Nobody uses just core WordPress. The moat is the plugin ecosystem. Once somebody creates an alternative plugin repository mirroring wp.org, that's when Matt will go "nuclear".

It could be misdirection. Maybe I'll wait for the fork Matt doesn't like.

The post this leads to just reeks of influencer/devrel marketing-speak. Show something then be cocky about it, not the other way around. And how can Automattic be convincingly 'proud to announce' this fork, when this fork literally doesn't currently exist? There's no plan, no code, no difference, nothing to show for. Just this cringe ass announcement.

I saw a theory yesterday proposing a 'reason' for all this: Matt wants out and is trying to force a community fork by going scorched earth.

After this post, that theory seems kind of plausible? But who knows, really.

As I said to Matt earlier today on the WordPress Slack "I've never seen anyone spread so much FUD about their own project before. I started out as sympathetic to your cause against WP Engine. But your behaviour has driven me - and many other good people - away. I want to be explicitly clear: I am in no position to judge the merits of your lawsuit, but I am in a position to judge your behaviour. I cannot fathom why you are trying to turn your own community against you. Please - reconsider your approach"

BDFL only works if the D is B. Otherwise FL becomes FML.