In reply to Laura Brown.

Most people I have met via WordPress are great and I might even get help from some if I asked. But, there are enough who are aggressively negative that I decided not to set myself up for them. I can always work on the plugin code in secret and just use whatever it becomes myself.

This. We really need to address this as a community. The more I reflect on it, the more I think a lot of the negativity and entitlement in the WordPress community is a problem with expectations.

Users don't understand the GPL. They don't understand that plugins are created and given away for free - out of kindness and a willingness to share for the common good. They just know they have a website that they pay money for and something on it is broken.. And now they've stumbled across a forum that has to do with something on their website, so fix it already!

There are users that are just downright mean, trolling, or blackmailing for reviews as well. But I keep dwelling on the expectations issue and wondering if there is a way wp.org can better educate people.

Because, at the end of the day, the negativity is stifling progress, such as you and I both hoarding code so we don't have to deal with being treated poorly.