4 ms·

Can someone provide some context for what's going on here and why people are so worked up? Why is it unseemly for Automattic to find this bug?

pluc 2y ago
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/05/wordpress-ceo-matt-mullenweg-goes-nuclear-on-silver-lake-wp-engine-.html https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/05/wordpress-ceo-matt-mullenweg...
flutas 2y ago
The other comment has a link with a good overview of the fight, but there's a tiny but of nuance to why this is especially "bad." Essentially they are announcing a CVE on software while holding the fix for it hostage to normal users.
echoangle 2y ago
Automattic and WP Engine are in litigation. The Story roughly goes like this: Matt (CEO of Automattic) tries to get WP Engine to contribute more to WordPress development, including stuff close to blackmail WP Engine sends a cease and desist Automattic sends cease and desist to WP Engine claiming Trademark infringement Automattic bans Access of WP Engine customers to WordPress servers, breaking plugin updates (which was temporarily reinstated and then banned after a deadline of a few days) WP Engine sues Automattic Automattic has a program where employees can leave until a deadline and get a severance payout if they are unhappy with the management. Here's an article about it: https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/04/wordpress-vs-wp-engine-drama-explained/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/04/wordpress-vs-wp-engine-dra...
- stackghost 2y ago
  Thanks, that's a great summary.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
bastawhiz 2y ago
It's awfully convenient to hold the person you're in litigation with to a thirty day deadline before publishing a CVE when you've banned them from the servers where they publish the fix.
- bostik 2y ago
  There are many words one could use to describe the scenario, but at the top of my mind is the one I would expect to be wielded by modern business schools: Leverage. Make of that what you will.
  - stackghost 2y ago
    >at the top of my mind is the one I would expect to be wielded by modern business schools A cursory google search reveals the CEO of Automattic did not go to business school, and in fact dropped out of undergraduate studies. What exactly does this situation have to do with business schools, and the extremely-generic term "leverage"?
    - bostik 2y ago
      In the world of late-stage capitalism we live in, sensibility and morals are cutting into profit margins. In effect, having either is as good as leaving money on the table. Here Automattic have figured out a novel way to shut out competition, and more. This same thread has already seen the next step in the playbook, too: reassign ownership of plugins that have high-severity CVEs open for more than 30 days, in the name of protecting the product, its integrity, and the community. The blunt word for that would be "theft". Just like a sibling comment to yours rightly called this tactic "extortion".
  - burnerthrow008 2y ago
    Sure, and the word used to describe this at law schools would be: Extortion

pluc 2y ago

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/05/wordpress-ceo-matt-mullenweg-goes-nuclear-on-silver-lake-wp-engine-.html https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/05/wordpress-ceo-matt-mullenweg...

flutas 2y ago

The other comment has a link with a good overview of the fight, but there's a tiny but of nuance to why this is especially "bad." Essentially they are announcing a CVE on software while holding the fix for it hostage to normal users.

echoangle 2y ago

Automattic and WP Engine are in litigation. The Story roughly goes like this: Matt (CEO of Automattic) tries to get WP Engine to contribute more to WordPress development, including stuff close to blackmail WP Engine sends a cease and desist Automattic sends cease and desist to WP Engine claiming Trademark infringement Automattic bans Access of WP Engine customers to WordPress servers, breaking plugin updates (which was temporarily reinstated and then banned after a deadline of a few days) WP Engine sues Automattic Automattic has a program where employees can leave until a deadline and get a severance payout if they are unhappy with the management. Here's an article about it: https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/04/wordpress-vs-wp-engine-drama-explained/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/04/wordpress-vs-wp-engine-dra...

stackghost 2y ago
Thanks, that's a great summary.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

bastawhiz 2y ago

It's awfully convenient to hold the person you're in litigation with to a thirty day deadline before publishing a CVE when you've banned them from the servers where they publish the fix.

bostik 2y ago
There are many words one could use to describe the scenario, but at the top of my mind is the one I would expect to be wielded by modern business schools: Leverage. Make of that what you will.
- stackghost 2y ago
  >at the top of my mind is the one I would expect to be wielded by modern business schools A cursory google search reveals the CEO of Automattic did not go to business school, and in fact dropped out of undergraduate studies. What exactly does this situation have to do with business schools, and the extremely-generic term "leverage"?
  - bostik 2y ago
    In the world of late-stage capitalism we live in, sensibility and morals are cutting into profit margins. In effect, having either is as good as leaving money on the table. Here Automattic have figured out a novel way to shut out competition, and more. This same thread has already seen the next step in the playbook, too: reassign ownership of plugins that have high-severity CVEs open for more than 30 days, in the name of protecting the product, its integrity, and the community. The blunt word for that would be "theft". Just like a sibling comment to yours rightly called this tactic "extortion".
- burnerthrow008 2y ago
  Sure, and the word used to describe this at law schools would be: Extortion