Crazy that Automattic only makes 4,843,750 a year (and donates 8% to the PHP foundation).

Automattic has annual revenue of over $700m where did you get that number from?

Ah, sorry, I assumed they contributed 8% to PHP just like they've asked WP Engine to contribute 8% (of their revenue) to them.

They are referring to the dispute between Matt Mullenweg / Automattic vs WP Engine.

Mullenweg has been demanding 8% of WP Engine’s revenue, access to their books, and the ability to direct their staff on what to work on. For context, Mullenweg is maintainer of WordPress and WordPress.org, and CEO of WP Engine’s direct competitor, Automattic. The dispute has turned very nasty and included a lot of unhinged behaviour from Mullenweg. WP Engine is currently suing him for a bunch of things, including extortion.

davidandgoliath is basically saying that if Mullenweg thinks he is owed 8% of WP Engine’s revenue, presumably Mullenweg is donating 8% of Automattic’s revenue to the PHP Foundation, making their revenue only ~$5MM/yr. Obviously Automatic’s revenues are vastly higher than that and this is just a tongue in cheek way of pointing out hypocrisy.

"had annual revenue" at this rate given their legal troubles

Revenue is not profit.

While the 8% is probably a dig, the donation of .06% of revenue is going to be a much higher proportion of profits. No idea what their profits or margins are (a quick search does not provide useful info)

They should consider asking Automattic & some of the other companies building on Matrix to contribute 8% of their revenue first.

You can trust that if there's anything obvious we should be doing, we are already doing it :) And I'm pleased to report that Automattic is one of our biggest sponsors.

The parent's "8%" is likely referring to the amount of revenue that Automattic is demanding from WP Engine:

https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/12/wordpress-vs-wp-engine-dra...

I do think it's worth noting Automattic has raised ~$984M (via PE/other investors), whereas WP Engine has raised far less & is somehow doing far better with less headcount.

What's really telling is ~9 of Automattic's 46 own investments were inside the WordPress ecosystem, vs. 100% of WP Engine's. Things like Beeper for $124M in April of 2024 just seem awkward in light of the recent complaints about WP Engine not doing enough.

Disheartening actions by a petulant child.

You're giving him too much credit.

Gets even more wild when you consider Automattic invested in WP Engine's Series A in 2011, despite all this insidious trademark abuse commencing in 2010.

No chance this is personal.

What an absolute non-issue. Take a peek at 555 King Rd., 445 King Rd or the other nearby mansions. Good luck Mr. Prince, enjoy your new house (and that what looks to be a kickass ski mountain behind it).

TIL, I didn't even realize it was the same Cliff Stoll! I've bought a few :)

Little amusing that everyone speaking in the video was in front of a green screen, and not actually in the office, no?

Driving is very optional. Guns are very optional. We have both, so, we should also consider responsible adults worthy of choosing to use/not use substances.

Maybe for you driving is optional, though I wander how food gets to your store, but for a large number of people is a necessity.

Can I also claim that taking LSD is a necessity for me to have my well being?

Who decides what is a necessity and what is not? I would say that the harm rate could be a good indicator what a society should tolerate and anything that is less harmful what is tolerated should be legal.