@Lloyd: How many (better: what percentage of) WP.org users will ever develop their own plugins? I'll be generous, and say 1% (not sure of the aggregate number of users to which that percentage equates).

Of the remaining 99% of WP.org users, how many/what percentage find the *functionality* of Hello Dolly useful/beneficial? I would find it hard to believe that the number would even be measurable.

Nonetheless, let's be really, really generous, and say that 5% of all WP.org users would find Hello Dolly beneficial, either as a developer template or in its function to end users.

Now, I have to ask:

What *other* plugins are useful to *more* than 5% of all WP.org users?

Please note, I really don't have a dog in this hunt. I'm comfortable with installing/uninstalling plugins, so whether some functionality gets moved into core, or some plugins become designated as "core" plugins, or the plugin situation remains exactly as it is now - no matter what happens, I can make my blog work the way I want it to work.