The conflict between WordPress and WP Engine has ramped up even further after the website builder platform officially banned the latter from accessing its services.
WordPress co-founder and CEO Matt Mullenweg blasted the website hosting firm, claiming WP Engine “broke thousands of customer sites” in what he called “a haphazard attempt” at retaliation following days of arguments between the two companies.
“What I will tell you is that, pending their legal claims and litigation against WordPress.org, WP Engine no longer has free access to WordPress.org’s resources,” Mullenweg declared in a blog post. “Any WP Engine customers having trouble with their sites should contact WP Engine support and ask them to fix it.”
Plugin risk
The news will be alarming for WP Engine users who frequently use WordPress plugins, as preventing them from accessing the latest versions may leave them open to security attacks.
Hackers frequently target WordPress plugins, with several recent attacks affecting millions of users across the world. Insecure plugins can offer hackers full access to vulnerable websites, or allow them to install malicious or harmful software without warning.
The news is the latest escalation between the two services, which appear to have fallen out in a big way.
In a speech at the recent WordCamp US Summit, Mullenweg had initially described WP Engine as a “cancer to WordPress” for exploiting the open-source project without contributing anything in return.
This was quickly followed by a cease and desist letter to WordPress parent company Automattic, with WP Engine saying Mullenweg’s comments were a failed attempt to coerce WP Engine into paying millions to license the WordPress trademark. WP Engine’s lawyers also claimed Mullenweg was looking to launch a “scorched earth nuclear approach” if the company did not pay up.
Mullenweg appeared to address these claims in his blog post, asking, “Why should WordPress.org provide these services to WP Engine for free, given their attacks on us?”
“WP Engine wants to control your WordPress experience, they need to run their own user login system, update servers, plugin directory, theme directory, pattern directory, block directory, translations, photo directory, job board, meetups, conferences, bug tracker, forums, Slack, Ping-o-matic, and showcase,” he added.
“WP Engine is free to offer their hacked up, bastardized simulacra of WordPress’s GPL code to their customers, and they can experience WordPress as WP Engine envisions it, with them getting all of the profits and providing all of the services.”
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