There has been discussion about giving back to wordpress.org . I get that. But is the only way to give back to .org is to work on core? I feel like not everyone can work on core, not just because of ability, but because there is a certain hierarchy to it.
I think a lot of people give back by creating plugins that they release for free. I myself like WordPress because of the ecosystem. I give back by training people on WordPress for nothing in return and WP snippets that I feel are legit enough to be in the public domain. I feel that is the spirit. Truthfully to me, the ecosystem is the strength. Maybe I'd rather have a very barebones base.
When it comes to WPEngine, what is giving back? They have said they do give back in terms of ACF, Local, educational, sponsorships. I myself have used all of these at some point or another. I just feel to say that they are a "cancer" is disingenuous.