People can armchair quarterback all they want but until and unless you see things from Wordpress.com's users perspective, you won't get the point.
MW has obviously been successful at a blogging platform and service (maybe other stuff, don't know his full history). My point about the Ford quote is that maybe he has a good vision for how his service should be run.
There is always going to be tension between the producers of a service and the consumers of that service. Neither could exist without the other, but I tend to feel that the exceptional people who have succeeded where others have failed should be given more credit.
One does the business they way he wants. If customers don't like your way they are free to leave.
If the business survives this kind of bleeding, then the business model was right anyway.
Hope no one brings out the "free card" here.
I don't use Wordpress. I am on Facebook, do I think they care how their site should work? Why should they care what my opinion is? Because i am a user, I get to complain and get my way?
This attitude that users dictate how products and sites should function only brings to mind the Henry Ford quote in the Steve Jobs book. If Ford had asked people what they wanted, they would have asked for a faster horse.
Apple has made a very successful business out of not building faster horses. If you want it your way, start your own business.