On this episode, Jason Tucker and Sé Reed discuss the concept of who “owns” the WordPress open-source project and the broader question of who controls WordPress, highlighting the tension between the open-source community’s ideals and the reality of centralized control. The episode concludes with a call for transparency and accountability in the WordPress community, particularly within project leadership.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview 00:11 Hosts Introduction 01:00 Challenges with the Astra Theme 03:00 Astra Theme Customization Issues 06:43 The 80/20 Rule in WordPress 08:00 Who Controls WordPress? 10:21 Entities Influencing WordPress 12:10 Matt Mullenweg’s Role and Influence 15:14 The Bay Bridge Lights Kerfuffle 17:00 Automatic’s Marketing Strategies 19:30 Conflicts Within WordPress Marketing 22:28 Sponsored Contributors and Their Roles 26:29 Transparency and Accountability in WordPress 30:48 The Impact of Centralized Control 33:20 Matt Mullenweg’s Authority 37:09 The Future of WordPress Governance 41:00 The Role of the WordPress Community 44:00 Ethical Concerns and Accountability 48:02 Sé Reed’s Code of Conduct Report 53:18 The Importance of Community Involvement 57:00 Conclusion and Call to Action