njbentley1

To clarify, I agree it’s not about subpar hosting for Matt — that’s just part of why I appreciate someone going after WPE.

I run a small (tiny) hosting platform for WordPress. I prioritize exceptional customer service as a value-added service.

Before they started hosting their websites with me, all my customers shared a common complaint: they were paying companies like WP Engine and EIG a significant amount of money for a subpar hosting platform. They all expressed dissatisfaction with their websites’ slow performance and the lack of customer support. They struggled to identify what to look for in a WordPress host and often ended up choosing the first result they found in a Google search for “best WordPress host” (exaggeration).

This context partly explains why I support Matt’s decision to target WP Engine. However, my overall agreement with Matt’s choice stems from my belief that open-source projects are only successful when people contribute back. While licensing doesn’t obligate contributors, it’s undeniable that successful businesses rely on the initial creators and subsequent contributors of the project.

While I don’t necessarily agree with Matt’s specific methods, I believe there are likely better ways to address predatory companies like WP Engine that harm the community and Automattic’s reputation far less. I’ve come across some excellent ideas in this thread.

I disagree.

Google’s entire business model is dependent on personal data. AOSP may have privacy features that are verifiable but Google Play Services is not open source and undoubtedly collect lots of data for Google. Most AOSP-based phones all largely include GPS. Sure, you can limit what access GPS has but then you’re sacrificing features. The majority of people probably opt-in.

In contrast, Apple doesn’t need your data for most of the products / services they sell. Privacy is a selling point, so they’re incentivized to build robust privacy features. I’d love to see more commitment to open-sourcing underlying technologies but imo Apple is way more privacy conscious than Google.

I will however give Google credit for their privacy initiatives in recent years. They seem to be taking it more seriously.