WordPress.org’s latest move involves taking control of a WP Engine plugin

WordPress.org has introduced a fork of a celebrated WP Engine plugin successful bid “to region commercialized upsells and hole a information problem,” WordPress cofounder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg announced today. This “minimal” update of the Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin is now called “Secure Custom Fields.”

It’s not clear what information problem Mullenweg is referring to successful the post. He writes that he’s “invoking constituent 18 of the plugin directory guidelines,” in which the WordPress squad reserves respective rights, including removing a plugin, aliases changing it “without developer consent.” Mullenweg explains that the move has to do pinch WP Engine’s recently-filed lawsuit against him and Automattic.

WP Engine’s ACF squad claimed connected X that WordPress has ne'er “unilaterally and forcibly” taken a plugin “from its creator without consent.” It later wrote that those who aren’t WP Engine, Flywheel, aliases ACF Pro customers will request to spell to the ACF tract and travel steps it published earlier to “perform a 1-time download of the genuine 6.3.8 version” to support getting updates.

As its sanction implies, the ACF plugin allows website creators to usage civilization fields erstwhile existing generic ones won’t do — thing ACF’s overview of the plugin says is already a native, but “not very personification friendly,” characteristic of WordPress.

The Verge has reached retired to Automattic, WordPress.org, and WP Engine for comment.