Per Arstechnica and Slashdot et al, someone found out that Matt (Wordpress creator) has been “gaming” the Google AdWords system to cover costs for wordpress.org. Google is (apparently) pissed off, and seems to have cut Wordpress out of it’s indexing, at least temporarily.
Matt’s in Italy, so he’s obviously unable (and at the moment, probably disinclined) to comment. There are comments from 2 developers, Mike and Dougal, available to read. Google for a buncha others, too.
Personal kneejerk reaction: So what? Matt needed money, it sounds like a 1-month experiment, and that appears to be the end of it.
A more detailed analysis may or may not be forthcoming when Matt explains things.
Internet mob-mentality will demand justice, and some members of the Open Source community are cringing at the fact that a website pimping one’s own Open Source product was using an interesting tactic (read the articles to find out, it’s a little difficult for me to explain) to cover hosting costs. He didn’t do anything shady with the software itself, which is STILL open. I’m not seeing a mass exodus from WP over the issue, like what happened when Movable Type changed it’s licensing… I’m hoping that the WP community settles down, reads Matt’s forthcoming explanation, and then life goes on.
