Do you think that Linux Torvalds gets some written assurance that no-one will rip off Linux and make a new OS called Hinux just by changing one line of code? No - he has the assurance that his reputation is such that people will prefer to use his Linix and stupid forks will crash and burn.
You have the same assurance. People do like what you do - if you are around to maintain it, no-one else will be able to get a reputation that you have and your users will stick with you. I've been doing free cc development since 2007. 4 of the top 20 Glider ccs were mine. All were copied - only one fork proved worthwhile and the rest faded into obscurity. You really do not need to be concerned about this...wait a few weeks and you will see what I mean.
I can see both sides of the coin, I really can. And, I also agree with both sides on certain points. However, what Hawker is saying is true, at least for me. I will always stick with the original developer's work if they support it as they stated they would, and the offspring forks that pop up wouldn't really even concern me. I don't like change very much, and I like to stick with originals, because they work the best.
I've already seen several people temporarily shutting down their work due to these rule changes, and right at a critical moment as MoP is on the horizon. All these CCs that are being taken down work really well, because they're constantly being worked on, fixed, modified, and improved by the original authors. I, for one, am using several of the ones being halted. It's going to make things tough on me because I now have to search for yet another CC that works as well as the halted one, and there aren't that many, if any, that do.
I'm not trying to sway one side or another to accept or change the rules that have been changed. I'm just trying to put into light the consumer (user's) point-of-view. I don't have the knowledge to copy/paste/edit anything, nor do I want to, because as I've stated before, I like the original. It works, and often times works well. I always post suggestions to help improve the original to the authors' threads, and await the modifications made.
Honestly, I just hope that these troubled waters settle very soon and things will be reopened back to the way they used to be. I'm going to hate not being able to play some of my toons efficiently anymore because the good, active developers went on hiatus due to rule changes. I'm sorry if I rubbed anyone the wrong way and angered you, annoyed you, or cause some sort of negative vibe. I just want my HB community back to normal, releasing awesome work as usual, and we all live an play happily together until Blizzard destroys everything.