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The Automattic-WP Engine dispute takes an ironic turn with the publication of a protest site on a new WP Engine Tracker domain
In an ironic twist to the ongoing dispute between Automattic and WP Engine, a newly published website on WPEngineTracker.com is displaying a protest message against CEO Matt Mullenweg.
Copycat Domain Name Registered
Someone registered the domain name WPEngineTracker.com using the words that Automattic’s WordPressEngineTracker.com domain uses to describe itself (WP Engine Tracker) . If people who are looking for Automattic’s WP Engine Tracker domain navigate to WPEngine.com they will land on the variant website which is currently publishing a protest message against Matt Mullenweg.
Screenshot of Typosquat Domain
The above domain name was only registered a few days ago on November 7th. The Internet being what it is, it was arguable inevitable that someone would register the typosquat domain name variant.
Registration Of Domain Announced On GitHub
Someone posted a comment in the official WordPressEngineTracker.com GitHub repository to announce that they registered the domain name variant. The post was met with approval as evidenced by the 15 likes and 18 laughing emojis it received.
Screenshot Of Announcement In GitHub Repository
Domain Registration Announced On Reddit
The person who made the announcement on GitHub appears to have posted a discussion on the WordPress subreddit announcing that they have registered the domain name variant. The Reddit member who made the announcement is a 16 year member.
They posted:
“I found it odd that Matt registered wordpressenginetracker.com when the thingamajig isn’t called “WordPress Engine Tracker” – it’s “WP Engine Tracker”
Thought I should try to be helpful so I bought https://wpenginetracker.com”
That post was also met with positive reactions, receiving 138 upvotes three days later.
Matt Mullenweg’s Dispute With WPEngine
Disputes can appear different depending on who is telling the story. Automattic’s recent motion to dismiss WP Engine’s lawsuit offers details from its side, providing insight into the situation. Despite multiple opportunities to share its perspective, Automattic has received limited approval from WordPress users on social media. The registration of the WP Engine Tracker domain name variant could be said to be a manifestation of that negative sentiment toward Automattic and Mullenweg.
Featured Image by Shutterstock/Vulp
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