After the court issued a preliminary injunction in favor of WP Engine, Automattic has begun complying with the orders. The mandatory login checkbox in WordPress.org website has been removed, and the WP Engine Tracker website has been updated, including removing the controversial domains.csv files.
The mandatory login check box in WordPress.org, introduced in October this year after WP Engine filed a lawsuit against Automattic and Matt Mullenweg, required users to confirm: “I am not affiliated with WP Engine in any way, financially or otherwise,” before accessing their accounts.
This checkbox has now been removed.
Last month, Automattic launched the “WP Engine Tracker” to monitor websites leaving WP Engine. The site provided a downloadable CSV file listing sites hosted on WP Engine, labeled as “sites ready for a new home.” Following the court’s decision, the link to the CSV file returned a 404 error and was later removed entirely.
The links promoting migration offers from other hosting providers have also been taken down from the site.
Secure Custom Fields plugin (https://wordpress.org/plugins/advanced-custom-fields/), which is the fork of the ACF plugin, however, is still available in the Repository.
Meanwhile, Nick Gernert, WordPress VIP CEO, shared this: “As ever, Automattic continues to do what’s best for WordPress, the open source community, and everyone who depends on it… We stand committed to preserving open source and the collaborative spirit that it embodies—it’s what drives innovation and helps businesses like yours thrive. What’s most important to know is that Automattic’s focus is on keeping WordPress strong and forward-thinking.”
