In reply to James Koster (@jameskoster).

Exactly, we don't need multiple content plugins that meet similar needs. We just need a couple that do the job really well. Many developers should work on a few shared plugins instead of many developers working on their own plugins.

The problem might be getting developers to agree on how things should be done. In reality that might mean ceding control to a competitor. Ideally, developers would join a project instead of creating a new one. This assumes the plugin maintainer is willing to work with others and that they'll not brand the thing to death.

Then there's the idea of establishing common post types, taxonomies and custom fields for a niche that multiple developers can use in their projects. Is there any reason this wouldn't reduce the lock-in effect just as well?