I think leadership is one of two absent ingredients.
When e-smith and Mitel ran the show, this was not an open source / open community project. This "community" was essentially providing free testing in return for free software. All decisions regarding features, direction, methods, interface, etc, resided with the corporate sponsor.
This environment resulted in a diseased community (when compared to a traditional open community) in that suggestions from the community were meaningless, contributions from the community were meaningless, complaints from the community where meaningless, etc. All power resided with the corporate sponsor. And if you didn't like it, tough.
Which I believe cultivated the lack of the second key ingredient for SME Server / contribs.org -- the ability to follow.
This community is so sickened by the effects of the e-smith and Mitel approach, I do not know if it is possible to recover. There are lingering effects in that some old-timers still have the "like it or lump it" attitude towards the community at large, and many other old-timers have the "why should I bother, I'll just get slapped back down" response to calls for help.
RuffDogs has their work cut out for them. I wish them luck!
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