However, what would happen if Automattic got bought by AOL, Sun, or whatever, and focus shifted? People might come in charge that aren’t as interested as the current staff in maintaining the opensource version, which would slow down updates.

Sure, anyone can make a fork, or you could switch to something else, I’m not saying this is a huge problem or something that should scare us away.

I do think it’s a factor though, but it appears I’m pretty alone in this. :)

So for most of my sites I will remain committed to WordPress.

On the other hand look at textpattern, a good/potentially great CMS that seems to be falling apart due to the lack of leadership, and perhaps due to the lack of a truly invested party.

Personally I don’t think there is much, if anything, to be concerned about.

I’m a bit torn at this. There are good things with a company using an opensource platform, since they’ll contribute to it with paid developer hours, but it can backlash as well.

And again, I’m not kicking dirt on Automattic or anything, but the recent rumors (linked above) made me think about it.

It doesn’t matter who “runs” an open-source project. If there’s a problem, the community always has a recourse.

Ask yourself this: If, for whatever reason, they did do something unforgivable, how long do you think it would take the community to create an open source alternative with a similar enough architecture to allow most of the themers, and plugin builders to switch?

I’d wager not long, even with the inevitable tangental versions. That should keep them fairly honest.