I agree that there is a right way to make this case, but we don’t know if it was already made behind closed doors.
The ultimatum Matt made in the texts highlighted by WP Engine appears short, but it seems unlikely this was the first time Matt brought up these issues.
Even assuming the best was done behind closed doors, isn't it reasonable to WP Engine customers to give them notice of at least a few weeks or months that "unless your host complies, you will lose access to WordPress.org updates"?
If Matt can pull the rug on one host's customers without notice, he can do it again. He has been on streams saying no other host is in the doghouse with Matt, but a week ago almost nobody knew WPE was on thin ice.
If Matt didn't do the reasonable thing to warn WPE customers, what other unreasonable things is he capable of doing in the future?
The "reprieve" of a new Oct 1 deadline is still far from reasonable in my opinion to the point that it is further infuriating that he is using it to virtue signal, though it is at least a tiny start of an implicit acknowledgement that he screwed up. But it's a matter of rebuilding trust in the ecosystem now, and I think Matt is still digging a hole, and this can't be fixed until he apologizes, and the governance of the WordPress.org update server is clarified (best case: out of Matt's hands), or somebody more neutral creates a competing update server, fracturing the ecosystem.
The ultimatum Matt made in the texts highlighted by WP Engine appears short, but it seems unlikely this was the first time Matt brought up these issues.