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Matt Mullenweg has announced a sudden break in services offered by WordPress.org, affecting plugin submissions, reviews, theme submissions, and photo directory submissions. He offers to continue providing those services to WP Engine, citing a recent court order against him and Automattic that forces him to offer “free labor and services.”
Holiday break
Mullenweg published a post on the official WordPress blog to announce a break in free services offered by WordPress.org to “give the many tired volunteers around WordPress.org a break for the holidays.”
The break affects:
- New WordPress.org account registrations
- New plugin directory submissions
- Reviews of new plugins
- New submissions to the topic directory
- New applications to the photo directory
Mullenweg wrote that the pause does not affect the ability to install new instances of WordPress sites or accounts.
Here’s what he wrote on his list of services that have been paused:
“New WordPress.org account registrations (clarification so the media doesn’t confuse this: people can still install WordPress themselves and create their own accounts)”
New users who try to register a new WordPress.org account are blocked.
Screenshot of WordPress.org login blocked
Mullenweg emphasizes that the hiatus does not affect WP Engine, stating that it is legally obligated to continue providing free labor and services” to WP Engine, writing that if WP Engine requires those services, they can get their “high-priced” lawyers” talking to their “expensive lawyers” to gain access.
He then shared a cryptic message implying there’s a chance WordPress might not continue those services in 2025, saying it depends on his ability to find the “time, energy and money” to reverse the 2025 hiatus, which he says is being spent on defense against WP Engine’s lawsuits against him and Automattic.
Mullenweg wrote:
“Currently, most of the time I would spend improving WordPress is spent defending against WP Engine’s legal attacks. Their attacks are directed against Automattic, but also against me individually as the owner of WordPress.org, which means that if they win, I could be personally liable for millions of dollars in damages.”
He signs off and invites those who would fund these attacks on him to sign up for WP Engine, and those who don’t can sign up for other web hosts, linking to WP Engine and a WordPress.org site that offers promotions to encourage WP Engine clients to move away.
Read Mullenweg’s announcement here:
Featured Image Shutterstock/MPIX
