Most people that don't have the skills to develop a custom Wordpress website (or a custom website for that matter) don't value Thesis. The reality is, 1.8 (and soon to be 2.0) still has a slight speed advantage over the Genesis Framework. It can also be used to create custom themes much quicker than just about anything else out there. The catch is, you have to actually know what you are doing. I'm sure a wheel was utterly useless to a caveman, but once he stood upright and learned how to use that wheel to toil the land and grow crops, he eventually saw the value. The same can be said about Thesis. ;P

Thanks for posting this Neil!