A group of WordPress contributors, including long-time core committers and community leaders, has issued a rare call for changes to the governance of the open-source project. The group is urging co-founder Matt Mullenweg to work with the community instead of continuing to act unilaterally.

In an open letter titled “Dear WordPress community: We stand with you,” the contributors raise objections about governance, transparency, and decision-making processes. They highlight concerns about “double standards,” including Mullenweg’s lack of accountability under the project’s Code of Conduct and the executive director’s direct employment by Automattic.

The letter comes amid Mullenweg’s ongoing legal battle with WP Engine. On Tuesday, WP Engine won a preliminary injunction against Mullenweg and his company, Automattic. The court ordered Mullenweg and Automattic to stop blocking WP Engine’s access to WordPress.org and interfering with its plugins.

The group provided The Repository with first access to the letter. To protect the signatories—who fear retaliation if named publicly—their identities and roles have not been disclosed publicly. The Repository has verified each of the 18 20 signatories in the group, which comprises senior and influential figures across the WordPress project and the community.

Read the full text of the open letter at the bottom of this article.

A call to action amid fear and uncertainty

The letter was coordinated by a long-time core committer who told The Repository they felt compelled to act after WordCamp US 2024.

“Never before has the project been dragged into such disputes. Many of us did not have a specific motivation to speak out at any one time, but these actions make it impossible not to,” the committer said. “Matt has also taken drastic actions against people for just disagreeing with him—and communities can only operate effectively with a degree of free speech amongst themselves.”

Signatories took significant steps to protect their anonymity, even from each other, using single-use aliases and anonymous email addresses. “There is such a great culture of fear that no one trusted anyone,” the committer said. “Ensuring anonymity allowed us to speak freely and openly.”

Asked why the signatories continue contributing to WordPress despite their frustrations, the committer explained: “Many people have jobs, businesses, and careers tied to the project, and the project is more important than any one person. Many of us have contributed in spite of Matt’s leadership of the project, because it is important.”

The letter’s key points

The two-page letter acknowledges the recent turmoil surrounding Mullenweg’s war with WP Engine and the group’s broader concerns about how the WordPress project operates as a community and ecosystem.

The letter objects to the current governance model, highlighting Mullenweg’s consolidation of power, the ongoing lack of transparency in project decision-making, and the opaque handling of trademark licensing and hosting recommendations. They also object to Mullenweg’s control over all WordPress infrastructure.

The letter points to the WordPress Foundation’s minimal role in governance, describing it as largely administrative and lacking community oversight. It also takes issue with “continued misrepresentations by Matt Mullenweg of the community and its contributor teams’ efforts.”

“We believe there has been a major breakdown in trust between Matt Mullenweg and the WordPress community stemming from actions he’s taken since WordCamp US 2024,” the letter states. It adds, “the volatility of the self-governing BDFL (benevolent dictator for life) model has become clearer than ever.”

The letter concludes with a call for constructive dialogue: “We implore Matt Mullenweg to meditate on these objections and propose community-minded solutions.”

The signatories encourage others in the WordPress community to share the letter, spread its message, and join the conversation. “We are all part of the WordPress community. We stand together,” the letter states.

Culture of fear and hope for the future

Several signatories shared their motivations for signing the letter and the challenges they faced if their names were to be revealed. Their comments shed light on the culture of fear within the WordPress community and the extraordinary measures taken to protect their identities.

One signatory, a core committer, said they signed the letter because they believe in WordPress’s importance to the open internet. “I’m signing because I still believe the WordPress project is the most important organization for sustaining a human-centered internet,” they said. “But I fear we will waste the opportunity without better governance and more transparent decision-making processes going forward. To quote Matt himself, ‘What got us here won’t get us there.’”

Another long-time core committer pointed to the emotional and practical toll of recent events on contributors. “I signed largely because of the lack of public recognition by WordPress leadership of the impact to the WordPress project and hurt that Matt’s actions have caused to the folks, largely volunteers, who help to make WordPress,” they said. “Matt’s pattern of actions, and how they’ve been affecting the community, are not new, and I’m glad that changes for project governance are being more openly discussed. My hope is that, more than just objection, the letter will create conversations to find ways forward, to make the WordPress project a safer, more inclusive, and sustainable place.”

Others raised concerns about the personal risks of speaking out, including potential repercussions such as being blocked from contributing to WordPress, which would impact livelihoods. In November, The Repository reported on this “culture of fear” and the potential career-ending consequences of opposing Mullenweg, particularly for sponsored contributors.

“I think it’s a situation that’s been building for a while,” another core committer said. “The letter is the culmination of events over the past 12–18 months that have reached a tipping point with the WP Engine situation—that was the hay bale that broke the camel’s back.”

The committer who organized the letter said they hoped Mullenweg would deeply reflect on the concerns raised. “I’d like him to consider whether any of this truly supports the mission of democratizing publishing or creating a stable platform for future generations.”

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The full text of the open letter:

Dear WordPress community: We stand with you

To the WordPress community,

In light of the recent turmoil between Matt Mullenweg as project leader and Automattic CEO, and WP Engine, we have written this joint statement expressing our concerns with how WordPress operates as a community and an ecosystem.

This letter is not about picking a side in the case before the courts, rather it is about surfacing the issues—as we see them—to drive the project forward to a better future.

We are:

• Core committers and contributors
• Make/WordPress team elders and contributors
• Others serving in various community roles

We are you.

Our anonymity is a shield against retaliation by Matt Mullenweg or others. Our names and roles within the project have been independently verified by Rae Morey from The Repository.

We object:

We object to the status quo, and believe the WordPress project’s current internal operating structure threatens the health and sustainability of the project and its community.

On governance:

• We object to the continued opaqueness of the WordPress governance model.
• We object to one person, Matt Mullenweg, controlling all official infrastructure, including the project’s website, email systems, support forums, core, plugin, and theme repositories, update systems, security tools, communication channels, and other technical assets.
• We object to major decisions being made without community input, advice, or support.
• We object to a project model where influence granted can overrule influence earned.
• We object to the WordPress Foundation playing no meaningful role in the governance of the WordPress project outside of administering meetups and WordCamps via its PBC subsidiary, WordPress Community Support.

On transparency:

• We object to continued misrepresentations by Matt Mullenweg of the community and its contributor teams’ efforts.
• We object to the WordPress Foundation continuing to lack community participation or oversight.
• We object to the continued lack of transparency around all licensing and sub-licensing of the WordPress trademarks.
• We object to the lack of transparency around how recommended hosts are determined.

On double standards:

• We object to project leader Matt Mullenweg not being accountable to the project’s own Code of Conduct policy.
• We object to WordPress having an executive director who is employed by Automattic—not the WordPress Foundation—and who is therefore accountable only to Matt Mullenweg in his role as Automattic’s CEO.
• In summary, we object to the continued absence of an official Conflict of Interest policy and the notion that it’s possible for one person, Matt Mullenweg, to have simultaneously served in several key positions of power (project leader, Automattic CEO, and WordPress Foundation board member) for so long.

We believe:

1. We believe there has been a major breakdown in trust between Matt Mullenweg and the WordPress community stemming from actions he’s taken since WordCamp US 2024.
2. We believe the volatility of the self-governing BDFL model has become clearer than ever.
3. We believe the unchecked disrespect from Matt Mullenweg towards contributors, community members, and members of the public is unacceptable.
4. We believe continuing to contribute to WordPress over these objections will ultimately be a personal decision for us all, as well as an economic one for those whose contributions are a source of their livelihood.

We want to work together:

We implore Matt Mullenweg to meditate on these objections and propose community-minded solutions.

If you are a contributor or community member who finds our objections resonate with you, please share this letter within your networks and help us spread the word.

We are all part of the WordPress community. We stand together.

Sincerely,
The contributors