“I wouldn’t tell a CIO that yesterday’s announcement makes WordPress either safer or riskier today. I would tell them to watch what happens next,” he said. “If Automattic uses this moment to create clearer separation between corporate interests, WordPress.org infrastructure, and community governance, it could reduce one of the ecosystem’s most persistent concentration risks. If the same authority simply migrates to different individuals without structural reform, enterprise concerns haven’t really changed. In cybersecurity terms, replacing the administrator isn’t the same thing as eliminating the single point of failure.”
Dylan Forde, owner of Harmonic Design in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, and a WordPress developer for more than ten years, applauded the CEO change.
“It is my opinion that the removal of Mr. Mullenweg is a good thing for both the WordPress community and open source,” he said. “He has been divisive for a long time, with many grievances that I overall understand, but I oppose his responses to. It sucks to build something used by millions of people and businesses around the world, all profiting off your work while giving nothing back. But cutting off and targeting individuals is not the answer. Open source is supposed to work for everyone, and my assumption is that anyone whose core business relies on WordPress will be sleeping easier now.”
This story originally appeared on Computerworld
