To Log In To WordPress, You Must Agree Pineapple On Pizza Is Good

WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg is trolling contributors and users of the WordPress open-source project by requiring them to check a box that says “Pineapple is delicious on pizza. “

The change was spotted by WordPress contributors on Sunday, and until Monday morning. Attempting to log in or create a new account without checking the box returns a “please try again” error.

Last week, as part of the ongoing legal battle between WP Engine and Automattic, the company that owns WordPress.com, ordered by a judge Mullenweg to remove a controversial login checkbox from WordPress.org requiring users to pledge that they are not affiliated with WP Engine before logging in.

After that order, Mullenweg asked the administrators for the Post Status community Slack — which is run by contributors to the open-source project on WordPress.org — to delete his Slack account, and his username was changed in “nothing 💀.” But he left parting words for the community: “It’s hard to imagine wanting to continue working on WordPress after this,” he writes in Slack messages viewed by 404 Media. “I am hurt and disgusted to be legally forced to provide free work to an organization as parasitic and exploitative (sic) as WP Engine. I hope you all get what you and WP Engine want.”

Mullenweg echoed the public sentiment on Friday: “I am outraged and offended by the legal compulsion to provide free work and services to @wpengine, a dangerous example that should chill every open source maintainer,” he wrote of X. “While I do not agree with the court’s decision, I fully comply with its order. You can see most of the changes on the site. They have access to the ACF slug but it is not changed… it would not have been an emergency which they admit.

When I first saw the screenshot of the pineapple-on-pizza checkbox screenshot circulating the X among WordPress contributors, I thought it was a joke, or an edited image. Megan, former WordPress contributor who recently quit due to uncertainty and instability around the community, told me he was thinking the same thing. “When I first saw it, I thought my friend was trolling me but yes it was there and had a value attribute filled in, which left me suspecting that he was using it as a proxy for the previous field,” he told me. “Because everyone knows what was there before; this new field is also necessary. I feel that he violated the court order, but of course I’m not a lawyer.”

But it is true. Francesca Marano, Head of Partnerships at Patchstack and a WordPress contributor for 10 years, told me that this is “neither the time nor the place” for pineapple-on-pizza jokes. “WordPress is the most used CMS on the web, and we have a responsibility to act like professionals. It’s sad to see an OSS project that thousands of people have contributed to over 21 years of practice that’s more appropriate for a kindergarten,” he said. “Over the years, plugin and theme authors, contributors, and users have been asking for more features. However, ideas often go nowhere because there are not enough resources or there is no consensus. But it’s ok to put a checkbox just for fun for a few hours.” With Trac, which tracks WordPress project changes, Marano points to that the change is visible and anyone who sees it is done late on Sunday.

“Most people check it out and access their .org profile to ask or answer forum questions, update their plugin or theme, etc. But what about those who don’t and have their product in the repository? It’s not only embarrassing, but it’s also a security risk,” Marano said. “Where are the adults in the room?”

The Repository, an independent media outlet covering WordPress, reported last week that a group of WordPress contributors issued an open letter titled “Dear WordPress community: We stand with you.” In it, the contributors “raised objections about governance, transparency, and decision-making processes,” the Repository wrote. “They highlighted concerns about ‘double standards,’ including Mullenweg’s lack of accountability under the project’s Code of Conduct and the direct employment of Automattic’s executive director.”

Following the preliminary injunction order, CEO of WordPress VIP Nick Gernert wrote on the company’s blog that Automattic is focused on “keeping WordPress strong and forward-thinking.”

“We want to assure you that there will be no change in the level of service you receive from WordPress VIP,” Gernert wrote. He didn’t address in the blog why there was a change or what happened that warranted an inspiring blog post to begin with. “Our platform continues to deliver the exceptional security, stability, and performance your business relies on. We’re here to ensure your operations continue uninterrupted.”

Automattic and Mullenweg did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

About the author

Sam Cole writes from the far side of the internet, about sexuality, the adult industry, online culture, and AI. He is the author of How Sex Changed the Internet and the Internet Changed Sex.