The-Source.com

Here’s a funny thing that some PR dude kept emailing me about: SBRForum, a gaming odds site, has odds out on the whole “WordPress vs. Thesis” thing:

Will the Free Software Foundation or any other group take DIY Themes to court for GPL licensing enforcement in 2010?
Yes 1/2
No 8/5

Will DIY Themes relent on its own and distribute the Thesis Theme/Frameword under a GPL license in 2010?
Yes 5/2
No 1/3

Will Chris Pearson personally sue Matt Mullenweg for lost revenues, slander or defamation in 2010?
Yes 3/2
No 4/7

There’s a few interesting issues about this bit:

1. Apparently there is some business to be made in contacting other bloggers to promote content, because this dude kept emailing me about this. That’s fine, because this is actually sort of interesting. Next time offer me a laptop or something, though, so I can be like the Microsoft bloggers.

2. Whoever wrote up the story summarizing the drama on the SBRForum did a damn good job. It’s hard to be sure – because anyone reading this probably has a technical background – but I think even a non-techie can follow the basics from the story.

3. People really will bet on anything, won’t they?

My Solution

If I were really vested in this issue and had money (and my last name was Mullenweg) this is what I would do: I’d just buy a copy of Thesis and then start distributing it. From the front page of WordPress. Hell, I’d make it the default theme, push it out as a “critical update”, and announce it all on video in a leotard with my face painted up like The Ultimate Warrior. (Don’t miss the “Warrior Fine Art Gallery”!)

For one thing, this has already moved past the “let’s handle this thing internally and like gentlemen.” After that stage, I’d move right to ”BRING IT!” Us zealots only see things in black and white, you know.

For another thing, despite the possible uncertainty of the “derivative works” issue, we know that Thesis contains straight up ripped-off GPL code. Those versions of Thesis are unquestionably violating WordPress copyright.

This is the problem about being a dick – you might be able to get away with it so long as all your ducks are in a row, but ducks have a hard time staying in a row. Call it Karma. And then call it to the stand.

Do it for the lulz, Matt!

Edited to add: Alas, it hardly matters now, as Thesis has done the right thing and now the PHP portions are under GPL, and the CSS/JS bits under the whatever proprietary terms that who cares about.