While WordPress creator, Matt Mullenweg, frequently preaches speaks about the freedoms open source platforms provide users, it seems he’s not a fan of that freedom extending to those who dare to criticize him.

You don’t exactly have to dig deep in the archives of this site to realize I’ve been fairly critical of Mr. Mullenweg. Call me a stickler but I expect someone who claims to put user freedom at the top of his priorities to actually live up to those standards. Instead, Mullenweg has consistently opted to feed his ego and further personal vendettas at the cost of the very user freedoms he claims to champion.

And while I certainly didn’t expect my call for his resignation to earn me an invitation to the Mullenweg Christmas dinner, I was honestly shocked at the cowardly reaction it apparently elicited.

At the time, I was the SEO Manager for Network Solutions, a company who, among other things offers domain name registration and WordPress hosting packages. Like many other companies, Network Solutions has a social media policy in which employees must clearly disclose their employment and state that their opinions are their own and do not reflect the company. Since I’m so active in social media, I went out of my way to make it abundantly clear at every turn that this site, as well as my Twitter account, were my own.

For the most part, those disclaimers were effective. People realized that my views on anything from politics, to sports, to WordPress were not indicative of Network Solutions’ stance on the matter. (Despite my best efforts to make the St. Louis Cardinals the official sports interest of the company, I failed.)

But, when Matt Mullenweg decided he’d had enough of my criticism, he didn’t come to me personally. Instead, as any true freedom loving person would do, he decided to go over my head and raise the issue with my employer. Matt, by his own admission, claimed that my writings here and on Twitter “borders on hate speech and reflects badly on any organization you’re associated with, regardless of any disclaimers you may have.”

(click for full sized image)

Update: While I initially didn’t think this follow up exchange added much to the post, a commenter below prompted me to post the rest of the exchange.

(click for full sized image)

Now, I wasn’t privy to the conversation that took place, but I have a healthy imagination and can think of a few topics that might have come up.

Whatever was discussed, a brief investigation was launched. But, thanks to those lovely disclaimers it was determined that I was abiding with company policy, and my employment (thankfully) continued.

On a more personal level, the accusation that my criticisms even remotely resemble hate speech is ludicrous, and that sort of accusation is not only irresponsible, but offensive in its own right.

As with any good story, there are several lessons to take away from this episode. First and foremost, please make sure you’re abiding with your company’s social media policy. You never know when it will save your job from a passive-aggressive egomaniac leveling unfounded accusations to your employer behind your back.

Secondly, this event continues the disturbing pattern of behavior by Automattic & WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg. Many within the WordPress community refer to Matt as their “benevolent dictator” because he controls pretty much every aspect of the WordPress project (from WordPress.com, to WordPress.org to the WordPress Foundation). However, the kind of bullying, threats, and intimidation displayed in this episode as well as here, here, and here, are lacking any hint of benevolence.

The final, and most unfortunate, lesson of this sad but true story is that unless you’re prepared to be attacked by Matt Mullenweg and the almost cult-like following he’s incubated, don’t criticize Mullenweg, Automattic, or WordPress in any way.

All hail King Matt.

Coward image source: Miriella

You’ll never guess, but the GPL has caused yet another controversy to erupt within the WordPress community. You’re surprised right? Yeah me neither.

So for those of you who haven’t been paying attention (read as: had something better to do) I’m going to try and summarize the events over the last few days as concisely as possible. I’m also going to strive to keep my opinion out of it as much as possible since there will be plenty of time for me to rant on that later.

So let’s get started…

History

It has long been Matt Mullenweg’s contention that all plugins and themes developed to work with WordPress should inherit the General Public License (GPL) which WordPress is licensed under. They are, in his estimation, derivative works, and as such should be released under the GPL or a GPL-compatible license.

Naturally, there are those who disagree. Chris Pearson, the creator of the Thesis theme, is one of those people. As a result, he licensed his theme under a different and non-GPL compatible license.

Note: The issue of debate is not for or against the GPL as a license. The issue is whether the GPL requires themes to inherit the same license, or not. While it’s much easier to classify the debate as pro or anti-GPL, that’s an oversimplification and skews the issue. Few if any people are arguing against the GPL as a whole.

The Spark

The initial spark for this latest explosion was Automattic CEO, Toni Schneider, kicking WordPress consultant Bill Erickson out of the CodePoet directory for supporting Thesis.

Wow, just got an email from Automattic CEO kicking me off the WP Consultants list because I promote #thesiswp (cc @pearsonified)

July 14, 2010 3:36 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@BillErickson

Bill Erickson

Bill then posted the expulsion on Flickr. Mullenweg left a comment on the image accused Pearson of having “verbally abused a female community member at a conference yesterday” (even though that female member, Jane Wells denies being abused), accused Pearson’s company, DIYthemes, of “break[ing] the law” and recommended that Pearson leave the WordPress community.

Mullenweg then took the fight to twitter saying:

Thesis site hacked, or inherently insecure? RT @dannyarr Here is the decoded string from admin.php http://bit.ly/97RWvw #thesiswp

July 14, 2010 10:57 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@photomatt

Matt Mullenweg

This is what happens when non-coders think they can code. #thesiswp

July 14, 2010 10:59 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@photomatt

Matt Mullenweg

Those tweets, along with the accusations left on Flickr were like a spark hitting a gasoline soaked pile of rags…

The Explosion

Matt quickly followed up his barbs with his first (of many) offers to buy a Thesis user any other premium theme as long as it was licensed under the GPL.

I recently had a client specifically ask that I use Thesis. It's not fun so far. #thesiswp

July 14, 2010 11:25 am via Tweetie for MacReplyRetweetFavorite

@chexee

Chelsea Otakan

@chexee Tell them I'll buy them any other premium theme they'd like.

July 14, 2010 11:46 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@photomatt

Matt Mullenweg

As frequent readers of this blog know, I’m never one to shy away from sharing my opinion. However, I didn’t expect my tweet to illicit Mullenweg to state a lawsuit against DIYthemes was allegedly being planned.

@photomatt if they're breaking the license, prove it in a court of law & stop with your childish hissy fit.

July 14, 2010 11:57 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@Skitzzo

Ben Cook

@Skitzzo Working on it. Want to join? :)

July 14, 2010 12:00 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@photomatt

Matt Mullenweg

As anyone who knows Pearson will tell you, it was only a matter of time before he responded. That led to this exchange between he and Mullenweg.

Well, I can't stop @photomatt from spreading propaganda and lies, but what I CAN do is be honest about the whole situation. Video coming.

July 14, 2010 12:21 pm via Tweetie for MacReplyRetweetFavorite

@pearsonified

pearsonified

@pearsonified I can send you a WP shirt if you need one. #thesiswp

July 14, 2010 12:24 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@photomatt

Matt Mullenweg

Is it fair that I should be patronized? RT @photomatt @pearsonified I can send you a WP shirt if you need one. #thesiswp

July 14, 2010 12:32 pm via Tweetie for MacReplyRetweetFavorite

@pearsonified

pearsonified

@pearsonified I'm just so broken up that WordPress is useless without #thesiswp, best theme in the world, responsible for all innovation.

July 14, 2010 12:35 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@photomatt

Matt Mullenweg

Yo @photomatt, no one has claimed that Thesis is responsible for all innovation. Why are you handling your position so irresponsibly?

July 14, 2010 12:41 pm via Tweetie for MacReplyRetweetFavorite

@pearsonified

pearsonified

The Confrontation

After several more shots were volleyed back and forth, both Chris and Matt agreed to be interviewed on Mixergy. Andrew Warner did a great job of moderating what was obviously a very passionate discussion.

Note: I’ll embed the video as soon as I can get it to work.

It’s interested to note that it seems this interview has been many people’s starting point when trying to figure out what this whole argument has been about. If viewed in isolation I don’t think Chris comes off all that well. He’s obviously worked up, while Matt is for the most part calm and collected. However, when viewed in light of the interactions that led up to the interview, it becomes clear both sides are heavily and emotionally invested in the debate.

A Proxy War

When two personalities as large as Pearson & Mullenweg clash so publicly, there’s never a shortage of people eager to chime in. Almost immediately the #thesiswp Twitter hash tag stream became over-run with people voicing their opinions on the issue.

I'm Team #thesiswp. [cc: @pearsonified]

July 16, 2010 12:00 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@jamievaron

Jamie Varon

Countless posts have been written on the topic in support of both sides of the issue, an incredible volume of tweets have gone back and forth, with Mullenweg and Pearson encouraging their supporters through liberal use of retweets.

In fact, Mullenweg has gone so retweet-crazy it prompted Lisa Barone to tweet the following:

Twitter needs to take away @photomatt's RT button if he's just going to RT everyone who tweets he's pretty. :) [he is, however, pretty]

July 14, 2010 3:33 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@LisaBarone

Lisa Barone

Copied Code?

The anti-Thesis horde was invigorated when developer Drew Blas ran a comparison of Thesis and WordPress’ code and found several snippets of WordPress’ code that were copied by Thesis.

Whether those snippets constitute plagiarism or simply fair use became the hot topic and the argument flared up with renewed vigor while the issue of GPL-inheritance seemed to take a back seat.

Pearson was quick to track down the code to former employee Rick Beckman who admitted to using copied code in this tweet:

When I was a Thesis dev & didn't know any better, I added big chunks of WP's GPL code to it. What a party I'm causing now. :S #thesiswp #wp

July 15, 2010 11:55 am via Socialite.appReplyRetweetFavorite

@BrazenlyGeek

Rick Beckman

While Pearson has vowed to remove the code before releasing Thesis 1.8 from beta, there are those suggesting that the codes’ inclusion poisons all of Thesis as inheriting the GPL until the entire theme is re-written. Beckman, for his part doesn’t exactly appear shaken up by his role in the dispute.

I look forward to a GPLed Thesis. It'd be a great theme to fork. #thesiswp

July 15, 2010 2:05 pm via Socialite.appReplyRetweetFavorite

@BrazenlyGeek

Rick Beckman

Editorial Note: I know I said I wouldn’t do many of these, but this seems like a scary situation for any software developers out there. Can one rogue employee effectively nullify your license by slipping in chunks of GPL code? Could a hacker break in and distribute a copy of your software including GPL code thus forcing an entire re-write or GPL adoption? Would Pearson have recourse to sue Beckman? It seems I’m full of questions but few answers.

The Fallout?

As is so often the case with online flame wars, very little has actually been accomplished. Matt Mullenweg has re-issued his threat to sue DIYthemes several different times, although as of yet, nothing has been filed. He’s also continued to be very vocal about his offer to give any Thesis prospect or user a GPL premium theme of their choice at no cost. I’ve not been able to confirm whether any of those themes have actually been purchased, or what the users are required to do in exchange for the theme.

Chris Pearson has vowed to remove the copied snippets of WordPress code from Thesis before releasing version 1.8. While the anti-Thesis mob seems to be having some success inspiring uncertainty amongst Thesis users, even if a lawsuit were filed, it would have little to no impact on Thesis users. The Thesis theme remains, in my opinion, the most flexible WordPress theme on the market and until a better option emerges, I plan on continuing to use it as my primary theme on all my WordPress projects.

One interesting development of note is that Headway has made the decision to dual split license their theme to adhere to the Software Freedom Law Center’s interpretation of the GPL requirements. While Headway’s creators had been vocal GPL-inheritance opponents in the past, the attacks Thesis is sustaining as well as the possibility of having Mullenweg purchase and then give away copies of your theme has to be a powerful incentive from a business perspective.

@Skitzzo We are now dual/split licensed accordning to the GPL. Something we been considering for some time. #headwaywp

July 16, 2010 1:32 pm via Headway ThemesReplyRetweetFavorite

@GrantGriffiths

Grant Griffiths

Note: Sorry for any confusion. The appropriate term is split licensed, not dual licensed as previously stated. Mark and Andreas explain the difference in the comments below.

What Next?

Personally I expect the issue to slowly burn out over the weekend. Even given the strong rhetoric from both sides I would be surprised to see a lawsuit actually happen. I would also be shocked to see Thesis adopt the GPL or even dual license it’s theme. But no matter what happens from here on out, I’ll try to keep things summarized here so be sure to check back often.

Other Relevant Reading:

• WordPress GPL Feud (Again)
• Thesis + GPL + WordPress = Pain
• WordPress, Thesis, GPL, and premium themes
• WordPress Thesis Conflict Highlights GPL Nuances
• Chris Pearson vs Matt Mullenweg (big thanks for the amazing Twitter Blackbird Pie WordPress plugin)
• Matt Mullenweg Fouls His Nest & Undermines His Credibility (a great read)
• The GPL is Marxist

image source: theparasiteguru

With apologies to Dr. Seuss and HUGE thanks to our resident cartoonist, Jim Cook aka my “Pops”, allow me to present Matt Mullenweg: King of GPL!

…until Matt M, the king of them all,
Decided the kingdom he ruled was too small.
“I’m ruler”, said Matt M, “of all WordPress you see.
But I don’t rule enough. That’s the trouble with me.
With Automattic for a throne, I rule WP swell.
But I cannot rule places beyond GPL.
This throne that I sit on is too, too low down.
It ought to be higher!” he said with a frown.
“If I could sit high, how much greater I’d be!
What a king! I’d be ruler of all that I see!”

Please feel free to use this image for non-commercial purposes as long as you include a link of attribution (such as the one below).

Matt Mullenweg: King of GPL – Image Source: WPblogger.com

Matt Mullenweg: King of GPL - Image Source: WPblogger.com

In my recent call for Matt Mullenweg’s resignation I stated Matt’s involvement with both Automattic and the WordPress Foundation constituted a clear conflict of interest.

Not surprisingly, a few of you disagreed.

One comment that seemed to nicely sum up the opposing opinion stated “I would leave the hypotheticals on the shelf for now and speak to the facts.”

That seemed like a fair request so for those of you still skeptical of Automattic employees’ conflicts of interest in regards to the WordPress.org project, may I present to you, Jane Wells.

Jane Wells

As you probably know, Jane is an Automattic employee (her official title on the company website is Master of Suggestion) and works extensively on the UI of WordPress.org.

What may surprise you, is that Jane apparently doesn’t actually work on Automattic projects, at least according to Jeffro’s coverage of her speech at WordCamp Raleigh.

Now, I have to admit I wasn’t at this event and it’s possible Jeffro’s tweets misrepresented what Jane actually said. However, I didn’t see Jane or anyone else take issue with his reporting so I think it’s safe to say they’re at least close to accurate.

If that’s the case, it seems Jane only works on WordPress.org projects, and is actually proud of this fact, using it to illustrate how much of a “wall” there is between WordPress.org and Automattic.

Unfortunately for Jane, that same fact provides a perfect example of the conflict of interest I was talking about when calling for Matt’s resignation.

Employee’s are Accountable to their Company

Jane is an Automattic employee, meaning she was hired to help Automattic make money. While I’m certain that’s not in her official job description, that’s what employees of for-profit companies are hired for.

But apparently, Jane doesn’t actually do ANYTHING for Automattic. She “works purely on the .org side of things” and there’s “more of a wall” between .org and Automattic than people realize.

Now, Automattic may well be a generous company, but they didn’t hire Jane as a charitable act.

If they wanted Jane to work on WordPress.org and didn’t expect any return on her salary, they could simply donate her salary to the WordPress Foundation and write it off as a charitable deduction on their taxes, rather than having to pay social security and all the wonderful fees employers are saddled with.

So it’s safe to say Automattic expects to benefit financially from having Jane work on the WordPress.org side of things. And don’t get me wrong, they absolutely should!

Unfortunately, that makes Jane accountable to Automattic for her work on WordPress.org, NOT the WordPress community.

Financial Incentive = Conflict of Interest

If the judge presiding over a lawsuit happened to own stock in the company being sued, he or she would be expected to recuse themselves because of an inherent conflict of interest. The judge has a financial incentive to influence the trial in favor of the company.

If the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee were discovered to be on Boeing’s payroll, it would be a national scandal. While a Senator’s loyalty is supposed to be to the country and their constituents, the Chairman would simultaneously have financial incentive to award contracts to Boeing, even if it weren’t in the best interests of the nation.

In much the same way, Jane has a clear financial and professional incentive to influence the decisions made about WordPress.org to benefit Automattic. While her intentions may not be sinister, the conflict of interest is just as clear as it is for the judge and Senator.

If Jane only works on WordPress.org projects, she should be a WordPress Foundation employee, not an Automattic employee. Along the same lines, if Matt wants to run the WordPress Foundation that’s perfectly fine. But he shouldn’t do it while still heavily invested in the financial success of Automattic.

image source: robertfrancis & scootie

They first came for the Theme Developers,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Theme Developer.

Then they came for the Plugin Developers,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Plugin Developer.

Then they came for the Sponsors,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Sponsor.

Then they came for the Speakers,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Speaker.

Then they came for me —
and by that time no one was left to speak up.

While the original version of this statement is about a much more serious and heinous situation, the principle behind it is often applicable to situations much less drastic and detestable.

Today, for example, yet another volley was fired by Jane Wells in WordPress’ ongoing war against many members of its own community. While it might not yet impact you, it should absolutely concern you.

“Non-GPL-Compliant People”

As of today, any person or company that is in “violation of the WordPress license [read as not GPL compliant] cannot be accepted as event organizers or sponsors” of any WordCamp conference.

It should be noted that many reasonable people, disagree with Matt’s assertion that themes automatically inherit the GPL license. And if Matt’s wrong, most premium themes actually ARE GPL compliant.

Now, the WordCamp trademark is owned by the WordPress Foundation which is run by WordPress creator and Automattic founder, Matt Mullenweg. That means they can pretty much do whatever they want and set any kind of requirements they’d like.

While this might not seem like an issue that’s important to you, it becomes much more troubling when viewed in the context of past decisions and remarks.

A Declaration of Grievances

Just so we’re all on the same page, let’s run down the list of grievances. In as close to chronological order as I can remember, they are:

• Sponsored themes are removed from WordPress.org. Many were perfectly GPL compliant but included links to sponsors which Matt deemed unacceptable despite plenty of community feedback to the contrary.
• Over 200 GPL licensed themes are removed from the WordPress repository. Why? Because they supported sites that promoted non-GPL content. The themes were licensed under the GPL, but the sites that created them offered (or in some cases just had ads for) products that weren’t licensed under the GPL.
• Matt calls non-GPL licensed themes “evil.” For all you Automattic supporters out there that have criticized the way I make my arguments (ZOMG you’re too mean!) calling things evil is pretty harsh language that draws a “good vs. evil” line in the sand.
• A GPL licensed theme is rejected by the repository simply because the creator’s site mentioned the Thesis theme (not GPL licensed) and ThemeForest (whose themes are all dual licensed to be perfectly compatible with the GPL but does not meet the new “everything must be GPL” rule Matt instated).
• Matt got a lawyer from the Software Freedom Law Center to weigh in on the theme GPL issue. Now, I know this might come as a shock to you, but the lawyer says PHP portions of themes inherit the GPL while the CSS and images do not.
• WordPress.org begins actively promoting premium theme companies that license themes under 100% GPL while excluding other GPL compatible (according to the Software Freedom Law Center lawyer) and non-GPL competitors.
• Announcement made that WordCamps can no longer accept “non-GPL-compliant people” as speakers, sponsors, or organizers. Jane apparently means people or companies that don’t comply with Matt Mullenweg’s interpretation of the GPL but doesn’t feel the need to clarify that since Matt’s word is law when it comes to anything WordPress related.

Now I don’t know about you, but I find this progression fairly disturbing. Matt Mullenweg decides themes inherit the GPL and despite valid legal opinions to the contrary, begins demonizing anyone that dares disagree with him.

If you dare have the audacity to license your theme the way you see fit, you’re not only banned from having any of your work in WordPress’ repository, but anyone who supports your product is banned as well!

Want to sponsor or speak at a WordCamp? Sorry, you’ve been banned from that as well.

While there’s no official criteria that I know of, I’d imagine you’re not eligible to become a member of the core development team unless you buy into Matt’s interpretation of the GPL.

Who Will They “Come For” Next?

Phrases like “in spirit” or “supporting the philosophy” are being thrown around and guilt by association is a reality when it comes to the theme repository. What’s the next step in this fanatical, quasi-religious crusade against those who dare oppose Matt’s interpretation of the license?

Will we be banned from submitting tickets or reporting bugs? Will our accounts be banned in the WordPress.org forum? Will linking to a non-GPL licensed theme on Twitter prevent your theme from being accepted in the repository?

If you’ve licensed your code under the GPL but are a vocal opponent of the license, are you banned as well?

Aaron Brazell (a WordPress core contributor), recently said writing code for WordPress’ core or creating GPL plugins is the only way to contribute to the WordPress community.

Given the progression of decisions covered in this post it seems clear Matt Mullenweg doesn’t want any dissenters participating in the community.

Then again, dictators rarely do.

image source: aka_lusi

Throughout GPL Week we’ve dealt with WordPress developers that have adopted the GPL for their products. Today, we’re going to talk to someone who not only refused to use the license, but has been a vocal opponent of it.

Chris Pearson, the creator of the Thesis theme, has spoken out several times against use of the GPL and has even gotten into a few public exchanges with WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg over the subject.

Never one to shy away from stating his opinion, I was excited when Chris agreed to a brief interview. I was hoping for some fireworks and as you can see from the title, I wasn’t disappointed.

Chris, let’s jump right into this. Thesis is NOT licensed under the GPL and you’ve been very vocal about that. Why did you resist the lure when so many other theme devs made the switch?

From the onset, I intended for Thesis to be a sustainable product. I knew that I wanted to build a business around it, but more important, I was trying to solve a very specific problem with my business model. Before launching Thesis, I had become extremely disenchanted with income models that trade time for money, and I viewed Thesis as a vehicle that I could use to “rise above” this unfortunate scenario. For all intents and purposes, Thesis solved these problems within a few months after launch—long before the GPL issue ever reared its ugly, ill-informed head.

Now, let’s examine the GPL for a second. Although it covers other issues as well, the GPL basically stipulates that anyone can take your code and do whatever they want with it…legally. In other words, the GPL is legal castration for anyone who is trying to run a business that is in any way reliant upon unique, innovative code.

Couple this with the fact that I’d already been ripped off by a few imitators who were trying to use my work to gain attention for themselves (people had basically lifted Thesis’ HTML + CSS in the name of the GPL and had attempted to give it away for free), and this was strike one against the GPL, at least from my perspective. Obviously, if I’m going to run a sustainable business, I can’t have people ripping me off and distributing my work for free.

Although the GPL says nothing about “free versus paid,” it’s undeniable that the WordPress GPL environment has created an atmosphere where free is championed and paid products are often demonized. This is why you didn’t see any premium themes or plugins until late 2007, and this is a huge reason why the GPL debate still rages on today.

As I mentioned earlier, I was trying to achieve sustainability with Thesis, and in order to do so, I had to work against the prevailing sentiment that everything should be free. Therefore, ensuring that people were not freely distributing my work was of the highest importance to me. As I see it, licensing Thesis under the GPL would totally undermine this goal and give those same people who ripped me off a legal backing for doing so! Do you hear that? It’s the sound of an obvious, epic FAIL.

Also, I had to consider the fact that I am (and have been since 2006) a leading presence in the WordPress theme development community. My work has always received a lot of attention and scrutiny, and that has made it a prime target for copycats and people who are out to make a buck as easily as possible. In situations like this, the GPL gives all the power to the “little guy” while robbing the true innovators of any protection whatsoever. I’m an innovator, my work is creative, and the GPL is NOT on my side here; this is strike two for the GPL.

Finally, let’s talk about how the GPL breaks down in the face of a solid economic model. At its core, the GPL aims to improve/increase/extend software distribution, all under the premise that “software for everyone” is going to make the world a better place. In theory, that sounds good, but in practice, something very different happens.

In an environment where distribution happens at a breakneck pace, it becomes harder and harder to distinguish a product on the basis of anything other than attention. The public gets accustomed to having “solutions” delivered here and now, and developers modify their practices to respond accordingly. Ultimately, what happens is that products get delivered to market more quickly, and people compete on the basis of attention rather than on the true merits of their products.

The phrase “quality takes time” is especially appropriate here, because that’s a formula that never changes. Unfortunately, software development is more tied to the laws of supply and demand than it is to a pursuit of the highest quality results, and the GPL plays on this in the most destructive possible way. By creating an environment of unrestricted distribution and huge scale, the GPL increases market demand by a significant factor.

Increased market demand (especially the unnatural, inorganic increase that comes about as a result of free) causes most suppliers to do what seems natural—increase their supply. However, quality still takes time, and in order to keep up with increased demand, quality suffers in the face of getting a product to market and getting that much-needed attention in a competitive marketplace.

Over a protracted time scale, nothing is more important to sustainability and efficiency than the QUALITY of the results we produce today. In the end, this is why Thesis is not and will never be GPL.

Do you still get heat about switching to GPL now that so many other theme dev’s seem to have grown disillusioned with it?

I am extremely vocal about my distaste for the GPL and my choice to avoid it, and I think just about everyone who knows me is aware of my position on the matter. As a result, almost nobody says a word to me about the GPL anymore

What would your advice be to someone considering the GPL for their work?

If you intend to release your work for free, don’t care about the fact that you created the work, and have no plans to drown yourself in product support, then I think releasing it under the GPL is totally fine. Honestly, most of the stuff that gets put under the GPL (plugins, themes without options, etc) is so inconsequential that it really doesn’t matter anyway.

Basically, if you’re serious about having a real, sustainable product, then the GPL is not for you; otherwise, go nuts!

Which side of the GPL debate do you think will win out in the marketplace where it matters most?

Despite the fact that people want everything right now and for free, QUALITY is what wins in the end. My position on the GPL is the one that will win out in the end, simply because I’m focusing on the things that matter on a scale that transcends any scale that the GPL attempts to achieve.

Call it a hunch but I think this interview is going to elicit a few responses. So, rather than giving you my opinion on the interview, I’m giving you the floor.

Is Chris right about the role of the GPL? Is it “legal castration”? Can you create a sustainable business while using the general public license? Let’s hear what you have to say via the comment form below!

Image sources: KayVee.inc & Ben McLeod

So far in GPL Week we’ve heard from three WordPress theme developers and their perspectives on one of the most divisive topics in the WordPress community. Today, however, we have the pleasure of hearing from plugin developer Carl Hancock, one of the creators of Gravity Forms.

While the GPL debate is most often discussed in terms of WordPress themes, the topic is just as contested & contentious in regards to WordPress plugins. So, what does one of the creators of the hottest plugin on the market think about the GPL? That’s what I hoped to find out.

You decided to license your plugin under the GPL. What things did you consider when making this decision?

We considered a variety of options when deciding on the licensing for Gravity Forms.  Ultimately we settled on the GPL license primarily so it was in line with WordPress and allow us to be more involved in the WordPress community.

A lot of licensing schemes are in place specifically limited to stop piracy.  The fact is you can’t stop piracy.  All you can do is market a high quality product and service to honest users that are willing to pay for it.  That is what we do.  There is value in purchasing Gravity Forms because we provide a high level of support and ongoing updates to the product.

How have your experiences with the GPL compared to your expectations going into it?

Our experience with the GPL has been in line with what we expected.  We didn’t expect it to have a negative impact on our business, otherwise we wouldn’t have done it. Ultimately the average user doesn’t know what the GPL is, it’s primarily only the hardcore WordPress enthusiasts that have any clue what the GPL is all about.

Do you think your plugin would have been received differently if you hadn’t adopted the GPL?

Yes.  I think our plugin would have been received much differently by the WordPress development community.  We would have most certainly received negative press and comments thrown our way for not being GPL.  I disagree with it, but that’s just how it is. By being GPL it has enabled us to avoid that baggage.

I know that is blasphemy in the WordPress development community, but until it is proven in a court of law… I don’t agree with the notion that ALL plugins and themes must be GPL.  Is Gravity Forms GPL? Yes.  But i’m not going to look down upon anyone who chooses not to release their product under the GPL.  If it’s a good product i’ll gladly use it, GPL or non-GPL.

The average user wouldn’t have received it any differently.  As I mentioned, the average user doesn’t know what the GPL is, how it works, or why it matters.

Do you feel you’ve been helped or harmed by the GPL?

It has helped us as far as gaining acceptance within the community.  I don’t think we have experienced any harmful effects.  We just had to be creative with how we implemented our support license key system, which unlocks automatic updates, so that purchasing the plugin is more attractive than downloading it for free from a 3rd party.

Do you think the GPL impacts plugin developers differently than theme developers?

I think the major difference is the GPL debate is much clearer when it comes to themes. Matt Mullenweg has said that themes don’t necessarily have to be 100% GPL.  Despite this fact, WordPress.org has taking the stance that themes must be 100% GPL in order to be allowed in the WordPress repository or on the commercial theme page.

I think any theme developer that releases 100% GPL commercial themes is crazy.  Design and code are not the same thing.  Theme designers should be releasing the PHP as GPL and the images and CSS under a difference license.

Sure they won’t get the benefits of being on the commercial theme page, but is it really that valuable? I don’t think so.  Sure Matt Mullenweg won’t give you the thumbs up, but is he really out there pimping your themes now?

Nope.

Don’t let someone else dictate how you run your business. Leverage the fact that you can have more control over your product by releasing it under a dual license.  It just makes sense.

But what do I know, I’m just a plugin guy…

Carl is certainly a lot more than “just a plugin guy” and I appreciate him taking the time to share with us a few of his insights on the WordPress community especially in regards to the GPL.

If you haven’t checked out Gravity Forms, you really are missing out. I’ve written up a full Gravity Forms review and give the plugin my highest recommendation. I use it in all of my WordPress projects and the support and responsiveness you get from Carl & the rest of the rocketgenius team is second to none.

Due to a couple of delays that simply couldn’t be avoided GPL Week is going to stretch into a second week. Sure it’s not technically a week but 8 or 9 days of GPL just didn’t have the same ring to it. Up next for your reading pleasure, a GPL interview with Thesis theme creator Chris Pearson. Stay tuned GPL fans!

Image sources: KayVee.inc & Ben McLeod

So far in GPL Week we’ve heard from two WordPress theme developers that have embraced the General Public License and plan to continue operating under it. Today, however, we’re talking with Jason Schuller of press75 and soon to be ThemeGarden.

Jason adopted the GPL for his themes at press75 but has been fairly vocal about the downside of the GPL since that time so I was eager to get his take on the contentious topic.

Jason, I am really glad you agreed to let me pick your brain a bit, I think you’ll have an interesting take on the subject. My first question would be why did you choose to release your themes under the GPL? Was it pressure by Matt, the Community, something you thought was right, or a combination of all the above?

There was absolutely no pressure by Matt or the community to switch my theme licensing on Press75.com over to the GPL. After speaking with Matt about it on several occasions, I decided that it was in fact the right thing to do considering that my product is in fact built on WordPress.

Actually, I was still working with Brian Gardner at the time on RevolutionTwo.com (now StudioPress.com) when we both decided to go GPL together. After I re-launched Press75.com, I simply maintained the GPL license for all my themes.

What, if any, benefits did you expect to receive by becoming GPL & have those benefits been realized?

One of the primary benefits of moving to the GPL was being accepted by Matt and the WordPress community in general by aligning the business with the values of WordPress. Also, I strongly believe that commercial theme developers have helped to take WordPress to an entirely new level, and the idea of being recognized for that fact in a positive way was definitely a driving factor for moving to the GPL.

It seems a lot of theme developers have become disillusioned with the GPL. Are you disappointed by how the GPL has worked in practice compared to what you envisioned before making the switch?

WordPress would probably not be where it is right now if it weren’t GPL licensed. Every aspect of the platform has grown to where it is now because of the community surrounding it.

With that being said, I just don’t think that the GPL license provides the same benefit for a “commercial” product such as paid WordPress themes. There seems to be two distinct communities surrounding GPL licensed commercial products.

One (in the vast minority) being those that want to contribute to the code, add on, customize and provide those improvements back to the community.

The second community (in the vast majority) I am referring to are those that simply package and re-release GPL’d commercial themes either for a quick buck by undercutting the original price, or as a means to hack spam innocent users websites by encrypting and re-packaging the theme with malicious code.

While both of these examples are fully within the rights of the GPL, I do not see ANY value added back to the community. In fact… in these cases (the vast majority), I would say that commercial themes being GPL licensed is doing much more harm than good to the WordPress community.

Do you plan on sticking with the GPL for future themes?

Press75.com will maintain the GPL license, but I am working on a new site called ThemeGarden.com which will be split licensed. In short, all PHP files (containing WordPress code) will be GPL licensed whereas all creative aspects of the theme (CSS and image files) will be copyrighted.

This model is still perfectly in line with the GPL and WordPress, but at the same time gives me back the right to fight some of the negative aspects as explained above.

Overall, do you feel the GPL has helped or harmed you & other theme devs?

I honestly don’t believe the GPL license has helped or harmed my business in any way shape or form. Users come to Press75.com because of the product I provide as well the support, not because my themes are GPL licensed.

One last follow up question and I’ll let you go. Do you feel using the GPL in any way puts you at a disadvantage to those theme developers that have rejected the GPL?

Again, from a business perspective, the GPL has had no affect in a positive or negative way.

The only disadvantage being tied to the GPL is the fact that you lose the ability to specify exactly what your customers can or cannot do with your product after they purchase it. Imagine spending hours/weeks on end developing a unique product, releasing that product one day, and then 2 days later finding that product (unmodified) for sale or being freely re-distributed on dozens of shitty (for the lack of better words) websites.

Again, I fully understand that this activity is 100% in line with the rights of the GPL license, but it is a little disheartening that the majority of people taking advantage of the GPL license use it in this way rather than adding value back to the community.

Jason’s response to the last question hit on a point that I think many within the WordPress community have generally missed. The successful premium themes and plugins that I’ve seen have all provided first class support and use that as one of their selling points.

Code can be ripped off fairly easily, no matter what types of precautions you take. Should it happen? Of course not. But it does. And, when even the likes of Google suggest downloading products from illegal torrents, you need to realize that piracy is just a fact of life on the web.

So how do you combat that? Focus on the support (which knock offs & pirates can’t offer).

That being said, I think Jason’s absolutely right that the majority of people exercising the GPL are NOT doing so to help improve the code that they’re using. Yes WordPress is where it is today because it’s an open source platform under the GPL but he has yet to present a compelling case as to how premium themes or plugins are helped by adopting the GPL.

Instead he continuously pounds the drum that they inherit the GPL and HAVE to use that license. I’m sorry Matt, but telling people they have to legalize the piracy of their work and get almost nothing in return is no way to endear the community to you or the GPL that you so vehemently believe in.

As GPL Week continues into the weekend here on WPblogger I hope to bring you some comments from one high profile  theme dev that has refused to adopt the GPL and has had a few high profile exchanges with WordPress creator, Matt Mullenweg, as a result. Stay tuned GPL fans!

Image sources: KayVee.inc & Ben McLeod

Premium WordPress theme design company, WooThemes, made a big splash last year by announcing their embrace of the GPL. Despite being able to see some of Brian Gardner’s experience there were still a lot of unknowns going into the new licensing model.

I sent Magnus Jepson, one of the WooThemes’ founders, the same 5 questions about the GPL in practice as compared to the theory we’ve all debated.

Magnus, thanks for taking the time to discuss this issue with me. My first question would be why did you choose to release your themes under the GPL? Was it pressure by Matt, the Community, something you thought was right, or a combination of all the above?

We chose GPL because Matt encouraged us, and we wanted to be in line with Automattic.

What, if any, benefits did you expect to receive by becoming GPL & have those benefits been realized?

We didn’t expect any benefits, but we hope that others have benefited from our code being GPL.

It seems a lot of theme developers have become disillusioned with the GPL. Are you disappointed by how the GPL has worked in practice compared to what you envisioned before making the switch?

We didn’t envision any change, and haven’t experienced any change since moving to GPL.

Do you plan on sticking with the GPL for future themes?

Yes, as long as we can sustain our business with the GPL license we’ll stick to it.

Overall, do you feel the GPL has helped or harmed you & other theme devs?

Us going GPL hasn’t helped nor harmed us, but hopefully helped other theme devs. The GPL license in general and WordPress has helped us get to where we are today, so that is our main reason for licensing our themes GPL.

While I asked these questions before the announcement that WooThemes’ nav system was going to be integrated into WordPress 3.0, I think that’s a great example of what the GPL is supposed to offer. The sharing of code in order to improve the platform is exactly what GPL disciples have in mind.

However, one need only look at Magnus’ Twitter stream today for an example of how the GPL is implemented most of the time within the WordPress community.

Now this specific example includes obvious trademark issues as the site in question is using WooThemes’ logo in order to promote their bundled product. However, I think this issue and really WooThemes as a company, represent the ongoing game of tug of war that occurs when theme developers license their work under the GPL.

From the outside looking in (it’s been a long time since I offered a WordPress theme for sale) it seems like the GPL has emboldened users to undertake behavior that ultimately harms theme companies. However there’s no doubt that profitable business can be built even while using the GPL.

As GPL Week continues here on WPblogger I’ll be bringing you two more interviews, one with a theme dev that has decided to abandon the GPL and another who refused to accept it in the first place. Stay tuned GPL fans!

Image sources: KayVee.inc & Ben McLeod

While there have been a ridiculous number of words wasted written about WordPress & the GPL in theory, there hasn’t been nearly as much discussion of the GPL when it’s actually put into practice.

To get a better idea of how the GPL actually impacts the WordPress community, I asked Brian Gardner of StudioPress a few questions about his experiences under the license.

For those of you who don’t know, Brian has been at the forefront of WordPress theme development for quite some time and was the first (at least to my recollection) premium/commercial theme developer to embrace the GPL. While many theme developers have followed suit in the last several months, Brian definitely blazed the trail when it came to GPL premium themes.

Brian, first & foremost, why did you choose to release your themes under the GPL? Was it pressure by Matt, the Community, something you thought was right, or a combination of all the above?

The reason I choose to switch from a proprietary license for our themes to the GPL license is simple – I wanted security and to know that my business was in line with WordPress.

While I don’t know (nor really care) whether or not themes are legally required to be GPL, I chose to err on the side of caution. I knew that there would ultimately be a commercially supported themes page, which I wanted to be a part of. Not to mention I knew that aligning myself with a platform that could potentially promote my work in front of millions of people was a wise decision.

There wasn’t any pressure from Matt – nor were there any “under the table” deals that were made.  This was purely my choice, and my trip to San Francisco to discuss this with Matt and Toni was something I made to inform them of what I was potentially doing and to ensure that I was going about it in the right way.

What, if any, benefits did you expect to receive by becoming GPL & have those benefits been realized?

I knew that putting myself (and StudioPress) in a position to be exposed to millions of people would definitely be worth the change. I also believe in the model of distribution, and know that having our themes in more hands isn’t a bad thing.

As for realizing them – that’s a hard question to answer. There’s no scientific way to prove it was a good decision, but what I will say that contrary to what people may think, sales have gone up since our move to the GPL.

It seems a lot of theme developers have become disillusioned with the GPL. Are you disappointed by how the GPL has worked in practice compared to what you envisioned before making the switch?

Yes, I truly am dissappointed.

While I fully knew what the possibilities were – I didn’t think I’d see as many folks using the GPL as a loophole for their own monetary gain. I’m not saying I regret the move, nor am I complaining here – merely stating that it’s sad to see folks misuse the GPL.

I fully “get” that what they are doing is allowed, for me it becomes an ethical issue. In my opinion, and clearly inferred with that license, the real intent is to make the code available for people to build upon, and to come out with derivative works.

[Instead], people are using it to build sites that drive traffic, get them exposure, and ultimately water down the community. To be honest, at least with our themes, I’ve seen maybe one (if that) good use of the GPL license and our work.

Do you plan on sticking with the GPL for future themes?

Absolutely – there’s zero chance that our work will be released in anything other than the GPL. While some theme development companies entertain the thought of going back to a proprietary license or splitting the php/images/css into separate licenses, that is something we won’t do.

Overall, do you feel the GPL has helped or harmed you & other theme devs?

Overall I’d say it’s helped us – more than anything, it really is the right thing to do. Our sales history is proof that the GPL license doesn’t have a negative impact on our business.

Well there you have it! I’d like to thank Brian for his time & input on what’s definitely a touchy subject. Be sure to jump over and check out StudioPress’ newest theme, (a framework!) Genesis.

Image sources: KayVee.inc & Ben McLeod