Still Fighting

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.” – Theodore Roosevelt

After many long efforts to get them to contribute fairly to the WordPress project, Automattic went after some exploitive venture capitalists. Matt used trademark law as leverage and the community as fuel. It got ugly, and not just legally. Between idealists, realists, pacifists, other idealists, not to mention the “I just work here” folks, it’s been a rough fight.

This week we were given the chance to leave with severance. Some people were already considering other work, and glady accepted the financial boost. Others disagreed philosophically, or believed Matt should have done things differently. And still others likely didn’t want the extra work load we’re sure to face for all this. I’ll miss them.

To be honest, I’ve almost left Automattic a few times in hopes to gain more experience and advance my career. My hands aren’t so full now that my kids have grown up, and I want to grow, too. So the offer of a financial cushion to help me land well was tempting.

But I would want the chance to come back. I like being on this team. I believe open source is key to a better world. I want to keep working for it, and as far as I can tell, this is the best place for me to make a difference.

Could things have gone better? Maybe. It’s easy to say things could have been handled differently when I’m not the one in the arena. But I’m happy to do my part.

P.S. My colleague Jeffrey Zeldman said it better (thank you). And to Matt, thanks for the choice.