We’re keenly conscious of the impression latest occasions have had on the WordPress neighborhood and ecosystem, and we’re deeply grateful to the various companions and prospects who’ve stood by WP Engine and belief us to serve you within the face of unprecedented and unwarranted assaults and makes an attempt to disrupt our platform.
WP Engine’s high precedence has at all times been and stays the integrity, safety, availability and efficiency of our instruments, and we’ll proceed to take the decisive steps crucial to make sure we are able to proceed to ship the enterprise-grade expertise we’re dedicated to constructing.
Whether or not as a buyer, an company accomplice, or a valued member of the WordPress neighborhood we’re dedicated to maintaining you up to date on the newest developments. With that in thoughts, we’d wish to share the next timeline of our most up-to-date actions and statements:
December 10, 2024: Preliminary injunction granted
On December 10, 2024, the Courtroom issued a ruling granting our request to revive entry to and performance of wordpress.org for WP Engine, its prospects and its customers.
Particularly, the Courtroom ordered Mullenweg and Automattic to take sure actions, together with:
- Restore full entry to wordpress.org, together with the api, plugin and theme directories, and repository to WP Engine and its workers, associates, companions and prospects;
- Take away the test field on wordpress.org’s login web page that requires customers to affirm no affiliation with WP Engine; and
- Re-establish management over the plugins and extensions we handle.
We’re grateful that the Courtroom has granted our movement for a preliminary injunction. The order will convey again much-needed stability to the WordPress ecosystem. WP Engine is concentrated on serving our companions and prospects and dealing with the neighborhood to search out methods to make sure a vigorous, and thriving WordPress neighborhood. You may view the Courtroom’s order in full right here.
November 14, 2024: Amended authorized grievance
On November 14, WP Engine amended and expanded our preliminary grievance to incorporate antitrust claims introduced underneath legal guidelines designed to guard competitors and shoppers, in addition to extra new claims arising from Matt Mullenweg and Automattic’s continued sample of misconduct.
You may view the amended grievance in full, right here.
October 18, 2024: Request for preliminary injunction
On October 18, WP Engine filed a movement for a preliminary injunction, requesting that the court docket order Matt Mullenweg and Automattic to cease their dangerous actions instantly and act to protect the established order ante whereas the case is being litigated.
We sought fast court docket motion to reduce or forestall any additional interference with WP Engine’s entry to the WordPress neighborhood, together with WordPress.org and the plugin and theme listing and repository, and to re-establish management over the plugins and extensions we handle as they existed earlier than September 20, 2024. The requested injunction additionally seeks to offer safety and certainty for WP Engine’s companions, workers, customers, and prospects, and demand the restoration of any restricted or altered entry or operations. You may view the injunction request in full, right here.
October 16, 2024: E-mail to prospects
On October 16, WP Engine CEO, Heather Brunner emailed prospects to deal with issues about latest occasions and description the actions we’ve taken to make sure platform stability and safety.
The letter, which you’ll learn right here, emphasizes our dedication to defending prospects and supporting the continued success of the open-source WordPress neighborhood.
October 12, 2024: ACF takeover
On October 12, WordPress.org forcibly took management of our Superior Customized Fields (ACF) plugin, marking the primary time in WordPress’s 21-year historical past {that a} plugin underneath energetic growth was taken over with out consent.
Whereas ACF Professional customers stay unaffected, free customers are suggested to obtain the newest model of ACF from advancedcustomfields.com for safe updates. The ACF workforce launched the following assertion relating to the takeover:
Since 2011, our ACF workforce has actively developed the plugin, evolving it right into a extremely subtle resolution with over 200,000 strains of code. Our steady work to boost, help, and spend money on the plugin has made it a vital a part of the WordPress ecosystem, relied on by hundreds of thousands of customers.
The compelled takeover changed the ACF plugin with unapproved code, breaking from commonplace protocol and elevating issues about management, governance, and the motives behind such a transfer. WP Engine continues to actively develop the real model of ACF and supply help and updates which could be downloaded at www.advancedcustomfields.com, and can routinely replace as soon as downloaded.
October 9, 2024: New checkbox on WordPress.org
On October 9, WordPress.org added a brand new checkbox to its login and registration course of, requiring customers to say that they’re “not affiliated with WP Engine.”
The unclear assertion subsequent to the test field has left many bewildered—each as as to whether and the way they need to reply it and as to why it’s there. We consider that the checkbox is complicated and disturbing to many and that none of our prospects, company companions, open-source device customers, or members of the neighborhood, are legally ‘associates’ of WP Engine. WP Engine launched the following assertion relating to the checkbox:
October 7, 2024: Safe Updater plugin
On October 7, we launched the WP Engine Safe Updater plugin, which at the moment helps updates for all of our open-source plugins and permits us to help different plugin or theme builders locally on request.
Putting in the Safe Updater is optionally available and precautionary, and this free-to-everyone plugin has been developed for customers self-hosting, or hosted exterior of the WP Engine platform—detailed directions can be found right here.
Observe: WP Engine and Flywheel managed prospects are already protected by the WP Engine replace system and don’t have to take any motion.
October 3, 2024: Impartial replace capabilities
On October 3, we launched new variations of our broadly used plugins, that includes impartial replace capabilities and updates delivered straight from WP Engine.
Whereas WP Engine and Flywheel prospects are already protected by the WP Engine replace system and don’t have to take any motion, neighborhood members are inspired to obtain these variations of our free, open-source plugins and updates straight from the ACF and NitroPack web sites to make sure they obtain updates straight from us.
Observe: ACF PRO prospects are routinely protected by the WP Engine replace system and don’t have to take any motion.
Should you’re working v6.3.2 or earlier of ACF, or have been forcibly switched to “Safe Customized Fields” with out your consent, you’ll be able to set up ACF 6.3.8 straight from the ACF web site, or comply with these directions to repair the difficulty.
These efforts help our prospects and plugin customers and search to guard the neighborhood at massive.
October 2, 2024: Graduation of authorized motion
On October 2, WP Engine took authorized motion towards Matt Mullenweg and Automattic to deal with their persevering with misconduct and defend our enterprise, our prospects, and our participation within the broader neighborhood. The grievance could be learn right here and WP Engine launched the following assertion relating to the choice to file a lawsuit:
September 30, 2024: Plugin and theme replace resolution
On September 30, following interruptions to WordPress.org, and instability within the companies used to replace WordPress web sites, we deployed an answer to all websites throughout the WP Engine and Flywheel platforms, that allows prospects to make use of their regular workflows and obtain plugin and theme updates with out counting on the WordPress.org API.
The answer was launched after WordPress.org was as soon as once more blocked for 1000’s of WordPress customers. WP Engine launched the following assertion relating to the block and our resolution:
This resolution permits WP Engine and Flywheel prospects to make use of their most popular workflows with out concern of additional disruption or delays.
September 27, 2024: Short-term entry restored
On September 27, WP Engine was given three days to develop an answer to assist its prospects replace plugins and themes, and entry to WordPress.org was quickly restored. We launched the following assertion relating to our restored entry:
WP Engine engineers labored across the clock on an answer for the reliability of replace performance and workflows. Their work was important to extend resilience, cut back dependencies, and supply improved stability and safety from additional disruptions.
September 25, 2024: WP Engine blocked from WordPress.org
On September 25, WP Engine was blocked from accessing plugin and theme updates on the WordPress.org repository. This compelled WP Engine prospects to replace plugins and themes manually or search different options.
Whereas Matt Mullenweg asserted that he took this motion as a result of WP Engine had filed litigation towards WordPress.org, this was unfaithful. Our prior cease-and-desist letter was not a lawsuit—and it was directed at Automattic attributable to Matt Mullenweg’s sample of repeated misconduct. WP Engine launched the following assertion in response to the blocked entry:
September 23, 2024: “Stop and desist” letter
On September 23, WP Engine despatched a “stop and desist” letter to Automattic demanding that Automattic and its CEO Matt Mullenweg cease making and retract false, dangerous, and disparaging statements about WP Engine. When you can learn the complete letter right here, it was initially despatched privately. We additionally launched the following assertion relating to our letter, after Matt Mullenweg made numerous inaccurate statements about it:
After our cease-and-desist letter was despatched, Automattic despatched a cease-and-desist letter to WP Engine, alleging infringement of a number of emblems, together with WordPress and WooCommerce. WP Engine denies these allegations as set forth in our Grievance.
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