Does pineapple belong on pizza?
The answer may vary from person to person. But WordPress users were in for a surprise when they tried to login to the WordPress.org website.
A new mandatory checkbox require users to confirm that “Pineapple is delicious on pizza” before accessing their accounts.
Following the dispute with WP Engine, WordPress.org had introduced a mandatory check box in October that allowed users to access their accounts only after confirming “I am not affiliated with WP Engine in any way, financially or otherwise.” It was later removed following the court instructions.
Reactions From the Community
Francesca Marano of Patchstack tweeted, “Seeing the level of immaturity and unprofessional behaviour in the WP industry is disheartening. Pizza checkbox? Not fun. A website calling Matt the worst person in tech, also not fun.”
Gergely Orosz of The Pragmatic Engineer has opened a poll on X and more than 1500 people have voted.
He also tweeted, “This checkbox is a good example how the public feud of two billion-dollar companies (Automattic that raised $985M in VC funding and WP Engine that raised $250M in private equity funding) keep impacting WordPress developers – even if its in cryptic forms like this.”
Web and eCommerce specialist Nick Weisser joked. “Pineapple is delicious on #pizza? So now you have to break Italian law to access @WordPress.org.”
Maarten Belmans, founder of Studio Wombat, shared his concerns, “My only worry is WP has already caused trust issues with enterprise (hijacking a plugin is no small issue, so I heard). Adding another checkbox, even as a light joke, might show enterprise WP just isn’t the serious platform they need it to be? Idk!”
Bozz Media was critical, and tweeted, “Gross. It’s sad that the unprofessional and unbecoming behavior from WP leadership continues, tarnishing the entire reputation of the platform.”
Brett Atkin, Founder and Digital Strategist at Pixel Jocks, tweeted, “Thought it was a joke until I started seeing multiple posts about it. Sad, embarrassing and unprofessional, especially given the circumstances and recent court rulings. Feels like he is mocking the court, the judge and the entire community.” He is not alone as several users initially thought it to be a joke or a meme.
WPTavern founder Jeff Chandler also shared his thoughts, “That checkbox didn’t exist during WCUS so technically, it’s not restored back to the status quo. It’s stupid.”
Simon Harper of SRH Design tweeted, “This should not have been added and I’m not sure what’s worse, the checkbox and text alignment or the attempt at humour.” The alignment issue was later fixed.
The pineapple debate has sparked conversations on Reddit too.