> it feels a bit like a shake-down
It is a shake down. And the problem with negotiating with people like this is that it never stops.
There will never be enough contributions and money.
It is a shake down. And the problem with negotiating with people like this is that it never stops.
There will never be enough contributions and money.
By contrast, this doesn't make WPE look good:
WP Engine had been siphoning “tens of millions” of dollars away from Woo’s revenue share partnership with Stripe into its own coffers. It’s understood WP Engine has been swapping out WooCommerce’s Stripe Connect Account information for its own when a user installs WooCommerce.
That's the sort of thing that, if a proven problem, could seem less like a shakedown and more like active wire fraud.
EDIT: As replies note, GPL. OK, but I realize I grew up thinking if someone gives me software it isn't to rip out their revenue model and replace it with mine, it is for me to do my own value added thing with it. Meaning, the stealth edit might not be wrong, but still seems uncool.
WooCommerce is an open source, GPL project which allows people to modify the code in any way, including changing Stripe details, provided that they comply with the terms of the license.
Licenses are a fundamental part of open source precisely so that in situations like this everyone knows the rules of the game.
This is explicitly the sort of thing that WP Engine would be allowed to do, and if Automattic isn't happy about this then perhaps they should have chosen non-free licenses.
Basically: "wire fraud" is an extremely overblown claim. Nothing criminal is happening here, because they're complying with the license. Is it ethical? Debatable.
Matt cannot stand competition, that's all.