> And, if Matt had not chosen to be an asshole, would this issue have gotten the prominence that it has got?
The issues here are precisely the actions by Matt, so it is reasonable to conclude that had Matt not caused those issues by acting as he has, the issues would not exist.
> open source would lose the war if companies and individuals continue to use the kind of arguments that WPE and it's defenders are making - that, they are legally not obligated to care two bits about the open source software on which their entire businesses are built
I don't believe this to be true, but if it is, the responsibilities lies with Matt for allowing it with permissive licensing and trademarks. Neither WPEngine, nor you or I, are obliged to care about what Matt wants us to care about, or to obey Matt's decrees, and the sole reason is Matt's actions.
The issues here are precisely the actions by Matt, so it is reasonable to conclude that had Matt not caused those issues by acting as he has, the issues would not exist.
> open source would lose the war if companies and individuals continue to use the kind of arguments that WPE and it's defenders are making - that, they are legally not obligated to care two bits about the open source software on which their entire businesses are built
I don't believe this to be true, but if it is, the responsibilities lies with Matt for allowing it with permissive licensing and trademarks. Neither WPEngine, nor you or I, are obliged to care about what Matt wants us to care about, or to obey Matt's decrees, and the sole reason is Matt's actions.