Looking at the WordPress ecosystem as feudal in nature
We have no entitlement to WordPress The first thing to get out of the way, before descending into feudalism, is that we have no entitlement to WordPress. Three forces may combine to give people a sense of entitlement, but the truth is something different. The three forces The three forces are the GPL, longevity, and community: Force 1 – the GPL: Anyone who gets their hands on a copy of WordPress can do whatever they want with it as long as they comply with the terms of the GPL (and don’t do anything that, properly construed, infringes the WordPress trademarks). They can turn features off and on, host it as a SaaS offering, fork it, etc. That’s the beauty of the GPL. Force 2 – longevity: When people have been using WordPress for so long, and with so many free benefits, it’s natural perhaps to develop a feeling of ‘WordPress will always be there when I want it’. For theme and plugin developers and WordPress hosts, that includes access to WordPress.org, despite the fact that …