BuddyPress.org

Yes, any theme you use with BuddyPress will need a plugin-sidebar.php and plugin-template.php file. It’s used to add dynamic functionality and new pages to the theme without having to drop in new template files. The settings menu and pages are examples of this.

I take a look at why it is requiring a home.php, this shouldn’t be happening.

The post you were referring to is: http://chriscarter.testbp.org/2008/11/07/mu-works-but-bp-isnt/