i would call this a settlement, not a stagnation. the
usual reaction to
posts like these are: if you want something changed, pick it up, change
it, but quit bitching about it.
In the case of GNOME, especially given recent flames between Torvalds and
Gnome devs, this statement [apart from obviously also being inflammatory] is
plainly wrong. There are a number of potential contributors who wish to help
but are finding it hard to get past the [remaining] maintainers and are thus
moving on to other projects. If you don't believe me, check the relevant
posts/discussions and/or recent news...
Ico