{"id":26810,"date":"2016-10-30T20:26:01","date_gmt":"2016-10-30T18:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mamchenkov.net\/wordpress\/?p=26810"},"modified":"2016-10-31T12:49:08","modified_gmt":"2016-10-31T10:49:08","slug":"gpl-matt-mullenweg-and-automattic-vs-wix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mamchenkov.net\/wordpress\/2016\/10\/30\/gpl-matt-mullenweg-and-automattic-vs-wix\/","title":{"rendered":"GPL : Matt Mullenweg and Automattic vs. Wix"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The General Public License<\/a> (GPL) has been the source of many discussions since it was created in 1989 (with a few versions in following years) and applied to numerous Open Source Software projects.<\/p>\n

Currently, there is one more such discussion going on. \u00a0It was kicked off<\/a> by Matt Mullenweg<\/a>, the founder and CEO of Automattic<\/a>, the company behind WordPress<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Anyone who knows me knows that I like to try new things \u2014 phones, gadgets, apps. Last week I downloaded the new Wix (closed, proprietary, non-open-sourced, non-GPL) mobile app<\/a>. I\u2019m always interested to see how others tackle the challenge of building and editing websites from a mobile device.<\/p>\n

I started playing around with the editor, and felt\u2026 d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu. It was familiar. Like I had used it before.<\/p>\n

Turns out I had. Because it\u2019s WordPress.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He proceeds with the open letter to Wix<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Dear Wix,<\/p>\n

This explicitly contravenes the GPL, which requires attribution and a corresponding GPL license on whatever you release publicly built on top of GPL code. The GPL is what has allowed WordPress to flourish, and that let us create this code. Your app\u2019s editor is built with stolen code, so your whole app is now in violation of the license.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What does Matt want Wix to do? \u00a0Very simple:<\/p>\n

Release your app under the GPL, and put the source code for your app up on GitHub so that we can all build on it, improve it, and learn from it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Did Wix respond? \u00a0Yes, they did. \u00a0First, one of their lead engineers, Tal Kol, wrote this blog post<\/a>. \u00a0I think it’s quite sensible and boils down to a misunderstanding. \u00a0Or so I read it:<\/p>\n

I apologize if I appeared to take credit for somebody else\u2019s work. This was definitely not my intention. I think you guys are doing a great job.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Second one<\/a> though is a bit less so, written by Wix CEO\u00a0Avishai Abrahami. \u00a0While trying to appear friendly and casual, it does dodge the whole issue of the GPL violation, misrepresents the facts on the branding, and ends with an awkward invitation for a coffee. \u00a0WP Garage<\/a> has a good summary of why this response is weak.<\/p>\n

Here are a few more resources with commentary that help to understand the issue:<\/p>\n