Automattic cloned WP Engine’s paid ACF Premium plugin and is distributing it free of charge. Many within the WordPress group disapprove of this motion, expressing issues that it undermines the plugin and theme ecosystem.
Superior Customized Fields Plugin
Superior Customized Fields (ACF) is a WordPress plugin that’s in style with WordPress web site builders as a result of it permits them to create {custom} fields that WordPress publishers and authors can use.
Customized fields permits builders to take full management of the enhancing screens so as to add issues like a kind for constructing structured knowledge particular for a type of WordPress web page like Schema.org markup for ecommerce, information, authorized or medical context. A {custom} subject can be utilized to offer article authors a spot to enter the writer title or a featured quote.
Web site builders and use ACF to allow authors so as to add writer bios, featured quotes, or article metadata like publication date, modification knowledge or hyperlinks to sources. For instance, a subject for a featured quote can be utilized in order that authors can enter what the featured quote says and it’ll seem within the article utilizing all of the predefined styling. All of the writer must do is fill within the kind and hit the submit button.
ACF was developed by an organization named Scrumptious Brains which was acquired by WP Engine in 2022 which assumed accountability for creating and updating the free and premium variations.
WordPress Freemium Ecosystem
ACF is in style as a result of it constructed belief and authoritativeness as a stable plugin via the usage of the freemium WordPress enterprise mannequin. Plugin and theme builders use the freemium enterprise mannequin to supply a free model of their software program and a premium model that gives extra performance. Providing a extremely purposeful and helpful free model will increase the recognition and goodwill of a plugin or theme with primary customers and the extra superior customers are in a position to strive the performance of the free model then select the premium model for the extra options. It may possibly take years to construct that goodwill, belief and authoritativeness with customers.
The builders of plugins like Yoast and Wordfence spend 1000’s of hours creating and selling their free plugins, that are then put in on tens of millions of internet sites. They put all that effort into the free variations to upsell their premium merchandise.
Timeline: Automattic Forks ACF
Within the context of WordPress plugins and themes, the time period “forking” refers back to the creation of an unbiased model of an present WordPress plugin or theme utilizing the supply code of the unique model to create a distinct model. Forking is made attainable with open supply licenses. All plugins and themes which are derivatives of WordPress should be developed with an open supply license.
Forking of a theme or plugin generally occurs when a developer abandons their undertaking and an occasion decides to proceed creating their model of the software program, a “forked” model of the unique.
October 3, 2024 Automattic Releases Impartial Updates
Automattic locked ACF plugin out of the WordPress.org servers, stopping ACF prospects from updating their variations of the plugin immediately from WordPress.org servers, forcing WP Engine to create a workaround on October third.
WP Engine introduced:
“On October 3, we launched new variations of our broadly used plugins, that includes unbiased replace capabilities and updates delivered immediately from WP Engine.
Whereas WP Engine and Flywheel prospects are already protected by the WP Engine replace system and don’t must take any motion, group members are inspired to obtain these variations of our free, open-source plugins and updates immediately from the ACF and NitroPack web sites to make sure they obtain updates immediately from us.
For those who’re working v6.3.2 or earlier of ACF, or have been forcibly switched to “Safe Customized Fields” with out your consent, you may set up ACF 6.3.8 immediately from the ACF web site, or comply with these directions to repair the problem.
These efforts help our prospects and plugin customers and search to guard the group at massive.”
Screenshot Of ACF Plugin Changelog Exhibiting Lockout Workaround
On October fifth Automattic notified WP Engine of a vulnerability within the ACF plugin and introduced it on a now deleted put up on X (previously Twitter).
Screenshot Of Put up On X By Automattic
October seventh: WP Engine Fixes ACF Vulnerability
On October seventh, WP Engine mounted the plugin vulnerability, as famous of their changelog.
Screenshot Of ACF Changelog About Safety Patch
October 12, 2024: Automattic Forks ACF
However then, on October twelfth, Automattic forked WP Engine’s ACF plugin, renaming it Safe Customized Types (SCF) and changed the ACF plugin within the official WordPress plugin respository with their fork, utilizing the identical URL previously utilized by the ACF plugin. Matt Mullenweg posted an announcement on WordPress.org citing safety issues as the explanation for forking ACF however later within the announcement additionally citing WP Engine’s lawsuit in search of reduction from Mullenweg’s actions.
Mullenweg wrote:
“On behalf of the WordPress safety group, I’m saying that we’re invoking level 18 of the plugin listing tips and are forking Superior Customized Fields (ACF) into a brand new plugin, Safe Customized Fields. SCF has been up to date to take away business upsells and repair a safety drawback.
…It is a uncommon and weird scenario introduced on by WP Engine’s authorized assaults, we don’t anticipate this taking place for different plugins.”
Automattic Forks Premium Model Of ACF
Social media was buzzing over the weekend as a result of it was seen {that a} new model of ACF was printed on WordPress.org utilizing a brand new URL (/secure-custom-fields/), marked as a beta model. David McCan of WebTNG downloaded the plugin, took a take a look at the code and confirmed that the brand new model is a fork of the paid model of ACF. He notes that the WP Engine copyright info was eliminated, remarking which may be an issue. He additionally famous that the code that checks for whether or not the software program is paid for and licensed has additionally been eliminated.
Viewing the code, he says:
“We go to the model for safe {custom} fields. You see the file title remains to be the identical ACF dot PHP, However this one. The header info says safe {custom} fields. It says the writer is wordpress.org. There is no such thing as a copyright discover in right here of WP engines code, which might be an issue.
So by eradicating the license test and replace from WP engine, this looks like a basic case of an outdated plugin which is now being hosted within the WordPress plugin listing. So I’m questioning if that is even a authorized fork. I’m not an professional in software program licensing legislation, however my understanding is you might want to protect the unique copyright notices whenever you fork a plug in. It’s one of many necessities.”
Developer Response In Fb Group
Whether or not or not whether or not making the professional model of the plugin freely out there for obtain is authorized is one thing for the courts to resolve. What Automattic could not have thought of is that there’s an impression to opponents like Meta Field Professional, who supply the same performance to ACF. Present customers of Meta Field Professional could also be incentivized to not renew their present license as a result of they will now get comparable premium options free of charge from WordPress.org.
Somebody posted this concern within the non-public Dynamic WordPress group (posted right here, group membership required to view), writing that that they had bought a lifetime license ($699) for Meta Field previous to Mullenweg’s dispute with WP Engine. They wrote that they really feel like they made a mistake for buying a license for Meta Field, noting that they don’t agree with “stealing” ACF and expressed that it will trigger Meta Field to lose customers. A yearly subscription to Meta Field begins at $149/12 months.
One of many Fb group members remarked that no, they didn’t make a nasty determination by buying a license for Meta Field, saying that Matt Mullenweg was the one which made the poor determination. One other group member expressed that he regarded Mullenweg as an unreliable steward of the ACF fork and wouldn’t belief his fork, ACF, on any of the web sites he develops.
Different builders agreed that SCF will not be reliable sufficient to be used on a dwell web site, noting that many websites are having points with the Safe Customized Fields. Another person famous that this may increasingly finish poorly for Meta Field inside a 12 months from now as SCF turns into extra secure. Some members mentioned they’re glad to have Meta Field and are glad to be uninvolved with the WordPress versus WP Engine drama.
Response On WordPress Subreddit
The response from the WordPress group on Reddit was equally disapproving.
Members of the WordPress subreddit expressed disapproval, no one was celebrating Mullenweg’s transfer.
One member posted:
“It’s loopy as a result of they actually are suing another person for internet hosting nulled plugins, and that man had his financial institution accounts frozen. They’re doing the identical factor now over at WordPress.”
Another person shared:
“Oh wow, so that is truly Matt placing the premium/professional model of ACF with all of it’s options which are usually behind their paywall, up for individuals to obtain and use free of charge on wordpress.org whereas calling it Safe Customized Types Professional or no matter, utterly out of spite?
That is worse than I assumed it was from simply seeing the title of this thread, a lot worse.”
One other put up that’s consultant of how individuals really feel about WordPress.org distributing a premium plugin free of charge:
“If he needed to shoot WordPress within the different foot, this was the proper transfer.”
Whether or not this transfer will impression ACF’s opponents and the higher premium WordPress ecosystem stays to be seen. One factor is definite: most individuals on social media seem to disapprove of Matt Mullenweg forking a premium WordPress plugin, and, authorized or not, it’s perceived as crossing a line usually related to software program piracy.
Watch David McCan examine the code:
Featured Picture by Shutterstock/LoveHex