Matt Mullenweg declares 'I'm in control of Automattic' after board ouster
Matt Mullenweg tells Automattic staff in Slack he's back in control after ouster
Days after Automattic's board voted to oust Matt Mullenweg as CEO and put him on paid leave, the WordPress founder announced on Slack that the board is 'back in agreement' and he is in control again. Interim CEO Mark Davies' Slack account was deactivated. The board has not confirmed the reversal, leaving staff unsure whether Mullenweg is trolling or genuinely back in charge.
Howdy everybody! Happy to announce the board is back in agreement, and I'm in control of Automattic. A lot happened in the past 48 hours that we need to sort out, and I hope much of it was a misunderstanding, because I have huge respect and regard for those involved.
- legitster
> WordPress founder and a key advocate for the open source community
This should probably say self appointed advocate. He really hasn't advocated for much beyond collecting payments to Automattic.
- autophagian
Has very little to do with the current brou-ha-ha, but I just realised its “Automattic” because his name is “Matt”. It’s like a veil over the world has been lifted.
- ebilgenius
> Mullenweg responded to our inquiry, saying a blog post is forthcoming. When it dropped, it was about him buying a houseboat.
- JonAtkinson
This must be exhausting for the Automattic staff who just want to get on with their jobs.
- throwawaymatt
Just when we (the WP community) thought things were settling down and cooler heads might be prevailing... this happens. Uhg, not great for someone who has invested over 15 years into building with WP and does (paid) business with an Automattic company.
- keane
There’s an old saying in Tennessee (I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee) that says “never strike a king unless you are sure you shall defeat him”. Bust in, guns in hand, and now find they’ve turned to sausages. (A tale as old as time.)
- ttul
Most surprising in this article is the vibrant HDR magenta circle on Matt’s Twitter.
- minimaxir
Discussion on the ouster: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49636283