In reply to Doug Wagner.

re: "Customers, blog visitors, and members all benefit from that flexibility."

Yes. Flexibility is a positive. But there's also a line. A line between flexible and trying to be all things to all people all the time. Cross that line and things get ugly.

Keep in mind, one of the things that got WP to where it is today is it was (relatively speaking) and every-man / every-woman type of tool. Now it's master PHP __and__ JavaScript, or else? Again, that's not to say it has to stay what it was. It doesn't. But if you're going to change that - with little choice for the masses - then pushback is to be expected.

It's one thing to progress. It's one thing to move forward. It's another thing to lose your way. There's a line for that as well. Perhaps WP is on or over that line? Perhaps the barriers to entry (read: necessary skills) are pushing the power into fewer and fewer hands?