In reply to Michael Edwin.

Looks to me as though Automattic's long term plan is to turn self-hosted WordPress into a frontend for remote/cloud services offered by Automattic. A little like the old (now returning) model of using dumb terminals connected to mainframe servers. At the rate Automattic is monetising WordPress, it won't be long before the dashboard advertises WordPress Approved Site Maintainers and meddling with the source code is forbidden.

But what's really bothering me at the moment is the amount of PC activism showing up in WP Core. We need to know whether Automattic donates to activist and political causes. If it is it could seriously dent not only the reputation of WordPress but also the stability of the WordPress project.