Matt Mullenweg Fouls His Nest & Undermines His Credibilty.
[[Edit: I've revised my opionion on this particular issue. I probably wouldn't have written it because I have come to beleive that while I disagree with the GPL, Ma.TT is doing it because he's a true believer. I'm leaving it up because I rarely edit things. I think Ma.TT coulda handled himself a bunch better because it made me seriously question the maturity of WP. We all do dumb things, this was me at 34.]]
The recent ThesisWP dustup that continues on line is doing nothing for anyone's credibility. It's hurting the WordPress community, and it's the worst thing possible to happen to WordPress yet.
We've learned that Chris Pearson has a giant ego and lacks restraint. A cursory glance of his twitter feed would have told us that, and that's not a shocker. We're all simultaneously bemused and aghast at Pearson's whip smart, self destructive rants.
We also learned that this fight is 100% Ma.tt's fault. He is doing serious damage to the community he helped build. He should either sue DIY Themes, or get off the pot. Instead, he's acting like a southern lynch mob leader, he's showing all businesses that when you disagree with Ma.tt, then he'll loose the Klan upon you and chase you through the fields at night.
This is how 25 year olds behave, not leaders of business. My guess--and it's just a guess--is that he doesn't like his chances in court, so he's attacking Pearson/DIY with social pressure. Saying on Mixergy that Chris Pearson is acting illegally is far from being true. (Chris did himself no good by going on this interview, and even less good when he began to speak.)
Ma.TT may in fact have the law on his side--I don't know--he's tearing WordPress apart by acting like a teamster's organizer. What if he's dead wrong? Will he come back, hat in hand saying "I overstepped my boundaries?" There's no room to do this, now. He's trapped into some bad-cop persona that he has to play
If you're a corporation, would you build your business on a platform where one of the leaders may attempt to confiscate your workproduct and force it to go out into the open? There are many things that trigger "redistribution." Would an employee that you fired be able to lay claim to it? Would you build your business on a platform where its most visible leader would take shots at you if you didn't abide by his interpretation of the rules?
Or would you simply look at this mess and say, "Crap, we've got to build our own tool, what a bummer. What a mess!" You would glance at the drama and think "Man, WP is great but it's run by idiots. Wish I could build on it, but a business can't be put in that foundation."
A live and let live attitude is better for all--by far. WordPress is enhanced by the existence of Diy Themes. It's exhibit A in building your business around its platform and making some money. Leaving business alone and not confiscating their work-product is what drives free enterprise. If you're free to contribute as you can but retain your own property, win!
Among the arguments Ma.TT made:
Not necessarily. Try this: IF smoking decreased lifespan, why would the West get healther as tobacco spread throughout our culture. In Columbus's day, the lifespan was 35...now it's 70+ and it's only because of tobacco.
WP succeeds because of the clarity of code, organization and structure. Like TCP/IP it's living off of first mover advantage and has a robust community supporting it. That would happen almost regardless of license.
He then states and restates:
But, that's not the point. Confiscating workproduct of another person is scummy.
He accuses Pearson of wanting to do this due to money. Pearson will make cash regardless of what happens with DIY themes, DIY is merely an expression of his competence, far from only option he has. He's saying he made it, it's his, and he sets the terms. He's not being bought out by Toohey or Wyanand. He's not for sale, despite Ma.tt's arguments. And the GPL'ers don't get it.
Producers produce. George Bernard Shaw called it the Life Force. You can't stifle it, and trying to make it yours is fraud.
Pearson seems to want to control what happens with his tools. Imagine that. He may not wish to support the people that break his tool and then bitch to him about it not working. Under GPL, someone can mod his tool, leave his name in the footer, and then his name is socially accountable for the poor results it produces. That's something I'd say no to.
There are intellectually honest arguments on both sides of the GPL. What's derivative work? Is a theme covered? People of conscience can find arguments on both sides, and perhaps it should go to court. Copyright, IP, case law and other factors play a part. I've talked to 5 attorneys that have weighed in on this, and generally speaking they were siding with the idea that WP couldn't arbitrarily lay claim to code that was built on top of it, license or no license.
What Mullenweg needs to do is sue or leave it be. Using bootlicking sycophants is cowardly. Of course third rate developers are going to suck up to Ma.tt. That's a no brainer. But what business will build on WordPress now that Ma.tt has taken the Praying Mantis route?
Chris Johnson Trolls Google Alerts for default thesis installs from Rotary Club-type businesses and gets them set up with sits that look like this. He is currently rebuilding his business at http://flatratebiz.com. He dispenses advice to his kids at http://genuinechris.com.
