Regarding the us-and-them attitude, it's a vicious circle.
A person who is a self-defined designer often means it in opposition to coding. That means that they've defined themselves as someone who can't get anything done on their own. That works in a corporate environment, because they can talk somebody into letting them boss around developers on the payroll.
However, that leads to weird power dynamics and resentment on both sides. It also creates a situation where are lot of developers are discouraged from thinking about design, meaning they appreciate it less.
Where I depart from your analysis is the notion that open source projects really want to gain mainstream usage. I'm sure many would say they do, but I doubt many actually care enough to do something about it.
I think this is only going to get better in ways that erase the corporate line between designer and developer. E.g., developers who have some design skills doing more open-source work. Or designers buckling down and learning to submit patches like everybody else. If usability is the itch they want to scratch, they shouldn't wait for somebody else.
Otherwise, I think designers have to limit themselves to producing research and inspiration. E.g., doing well-supported usability studies on a popular open-source apps. Or producing design treatments as in a positive, here's-one-way-you-could-do-it spirit.
A person who is a self-defined designer often means it in opposition to coding. That means that they've defined themselves as someone who can't get anything done on their own. That works in a corporate environment, because they can talk somebody into letting them boss around developers on the payroll.
However, that leads to weird power dynamics and resentment on both sides. It also creates a situation where are lot of developers are discouraged from thinking about design, meaning they appreciate it less.
Where I depart from your analysis is the notion that open source projects really want to gain mainstream usage. I'm sure many would say they do, but I doubt many actually care enough to do something about it.
I think this is only going to get better in ways that erase the corporate line between designer and developer. E.g., developers who have some design skills doing more open-source work. Or designers buckling down and learning to submit patches like everybody else. If usability is the itch they want to scratch, they shouldn't wait for somebody else.
Otherwise, I think designers have to limit themselves to producing research and inspiration. E.g., doing well-supported usability studies on a popular open-source apps. Or producing design treatments as in a positive, here's-one-way-you-could-do-it spirit.