Linux Foundation Tries To Play Peacemaker In Ongoing WordPress Scuffle

The Register's Thomas Claburn reports: The Linux Foundation on Friday introduced a new method to distribute WordPress updates and plugins that's not controlled by any one party, in a bid to 'stabilize the WordPress ecosystem' after months of infighting. The FAIR Package Manager project is a response to the legal brawl that erupted last year, pitting WordPress co-creator Matthew Mullenweg, his for-profit hosting firm Automattic, and the WordPress Foundation that he controls, against WP Engine, a rival commercial WordPress hosting firm.

The Linux Foundation says the FAIR Package Manager, a mechanism for distributing open-source WordPress plugins, 'eliminates reliance on any single source for core updates, plugins, themes, and more, unites a fragmented ecosystem by bringing together plugins from any source, and builds security into the supply chain.' In other words, it can't be weaponized against the WordPress community because it won't be controlled by any one entity. 'The FAIR Package Manager project paves the way for the stability and growth of open source content management, giving contributors and businesses additional options governed by a neutral community,' said Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of the Linux Foundation, in a canned press statement. 'We look forward to the growth in community and contributions this important project attracts.'

The FAIR Package Manager repo explains the software's purpose more succinctly. The software 'is a decentralized alternative to the central WordPress.org plugin and theme ecosystem, designed to return control to WordPress hosts and developers. It operates as a drop-in WordPress plugin, seamlessly replacing existing centralized services with a federated, open-source infrastructure.' In addition to providing some measure of stability, the Linux Foundation sees the FAIR Package Manager as advancing WordPress' alignment with Europe's General Data Protection Regulation by reducing automatic browser data transmission and telemetry sent to commercial entities, while also supporting modern security practices and strengthening the open source software supply chain.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.