the current crisis intact.

“Everything in WordPress hummed along mostly fine under this governance model for years, with the occasional, mostly inconsequential tantrum from Matt,” one committer said. “But now, sensibility has been thrown out the window. This governance model is no longer viable for me as a contributor.” Another echoed this sentiment: “Without governance, it’s just Matt’s will. It’s not a community-driven project.”

Many contributors expressed feeling disenfranchised. “Some of us feel we’re just here to execute [Mulleweg’s] vision, not shape it,” said one committer. “For people who have dedicated years, sometimes decades, to WordPress, that’s hard to accept. We’re invested in this project, but we have no control.”

Some contributors highlighted WordPress’s “bus factor of one” — meaning the entire project’s stability relies on Mullenweg alone — as a significant risk. “What if Matt’s no longer around?” one said. “He’s built the project in such a way that we’re dependent on him — it’s not sustainable.”

Another contributor also highlighted the lack of succession planning, noting that Mullenweg had not trained anyone to take over his role should he ever step back. This absence of a clear plan, they said, left the project vulnerable and unable to operate independently of Mullenweg’s influence.

In an interview with The Repository on September 30, 2024, Mullenweg was asked about his succession plans for WordPress in the event of his death. He cryptically replied, “I have thought about these things deeply and make plans in decades.”

Contributors Contemplate Project’s Future

One contributor summed up the stakes: “For some people, WordPress is their whole life, and it’s hard to watch what’s happening now. It makes you question if you’re putting all this effort in only for someone else to have the final say on everything.”

As Mullenweg’s war with WP Engine continues—and could go on for at least two years—the concerns of committers and contributors have raised questions about the project’s long-term sustainability and the need for more balanced governance. Contributors worry that without structural changes, the project’s collaborative spirit has been put at risk, with many saying they no longer want to be involved unless there’s change.

“If anything, the fear is increasing each week as this whole thing goes on and it’s only been seven weeks,” one committer said. “I feel like I’ve made a promise to other contributors for the time being, but I’m reevaluating where and how I contribute and whether I want to contribute to core as much as I do.”

These concerns come a day before Core Days, a two-day event in Rome dedicated to WordPress core developers. With contributors gathering amid ongoing uncertainty, recent tensions may overshadow this opportunity to focus on technical contributions.”

Image credit: John Carlo Pattaguan.