It's a bit of Automattic history, but despite founding the company in June 2005, CNET asked me to hold on for a few more months to tie up some projects, which I did. Our HR systems note me as the second employee, after Donncha O Caoimh (still with the company!) So today marks my 20th anniversary at Automattic! It's been 20 years since I began working on Akismet, our premiere product, and on WordPress.com.
The team gave me a heartwarming surprise! I've been supporting the open web for 20 years, and hope to continue for at least another 20. There's a lot of thrilling behind-the-scenes action happening within Automattic that also made this day unique, but one notable thing is public.
Automattic has finally received its first opportunity to submit its counterclaims, outlining the unprofessional actions of WP Engine and Silver Lake, as covered here by TechCrunch. You might remember that last month, the court dismissed several of their most serious accusations, and they answered by filing an amended complaint. In our unwavering defense of the free, open, and thriving WordPress ecosystem, Automattic responded today with a thorough counter-filing, which you can examine in a 162-page PDF here about all the transgressions WP Engine/Heather Brunner and Silver Lake committed.
We've got proofs!
I don't believe WP Engine employees or stakeholders were aware of the manipulation they conducted, hopefully some of this brings light to it. And there's a lot more discovery to behold!