I read the whole thing. I agree with bone when he says that the community is too closed. Actually, I understand the point that 95% of the community is formed of leachers, but we can't change the world. Why penalizing the other 5% for people who will not be able to do anything if it's not source specific? When I entered the community, I was shit in english, in programming. My first server was mostly inspired from COWS and was running with TheCOServer project. I didn't implemented much thing. Yes, I used bunch of things released here, but each time, I learned more. I learned more by trying things myself than by reading, but this community was so closed that I had to go outside to find things. When admins of a french-equivalent forum offered me a position as moderator (later as admin), I created the only french forum about CO2 private server. There was laws around. Credits should be given. It wasn't closed like this forum. We made few community project, but there was a lack of coders. Anyway, I know that with my releases, with my section, with the way I was moderating it, it offered the opportunity to people to learn how it works, how to find things by themselves. The forum is now closed, but people who participated to it have learned things, have discovered things. Sometimes thanks me. Yes, there was leachers, but we shouldn't close the community for this reason.
Releasing the current algorithms will not change anything. I agree with the leader thing. Actually, if leaders can release things, can take the direction of open projects, it will probably result in a better situation. Yes, there will be leachers, but at the same times, there will be people that will learn and later contribute to the community. Else, it will die.
When I look to the current situation. The official servers are shit, but there is no alternative to them. Look at the current private server. Everyone works with himself and try to destroy the other servers. I never tried to destroy a competitor. Actually, I have a big problem at the moment, I have the only completely french server. There is no competition. When there is no competition, there is no development. At some point, Microsoft saved Apple by injecting money in it because any company NEEDS a competitor. TQ doesn't have to be afraid from private servers. They're mostly all shitty and all against themselves.
I tried to be the most exact in my opinion, but, eh, answering to 26 pages is kind of hard.
PS. Thanks Ulti :)