[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #16838: Excluding Akismet from Future WordPress Releases / Plugin Directory

[WordPress Trac]

#16838: Excluding Akismet from Future WordPress Releases / Plugin Directory
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 Reporter:  sc0ttkclark  |      Owner:
     Type:  enhancement  |     Status:  new
 Priority:  normal       |  Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  Plugins      |    Version:  3.1
 Severity:  normal       |   Keywords:
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 This issue was more mute prior to the shift in Akismet's 'keying', which
 previously just required you to have a free WP.com account to hook up to
 the API. Since Akismet now charges for access, or solicits fees by default
 for Personal website activations (when you go through the sign up process,
 it defaults at something like $5 with a slider that lets the person choose
 how much they want to pay). It's not immediately apparent that 'free' is
 an option within the slider, but that's not the primary issue here - I
 digress :)

 The issue is that Akismet is no longer free for EVERYONE. It's only an
 option for Personal sites, and in certain cases. What if someone has
 multiple personal sites? They click that option and they are categorized
 into a Professional plan, which has a fee associated to it.

 Since the plugin directory itself has officially been described (and in
 practice) to have a restriction that explicitly prohibits functionality be
 disabled from a plugin behind a Paywall, why wouldn't that apply in this
 case?

 I certainly don't mean to rock the boat, but this brings up a number of
 important questions.

 The plugin has a potentially confusing signup process that does lead
 people otherwise categorized as Personal site owners, to pay for the
 service while it's advertised under the plugin description that it's
 'free' for Personal use. This produces a grey area of sorts, which puts
 this plugin under a sort of Paywall, which could be alleviated in a minor
 way by modifying the signup process. It still doesn't clear the air on how
 the Paywall for professional sites can be officially allowed versus a full
 Paywall. Perhaps someone who officially represents the WP.org Plugin
 Directory or WP.org can clarify the undocumented (not shown at
 http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/about/) Paywall restriction for future
 reference.

 Besides the plugin itself now finding itself in this grey area, it's
 bundled with WordPress by default and presents what could be described as
 an unfair market advantage for Automattic's product offering, sort of like
 anti-competitive business practices. I feel weird saying that, but I'm not
 throwing stones here. Just saying what it feels like, even if the core
 developers say it should be included, I'd say it now doesn't cover the
 70/30 rule (or whatever the amount is).

 If Akismet is allowed to remain in the plugin directory as is, and within
 WP core, then would other plugins be allowed to be included in the plugin
 directory that follow the same Paywall model and signup process?

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Ticket URL: <http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/16838>
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