Rules are being set in place for the WordPress community for the same reasons laws are being put in place in the United States. There are people doing things that take advantage of the community or other people, or doing things that are fundamentally against the way the WordPress community would like to be treated.

People who don't want to follow the ideas behind the GPL are the type of people who are only self serving. A product not licensed under the GPL allows authors to take away the rights of their customers, which is not what WordPress is about. If non-GPL themes were allowed to be in the community and showcased front and center, it would influence people to have licenses that say things such as: you can only use the product once, you cannot modify the product, you cannot look at the source code, you cannot share it with people, you have to get my permission to do anything, you have to share all information on your site with me at my request, you are only renting the software, you do not own any content you make while using this product.

Everyone is free to contribute to WordPress and work their way up the latter. Companies like Automattic are just what WordPress needs. Why should we kick people out because they have an agenda, because everyone (big and small) has an agenda. It would be a better use of time to attract more people to WordPress and in effect reduce the amount of total authority these "dictators" have. Everyone needs to take a close look at the effects of these rules. The rules are protecting the community that's nice, fair, and reasonable, and shutting out the people who don't want to play fair or be nice.

Remember, Matt and Jane don't wear both sets of shoes at the same time. They are responsible enough not to let one role effect the other, too be unbiased when making decisions. Do you think they would steal from the WordPress Project if the shareholders from Automattic asked them too? I don't think their going to use their role in the WordPress Project to block out Automattic's competition. Are we assuming Matt and Jane have no ethical or moral ground?

I'd be more than happy to debate very particular issues with people... through a neutral third party of course, i.e. not on your own website.