I believe that the level of rancour directed at Automattic stems from early confusion, when people first get involved with WordPress and are at their most enthusiastic. They see everything as wonderful and buy into Automattic's clever PR positioning (and, let's face it, these days every online company is expected to weave a good myth).

Later, when they realize that things are not so black and white, that Matt is not Jesus and that Automattic is engaged in the same frantic land-grab as every other Web giant, disillusion kicks in and, for some, that love turns to blind rage. From that point on, anything Matt does is suspect and otherwise thoughtful people will leap upon any "scandal" that happens to pass by, even when it requires turning a blind eye to the actual facts.

There is plenty to worry about when a billion dollar, VC-funded corporation so thoroughly dominates an Open Source project, but we should not surrender our intellectual integrity. Focus on the issues that matter, don't make stuff up for emotional effect and, if you hope to sway the opinions of people with real influence, consistent credibility is far more important than fleeting hype.