@mjg59 I think the negativity comes from the fact that a lot of floss developers have other reasons why they work on projects besides scratching their own itch - "meeting the local needs" as you put it.

That is expanding their knowledge and, sometimes even the enjoyment of the programming act itself.

So if you treat open source development as a learning experience and an artistic expression, you're automatically going to balk at something that would take that away.