Mastodawn

Nicol Wistreich

How many people know that #WordPress was co-founded by a black man, Mike Little?

Or that he's from the north of England? A self-taught coder from #Stockport, just south of #Manchester? Or that he never received so much as a share, cent or job offer from the $7bn+ valued Automattic after spending five months working exclusively with Matt Mullenweg on the B2 fork?

After @bevangelist told me about @mikelittle I interviewed him for a documentary I never got round to making. Back then I was left with two certainties: he's Wozniak to Mullenweg's Jobs. Among other things he added the one-click upgrade that's been central to WP's bonkers 45%-of-the-web-success. And he's one of the nicest people I've ever interviewed, which is also bonkers given that he not only didn't share in WP's financial success, but that he's barely known.

But he should be - so, better late than never - please meet #MikeLittle, perhaps the most-influential-least-known person in #foss… https://25.netribution.co.uk/nic/mike-little-the-british-co-founder-of-wordpress-youve-probably-never-heard-of/

Nicol Wistreich Feb 25

If anyone's struggling with the video embeds on the WordPress site (I am on my phone), there's direct links for both the videos on #PeerTube. If that goes down (and I’ve no reason to think it should) I have got Vimeo links - but 🤞

- Mike Little, Part 1: co-founding WordPress and watching it grow (from afar): https://open.movie/w/hzQjFV6xJF9agsn5ERz4Kz
- Mike Little, Part 2: his life in code: https://open.movie/w/rdot9DoygXTXzLM4ZnJjTf

Mike Little, Part 1: co-founding WordPress and watching it grow (from afar)

PeerTube

candide.xyz Feb 25

@nicol I had some trouble streaming it from Peertube, so I tried to download the file to my device, and ran into issues there too... It looks like my phone's media player has trouble determining the duration.

Matt Mascarenhas Feb 25

@nicol @bevangelist @mikelittle What on Earth? I'm from Stockport too, and sorry to say this is the first time I've heard of you, Mike!

Sam Izby Feb 25

@nicol @bevangelist @mikelittle

Skin color doesn't matter. And gender too. Just do the right things and be a good person.

your auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦Feb 25

if skin color didn't matter, he would be a multimillionaire.

don't parrot the ignorant moderate white man bullshit.

in a racist societ, the color of our skin matters. to deny this is to side with racists.

instead of negating the racism, the correct thing to do would be to ensure his name is not only forever said BEFORE Muhlenberg’s, but make it your business he gets paid reparations for these sins of omission BY ALL MEANS NECESSARY.

@izby @nicol @bevangelist @mikelittle

Stefan Scholl Feb 25

@blogdiva @izby @nicol @bevangelist @mikelittle not everybody lives in the USA.

ccarlson71 Feb 25

@Stefan_S_from_H @blogdiva @izby @nicol @bevangelist @mikelittle I’m not sure how to interpret this other than that you think racism is present only in the USA. Surely that’s not the case, though…

Stefan Scholl Feb 26

@ccarlson71 @blogdiva @izby @nicol @bevangelist @mikelittle or interpret it as writing something like https://mastodon.social/@izby/116132724713095405 makes people angry in the USA.

Benjamin Braatz Feb 26

@Stefan_S_from_H Writing ignorant stuff like that makes me angry in Germany. @ccarlson71 @blogdiva @izby

Stefan Scholl Feb 26

@HeptaSean @ccarlson71 @blogdiva @izby what’s the goal?

Benjamin Braatz Feb 26

@Stefan_S_from_H The goal of what? Of mentioning the fact that he is black? Maybe to highlight when someone is not from the traditionally privileged background?
What's the goal of whining about it? Why do the racists' work if not a racist? If you are not interested, you are always free to ignore. @ccarlson71 @blogdiva @izby

Stefan Scholl Feb 26

@HeptaSean @ccarlson71 @blogdiva @izby the goal of attacking someone who says “Skin color doesn't matter. And gender too.”

So your goal is to fight, to be angry.

Your goal isn't Article 3 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (aka Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland), written by people who don't want to repeat fascism and authoritarianism.

Benjamin Braatz Feb 26

@Stefan_S_from_H Skin colour, gender identity, sexuality, (dis)ability /do/ matter very much in this world. It is exhausting if people claim otherwise just because (they claim) that they don't matter /to them/. And if this claim leads to running around the Internet and trying to correct people and telling them /not/ to mention those categories then borders on actively harmful and very much /not/ on “my” side of society, but on the side of the racists and fascists. @ccarlson71 @blogdiva @izby

Stefan Scholl Feb 26

@HeptaSean @ccarlson71 @blogdiva @izby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRzd7SknVrQ

Morgan Freeman - Black History Month - 60 Minutes

YouTube

your auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦Feb 26

so fucking what?

don’t be ignorant.

@Stefan_S_from_H @izby

Stefan Scholl Feb 26

@blogdiva @izby what do you want? In which world do you want to live in?

Seth of the Fediverse ⁂Feb 25

@nicol @bevangelist @mikelittle Mike is a great guy. He doesn't get enough credit. Overshadowed by Mullenweg.

Very well spoken and a decent person.

Dr Susi Arnott Feb 25

@nicol @bevangelist @mikelittle
Pi g @CrispinHughes - let's watch this together:)

Mitex Leo Feb 25

@nicol @bevangelist @mikelittle Great Work! I never heard of him before.

@nicol @bevangelist @mikelittle @cstross @nic damn. Had no idea. Nice to see you on here Nic, been many years…!

Stefan Scholl Feb 25

@nicol @bevangelist @mikelittle I don't even know the skin color of the other founders.

Adrian McEwen Feb 25

@nicol @bevangelist @mikelittle Lovely videos! I did know of @mikelittle but it's great to hear him talking about the project.

Also amused to hear an aside about him working for Eden. I interviewed for a job there back in, I think it'll have been, 1996. Had totally forgotten about them.

Patrick H. Lauke Feb 25

@nicol i briefly met @mikelittle at a meetup in south manchester MANY moons ago. lovely bloke.

Fals Fiction 💜🏳️‍🌈Feb 25

@nicol @HauntedOwlbear
@dianea @bevangelist

I didn't know that!

@mikelittle Wordpress was my favorite platform or internet service for almost ten years. The changes that happened between then and now were heartbreaking, but those were obviously a result of others' decisions. I would you to know I've been grateful for the good parts through the years.

@nicol Thanks for posting this. I knew @mikelittle just a little because he used to pop over the Pennines to tech community meet-ups in Sheffield sometimes, back in the day. Hope you’re doing well, Mike!

DJ Adams Feb 26

@nicol @bevangelist @mikelittle

I'm very lucky to know Mike, he is an awesome, gentle and generous human being. I had the pleasure of working alongside Mike at Manchester's MadLab back in the day, teaching kids to code as part of the Young Rewired State events there. What a hero.

DJ Adams Feb 26

@nicol @bevangelist @mikelittle I love how the photo of Mike on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Little was taken at MadLab during Young Rewired State 2012 😻

(Random: I often work from the Stockroom library / community space in Stockport)

Stage name Jay Peach Feb 27

@nicol @bevangelist @mikelittle and Matt fucked up the curly quotes. Jetpack fucks up curly quotes 100% of the time.