yes extensibility via scripting has value as an alternative to modifying the source, even if it exposes a limited API

and yes c++ builds are unnecessarily hard and waste time for beginners and experts compared to most newer languages

not sure either of these means 'open source is a diversion', but would agree with a different conclusion that commercial software can lead to better user outcomes sometimes. adobe is an example where they squander some of that value add by making the ancillary experience miserable

to the comparison w/ reaper's scripting -- my guess is reaper invested a lot of iterations and user research into creating a usable scripting system. getting this right is hard in the same way as creating an intuitive and productive UX