I'm so glad that this discussion is finally happening.

I've had to migrate sites with "Themes" that did everything but replace WordPress. And clients can't understand why the new theme they chose doesn't have SEO, YouTube Players, Sliders, MegaMenus, FAQs, Advanced Galleries, and smellovision the way their last "theme" did.

I will be so happy when the standards line is finally clear between theme and plugin as it is between the code and visual.

I can see a space in the middle where theme plugin interface standards could be managed so that themes could *optionally* control visual aspects of plugin functionality. And where a theme didn't specify visual control then the plugins could have some freedom.

I guess theme developers should all be happy that social plugin developers don't want to control how themes display their plugin's output.

"But I want to use CSS to do the FTP."

As with haikus, standards and design restraints inspire powerful creativity--not limitations.