Bullenweg.com is no longer available following threats of legal action

Posted by odo1242 10/26/2024

Bullenweg.com is no longer available following threats of legal action(bullenweg.com)

119 points | 35 comments

eriri 10/26/2024|

So this site was a simple timeline of the actions Matt Mullenweg took regarding the recent mess. It makes it clear what kind of deal people are getting into by using WordPress, which is crucial considering that half the internet depends on it. There's no excuse for threatening to doxx the author for this, and it's ironic considering that Mullenweg himself has accused others of stepping on his free speech rights, according to his own blog.

> 2024-10-20

> Matt accuses WP Engine of attempting to curtail his First Amendment rights

https://archive.md/IyFla

bongodongobob 10/26/2024|

It sad that so many people don't understand the 1st amendment. No business can curtail your first amendment rights because they are not the government. And no, twitter, Facebook, etc are not so big that it involves free speech. They aren't the government, period.

JumpCrisscross 10/26/2024|||

> sad that so many people don't understand the 1st amendment

Yup. Private parties can curtail your right to free speech. But not your rights under the First Amendment.

bongodongobob 10/26/2024||

Not really. You don't have a right to post things on Twitter or shout at people in Wendy's. A twitter moderator or a Wendy's manager isn't the government and you have no expectation of freedom of speech or expression in either of those scenarios. I get what you're saying, but it's not technically correct.

JumpCrisscross 10/26/2024||

> you have no expectation of freedom of speech or expression in either of those scenarios

One, this is obviously debated.

Two, expectations don’t define rights. I have no expectation of freedom of political expression in North Korea.

> it's not technically correct

It absolutely is. If you’re over at my house and I tell you to stop talking about something, that’s curtailing your free speech. Freedom of speech is a millennias-old concept. So is freedom of assembly. The latter restricts the former, fundamentally, as it implies a right not to listen.

What constitutes a freedom per se is separate from the “inalienable” right. That “natural” right, in turn, is different from the legal right.

bongodongobob 10/27/2024||

That's just talking. Freedom of speech is a different thing. I'm not here to argue semantics.

JumpCrisscross 10/27/2024|||

> That's just talking. Freedom of speech is a different thing

It’s really not. Our modern conception of freedom of speech derives from English Parliamentary privileges. (See Coke and Erasmus.)

Those, in turn, derived from Athenian democratic principles, where “just talking” was the system of government. In the most technical of senses, you are incorrect on what freedom of speech and the right to free speech mean. (Which are, again, distinct from both one another and legal protections of free speech, including the First Amendment.)

LudwigNagasena 10/26/2024||||

Can you elaborate? What does that have to do with the situation at hand?

4hg4ufxhy 10/26/2024|||

But the government can tell a business to do it, like twitter used to do in 2020.

ceejayoz 10/26/2024||

The government can ask.

Twitter frequently turned them down.

Sebguer 10/26/2024||

[flagged]

pluc 10/26/2024||

From bullenweg's repo (https://github.com/bullenweg/bullenweg.github.io/commits/mai...):

* [The Mullenweg/WPE Thing by @adrienne](https://gist.github.com/adrienne/aea9dd7ca19c8985157d9c42f7f...)

* [Mullenweg.wtf](https://mullenweg.wtf)

* [The Mattrix Derailed / mattrixderailed.com](https://mattrixderailed.com/)

* [Matt Engine / mattengine.com](https://mattengine.com/)

* [WordPress vs. WP Engine Dispute Timeline / wpvswpe.report](https://wpvswpe.report/)

* [AntiMATTic / antimattic.net](https://antimattic.net/)

* [WP Engine's timeline of events / wpengine.com](https://wpengine.com/blog/ensuring-stability-and-security/)

And let's not forget this little gem: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41821336#41821837

itcrowd 10/26/2024||

My impression is that Bullenweg.com initially provided a timeline of events but took on a progressively more active stance as events unfolded.

This culminated in a made-up addition to the timeline entitled "Matt announces acquisition of Bullenweg.com" complete with a "quote" from Matt (there is a footnote within it mentioning it is fake).

This seems to have been the last straw to the lawyers representing Matt to step in and threaten a libel suit (or similar). The result is Bullenweg.com folding (for now) since this could get real expensive real quick.

The above is my interpretation of the events - I have no further inside insights.

eriri 10/26/2024||

It still was a timeline of events. A single joke, clearly mentioned as such, does nothing to change that.

Furthermore, the doxxing threat obviously wasn't made by lawyers. The style of writing has Matt Mullenweg written all over it.

ceejayoz 10/26/2024||

Parody is absolutely fair use, and it doesn’t have to be footnoted even. This is how The Onion survives.

boomboomsubban 10/26/2024||

The site as of yesterday https://archive.is/FU6Zd

gurjeet 10/26/2024|

Latest Internet Archive link; may be slightly dated, because of IA's recent troubles due to the attack.

https://web.archive.org/web/20241008203501/https://bullenweg...

notamy 10/26/2024||

The previous commits/content of the site on GitHub seem to still be available: https://github.com/bullenweg/bullenweg.github.io/blob/772956...

rob 10/26/2024||

Matt on HN 14 days ago:

> It actually is an excellent website, and the repo is here: https://github.com/bullenweg/bullenweg.github.io

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41821837

tptacek 10/26/2024|

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41958198

angoragoats 10/26/2024||

I hadn’t heard of this site before today, but clicking through to the archive link allowed me to learn about many more of the shitty things that Matt has done, which I’d likely be unaware of otherwise.

Matt, I think this is a great example of the Streisand effect! Please seek help for yourself.

vr46 10/26/2024||

Is MulletWig.com available?

Asking for a friend

curiousgal 10/26/2024|

Said it before and I will say it again, this boy is the epitome of SDE. I am so glad I never touched WP even with a stick. Hopefully this will spark interest in static sites generators.

kylecazar 10/26/2024||

I've tried to look up SDE and can't find anything?

ceejayoz 10/26/2024||

Small dick energy.

gitaarik 10/27/2024||

I touched it once with a stick, when a friend asked me to fix an issue on her personal website. I feel very dirty now.

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