Mullenweg asked the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) to clarify whether WordPress themes fall under the GPL. What the SFLC found is that while the PHP files that leverage WordPress' copyrighted code are protected by the GPL, the images and CSS files of the themes are not. In other words, the car's engine is protected, but not the paint and the body.

Pearson, the creator of Thesis, a premium WordPress theme and "framework," licenses his software differently in an effort to curb the redistribution to third parties. Pearson believes his theme should not fall under the GPL because it "stands alone outside of WordPress completely," a statement with which Mullenweg disagrees.

"At what point does WordPress get to be the be-all end-all about what works with it? All it does is deal with front and backend database rights and reads," said Pearson. "Why does it get to determine everything else, even if the scope of another project that works with WordPress may vastly exceed the scope of WordPress itself?"

"WordPress is built on the license of a GPL that has enabled hundreds of thousands of people to build amazing businesses off it. All it really says is that you can do whatever you like but anything built on top of the GPL must be GPL itself. That's the crux of it," said Mullenweg. "That's how the WordPress system works."

The development community is somewhat divided on the issue, but it does seem that more (as far as this author can see) are leaning toward backing Mullenweg and WordPress. Unfortunately, a public argument like this is detrimental to the open source community, and a lawsuit - which Pearson all but dares Mullenweg to initiate - would be even worse.

It seems that Mullenweg is between a rock and a hard place on this one - not wanting to sue a member of the WordPress community but also not wanting to allow what he views as a damaging and disrespectful license violation to stand. A lawsuit could set precedents that could open up further lawsuits, which would be a terrible result for the development community. At this point, either option seems equally unappetizing.

Photo by Flickr user seanosh.

Users of WordPress' hosted service have their blogs backed up automatically (so to speak). So if something goes pear-shaped, the content is caught before it hits the ground. However, if you use a self-hosted version of the software you must back up your content yourself, and heaven help you if you forget.

Matt Mullenweg, founder of Automattic, announced the plugin on the VaultPress blog.

"Today, this means every bit of content will be safe, from plugins and themes to the smallest comment or post revision, with WordPress-aware, real-time, multi-cloud backups."

In an email, he said, "In the past two hours we've had over 600 beta applications with an average of 9 sites each."

The product alleges "real-time, continuous monitoring" of your site against dangerous and fraudulent activity. It also automatically updates fixes.

Interested users can sign up for VaultPress in private beta. Automattic plans to charge $15.00 per month for the service.

The one-day, one-track show was just a hashtag to some and entirely unknown to others; still, the pre-show buzz on Twitter and in various blogs had resonated with freshness, immediacy, and inspiration. A week before it opened, the first-ever BIGOmaha conference was sold out.

Photo by Nick Stankus / nixter.net.

"#bigomaha is Amazing! This is the best Conference I have been to in awhile, the heart and effort of the peeps that put this together = Rad," wrote keynote speaker Gary Vaynerchuk in a tweet Saturday.

In their own words, the speakers' and organizers' enthusiasm about the event is apparent:

Aside from Vaynerchuk, the conference's all-star lineup included luminaries from well-known companies and stand-alone scene rockstars such as 37signals founder and president Jason Fried and Threadless chief creative officer Jeffrey Kalmikoff, both of whom were particular crowd favorites. Themes of the show, both loudly voiced and unspoken, included the hidden blessings of failure, the importance of good design, the creativity of Midwesterners, the value of hard work - regardless of how unsexy the project may seem - and the joys of getting fired or quitting a "stupid" job.

Also, no one could overlook the sheer cool factor of the venue. Part library, part converted warehouse, part art gallery, the space was immaculately and consistently conceived by Oxide Design (with critical concepting, online, and on-site execution support from BrightMix and Silicon Prairie News to be hip, fun, and functional. A DJ kept the vibe going during breaks between speakers, and three flavors of Red Bull were flowing throughout the day. BIGOmaha was also one of the most Twitter-friendly conferences we've seen. Handles were printed on all nametags, and Twitter walls kept the microblogging stream active all day and throughout the night at the Nomad lounge afterparty.

Photo by Shane Adams, shanelife.com.

One surprising note during the show was the mysterious non-appearance of WordPress founding developer Matt Mullenweg, who was scheduled to speak at 1 p.m. Around noon on Saturday, Mullenweg posted a Twitter note stating he'd missed his flight; closer to midnight, he said it had been overbooked.