The Internet Archive and WordPress, which sometimes feel like bastions of a past internet age, are both enmired in battles that may threaten their future, and as a result, our access to tools and platforms we have come to take for granted.
ALLi News Editor, Dan Holloway
I have reported a lot on the Internet Archive of late, particularly its legal battles with publishers over the way its subsidiary, Open Library, has tried to use “fair use” as a defense for its practice of copying physical books to make digital files that it then lends out. Last month, judges again decided that publishers were right in claiming this was not permissible under the Copyright Act.
Wired last week ran an interesting story that looks at the consequences of these legal wranglings for the rest of the Internet Archive's activities. The fines that the Internet Archive could face in cases related to the publishing and music industries could put the foundation on the rocks, along with everything it does aside from the controversial Open Library.
That, of course, includes the Wayback Machine, the literal archive of the internet. This is the site that captures, screen by screen, key web pages from history and, with them, a record of any changes. (It was the Wayback Machine that famously exposed Dominic Cummings, the controversial political advisor to the UK prime minister, for altering his blog to make himself appear more prescient.) The complexity of the Internet Archive's relationship with our trade, with history, and with the research we rely on as writers is worth remembering.
Today’s other story is a strange one. I had noticed something of a brouhaha surrounding WordPress, a platform almost all of us have used at some point, and many of us still do, for powering and often hosting our websites. But, hat tip to Nate Hofelder’s weekly newsletter for setting my nose sniffing for more information.
It turns out the fuss is due to the fact that WordPress both powers and hosts websites. Specifically, WordPress.org powers many of the world’s websites. As writers, it certainly powers many of ours. However, many of us who use its software and plugins for those sites, along with add-ons like analytics and e-commerce, turn to WP Engine for hosting, which is run by a different group of people.
And those two groups have had a cataclysmic falling out. WordPress CEO Matt Mullenweg called WP Engine some really nasty names because it had disabled some functionality to save on server space. In response, WP Engine’s owner issued a cease-and-desist notice. After more shenanigans, WordPress.org banned WP Engine from accessing resources, meaning many websites’ plugins suddenly stopped working and updates failed, leaving sites vulnerable to attack. As things stand, a truce has been called, but it is due to end today. I will update you all shortly!
