For developers, this is yet another example of the people behind WordPress claiming to be working with you while actively working against you. There is only community so long as it serves the needs of the people at the top.

Iain is 100% correct. Actions like removing this data, without warning, show contempt for the plugin community. Even if that isn’t the intent, the fact that the people making these kinds of decisions can’t anticipate backlash or don’t care about it is telling enough on its own.

So much of the messaging from the top of the food chain feels like it’s coming from parents telling their children that they know what is best for them. It’s condescending, it’s gone on for years, and it’s never going to stop.