[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":188},["ShallowReactive",2],{"NoscriptNav_XrRK2e2e8meJ0jKVGkb5ULGQDVi3UiFQ9nupAr7Yns":3,"\u002Freports\u002Fopen-source-deceptive-power-or-collective-governance":8},["Island",4],{"key":5,"result":6},"NoscriptNav_XrRK2e2e8meJ0jKVGkb5ULGQDVi3UiFQ9nupAr7Yns",{"head":7},{},{"id":9,"title":10,"authors":11,"body":13,"canonicalUrl":176,"canonicalWebsiteName":177,"category":178,"date":179,"description":19,"extension":180,"featured":181,"fullWidthLayout":181,"image":182,"imageAlt":182,"location":70,"meta":183,"metaImage":160,"navigation":79,"path":184,"seo":185,"stem":186,"venue":58,"venueUrl":56,"__hash__":187},"reports\u002Freports\u002Fopen-source-deceptive-power-or-collective-governance.md","Open Source: Deceptive Power or Collective Governance?",[12],"vlad",{"type":14,"value":15,"toc":172},"minimark",[16,20,48,51,72,101,116,125,133,154,163],[17,18,19],"p",{},"In October 2024, it emerged that WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg has extensive power over the entire WordPress\necosystem, which 43% of all websites on the internet run on. When he exercised this power by seizing control of code\nthat runs on tens of thousands of websites, the WordPress community realised that it was not in control of the software\nit was using, despite this software being Open Source. And many people were very upset!",[17,21,22,23,30,31,36,37,30,42,47],{},"This topic has received a lot of ",[24,25,29],"a",{"href":26,"rel":27},"https:\u002F\u002Ftechcrunch.com\u002F2025\u002F01\u002F12\u002Fwordpress-vs-wp-engine-drama-explained\u002F",[28],"nofollow","media"," ",[24,32,35],{"href":33,"rel":34},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theverge.com\u002F2024\u002F9\u002F27\u002F24256361\u002Fwordpress-wp-engine-drama-explained-matt-mullenweg",[28],"coverage",", as well as two ",[24,38,41],{"href":39,"rel":40},"https:\u002F\u002Fopenpath.quest\u002F2024\u002Fa-tale-of-two-leaders\u002F",[28],"thoughtful",[24,43,46],{"href":44,"rel":45},"https:\u002F\u002Fopenpath.quest\u002F2024\u002Fleadership-and-power-in-open-source\u002F",[28],"analyses"," from my\nfriend Chad Whitacre.",[17,49,50],{},"But I wanted to answer a very specific question. Can Open Source norms protect us from this kind of deceptive\ncentralised power? Or do we need a different set of norms to ensure that we can collectively govern our software?",[17,52,53,54,59,60,65,66,71],{},"I gave my answer in a 10-minute talk at ",[24,55,58],{"href":56,"rel":57},"https:\u002F\u002Faltctrl.org\u002F",[28],"AltCtrlOrg",", a side conference to ",[24,61,64],{"href":62,"rel":63},"https:\u002F\u002Feurope.wordcamp.org\u002F2025\u002F",[28],"WordCamp",", in my\nlovely former home of ",[24,67,70],{"href":68,"rel":69},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FBasel",[28],"Basel, Switzerland",". You can watch my talk below.",[73,74,75,76,75,93],"figure",{},"\n\t",[77,78,82,83,88,89,92],"video",{"controls":79,"width":80,"poster":81},true,980,"https:\u002F\u002Fvlad.website\u002Fstatic\u002Fopen-source-deceptive-power-or-collective-governance.webp","\n\t\t",[84,85],"source",{"type":86,"src":87},"video\u002Fmp4","https:\u002F\u002Fvlad.website\u002Fstatic\u002Fopen-source-deceptive-power-or-collective-governance.mp4","\n\t\tDownload the ",[24,90,91],{"href":87},"mp4 video",".\n\t",[94,95,96,97,75],"figcaption",{},"\n\t\tOr watch on ",[24,98,100],{"href":99},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FYoAWGLuXfXI","YouTube",[17,102,103,104,109,110,115],{},"Almost immediately after my talk, a group of WordPress community leaders including ",[24,105,108],{"href":106,"rel":107},"https:\u002F\u002Fjoost.blog",[28],"Joost de Valk"," got together\nto announce and launch ",[24,111,114],{"href":112,"rel":113},"https:\u002F\u002Ffair.pm",[28],"FAIR"," — a package manager that provides direct answers to almost every one of my points. I'm\noptimistic that FAIR will pave the way for collective governance in the WordPress community, and I believe that the\nWordPress leadership team is also receptive to these ideas.",[17,117,118,119,124],{},"The ",[24,120,123],{"href":121,"rel":122},"https:\u002F\u002Fopensourcepledge.com",[28],"Open Source Pledge",", an initiative I work on that aims to get companies to pay the Open Source maintainers\nthey depend on, is so important in these kinds of situations. Community initiatives, combining innovative technology and\nforward-thinking governance, sometimes pop up — but without funding, it's difficult for them to survive.",[17,126,127,128],{},"Companies that depend on ecosystems such as WordPress should help these ecosystems flourish, by financially supporting\nthe most promising initiatives. I hope FAIR will be successful and inspire a movement of collective governance and\ndistributed funding. ",[129,130],"span",{"className":131},[132],"ender",[134,135,75,138,75,145,75,150],"div",{"className":136},[137],"page-items",[24,139,144],{"className":140,"href":143},[141,142],"button","button--arrow","https:\u002F\u002Faltctrl.org\u002Fschedule\u002F","\n\t\tSee talk info\n\t",[24,146,149],{"className":147,"href":148},[141,142],"https:\u002F\u002Fvlad.website\u002Fstatic\u002Fopen-source-deceptive-power-or-collective-governance.pdf","\n\t\tSee slides\n\t",[24,151,153],{"className":152,"href":121},[141,142],"\n\t\tMore on the Open Source Pledge\n\t",[73,155,75,157],{"style":156},"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;",[158,159],"img",{"src":160,"alt":161,"loading":162},"https:\u002F\u002Fvlad.website\u002Fstatic\u002FAltCtrOrg-Event-115@1000px.webp","Me speaking in front of a crowd of seated people at AltCtrlOrg","lazy",[73,164,75,165,75,169],{"style":156},[158,166],{"src":167,"alt":168,"loading":162},"https:\u002F\u002Fvlad.website\u002Fstatic\u002FAltCtrOrg-Event-46@1000px.webp","Me taking a selfie with my AltCtrlOrg badge",[94,170,171],{},"Thanks to Kostas Fryganiotis for these photos.",{"title":173,"searchDepth":174,"depth":174,"links":175},"",2,[],"https:\u002F\u002Fvlad.website\u002Fopen-source-deceptive-power-or-collective-governance\u002F","vlad.website","governance","2025-06-06","md",false,null,{},"\u002Freports\u002Fopen-source-deceptive-power-or-collective-governance",{"title":10,"description":19},"reports\u002Fopen-source-deceptive-power-or-collective-governance","Hz0PQDcERdJ8FxF6WZFux9GX1aBttMitR1wFAUMQYmg",1780596102871]