A massive reason WP became the de facto web CMS was the community, including volunteers supporting plugins they wrote and published for free.
For example, in the early 2010s I manned a help booth at wordcamp. I frequented the forums and gave folk advice on issues they had with free plugins.
This is entirely distinct from Wordpress core and I would say that the ecosystem of plugins was the driving force behind WP’s rise to dominance. I neither wanted or needed Matt Mulenwegs blessing to participate, but he seems to have forgotten that lately.
For example, in the early 2010s I manned a help booth at wordcamp. I frequented the forums and gave folk advice on issues they had with free plugins.
This is entirely distinct from Wordpress core and I would say that the ecosystem of plugins was the driving force behind WP’s rise to dominance. I neither wanted or needed Matt Mulenwegs blessing to participate, but he seems to have forgotten that lately.