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It sounds to me like he has misconceptions about creating and building communities surrounding open source software. It takes growing a very large user base before you get a user who just happens to know how to code and just happens to want to step in and help develop. You might be the one off patch or two but committed developer that devote a significant amount of time are don't happen right away.
A good idea, a good base to start with, a good attitude and good communication are essential for a project to grow beyond one person. I'm the sole maintainer of an open source project that has a few hundred (maybe one thousand) users and I have had zero code contributions. I took it over from the original creator and the entire code base (aside from a few patches and translations) was his.
It was over four years after the original creator's last release and my first release. He was even publicly asking for someone to take over the project for two(?) years before I stepped up. From his last release to the current release I've probably rewritten about 75% of the application. Community is not some magical thing that just happens it takes a lot of work. None one is just going to jump up and start contributing. This is why forks often fail.
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