You say, “Just to be clear, the last time I checked there weren’t barrels of money stamped with the Automattic logo floating around the Bay”. Really? $29 million flowing into Automattic during 2008-2009 I remember reading. And how much since then..? That money does not go on envelopes and coffee.

Open Source might mean free to many, but the word ‘free’ does not mean a free meal for everyone. Many plugin developers hope (and try) to may some pennies from their work, and others – myself included – charge for their time in setting up sites with Open Source tools (I tend to use Drupal). But let’s not kid ourselves: those behind the behemoth WordPress has become are making a seriously good living from it, all supported by those who jump on the train and provide their time and effort for nothing, in the hope of some future income.

Without wishing to sound overly critical or whizz on someone’s bonfire, I wonder how well Automattic, WordPress, bbPress and BuddyPress would do if suddenly – very suddenly – every single plugin author and other freely contributing helper just downed tools..?

It won’t happen because of the nature of things. But please, don’t keep trying to act like Open Source software is some aesthetic ideal we should all aspire to, and contribute to for nothing. Those who talk about it in such terms are usually being paid, or are hoping to get a leg up somehow.