I Stayed

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Amid a bitter conflict between WordPress steward Automattic and hosting provider WP Engine, commenters examine why a prominent employee chose to stay after colleagues accepted a generous severance package. Many question whether loyalty to the “open web” and belief in meaningful work can really outweigh financial incentives and deep unease with Automattic’s CEO, whose tactics — including blocking plugins and publicizing unpatched vulnerabilities — are seen as abusing control of the WordPress ecosystem. The thread broadens into a debate over the ethics of “makers” versus “takers” in open source, the limits of unwritten obligations beyond software licenses, and how much moral weight to assign to working on commercial blogging and CMS tools.

Reasons for Staying vs Taking Severance

  • Some think staying reflects genuine belief in the product, open web, and long-term mission.
  • Others argue it’s mainly a financial decision: if you can afford to walk with six months’ pay and don’t, you’re there for money first.
  • Several point out the author is senior and well-known, likely employable elsewhere, so money-maximizing would actually be to leave with severance plus a new job.
  • There’s skepticism that “I stayed” posts are organic; some suspect implicit pressure or employer-branding motives.

Meaningfulness of Work at a Blogging/CMS Company

  • One camp sees WordPress-style tools as socially valuable: enabling independent sites, resisting total domination by big platforms.
  • Others find it hard to “believe in the work” at a for‑profit blogging company and see most software as net-neutral at best.
  • Debate arises over whether any tech job “truly helps people” given capitalism and mixed downstream use (e.g., by bad actors).

CEO Conduct, Layoffs, and “Alignment”

  • Some liken the offer to leave with severance to an “alignment layoff”: a way for leadership to purge dissenters.
  • Others see it as a reasonable “win–win” option: those who disagree with direction can exit with a cushion.
  • Several predict that trust and good-faith assumptions inside and outside the company will be hard to rebuild.

Automattic vs. WP Engine and Open-Source Obligations

  • Many criticize using control over the plugin repo and CVE disclosures as leverage in a commercial dispute, especially when it blocks or delays security fixes for millions of sites.
  • Others acknowledge WP Engine may be under-contributing financially but argue that doesn’t justify tactics that harm third-party users.
  • There is a deep split over “maker–taker”:
    • One side says open-source licenses explicitly allow “takers”; any further obligations must be written into licenses or contracts.
    • The other side insists open source has always depended on unwritten norms and “good citizenship,” and bad actors erode the culture and push projects toward restrictive licenses.
  • Some see alleged attempts to extract large payments from a hosting company as bordering on extortion; others frame it as hard‑nosed negotiation, with courts to decide legality.

Job Titles, Hiring, and Compensation

  • The “Happiness Engineer” title is mocked as Orwellian and diluting “engineer.”
  • Others defend it as light-hearted branding for demanding support roles.
  • Concerns raised about senior support requirements paired with relatively low salary bands, interpreted by some as global wage arbitrage; defenders note the firm is fully remote by design.

Workplace Relationships and Culture

  • Some readers relate strongly to the author’s grief over departing colleagues, describing deep friendships and positive culture.
  • Others find such emotional attachment to coworkers unhealthy, keeping a clear work–life separation.
  • There’s pushback that not caring about coworkers is itself a red flag about personal or cultural health.

Rodney King Reference and Tone

  • Several find the use of a famous plea from a brutal police‑violence episode jarringly disproportionate to a corporate layoff dispute.
  • Others see it as a simple cultural reference about conflict, not a direct comparison of suffering.
  • The closing paragraphs are widely criticized as overly corporate, even sycophantic, which fuels suspicion that the piece functions as employer PR.

Medical Debt and Financial Context

  • Readers are disturbed that someone at a well-known tech firm struggles with medical debt, questioning healthcare coverage or pay.
  • Others note that even good insurance can leave large uncovered costs, and separate business failures (conferences, publishing) can compound financial strain.