Help me understand the GPL so I do this right

[chipbennett]

It hasn't gotten to be a significant problem yet, because we haven't gotten automated theme upgrades really working too much. That will change as themes start getting into the extend repository more often.

For now, however, with only a couple of grandfathered exceptions, child themes are not allowed in the repository. So the problem sort of solves itself there.

I have never used a "Theme Framework", nor probably will I ever use one. So I don't really know the issues here. IMO, theme frameworks create more problems than they solve. And anyway, if they were really "frameworks", then they should be plugins, not parent themes.

I admit that we need a better solution than child themes for customizing sites. Frameworks aren't the way to go though.

The problem is that "Theme Frameworks" are trying to be two things at once: a Framework, and a Theme. A Framework is not a Theme; rather, it is a drop-in component around which a Theme may be built. The problem is that developers distribute "Framework+Generic Parent Theme" as "Theme Framework", and then distribute the useful Theme as a Child of the Generic Theme.

If the Framework were sold/distributed merely as a Framework, and not as a Theme, then much of the problem would go away. Ideally, developers should be distributing the Framework separate from any Theme, and then make what are currently "Child" Themes the actual Parent Themes (getting rid of the "Generic" Theme entirely).

That way, users could still Child-Theme against the Framework+Parent Theme.

[dgwyer]

It doesn't matter how they distribute it really, the problem is that as long as the current theme infrastructure remains the same, and theme frameworks 'hog' the primary theme slot, then it never going to be ideal.

Still, nothing is set in stone, and I am sure that WordPress will evolve to address these issues.