Mint is one of those distros that have walked the middle way between ease and power remarkably well. They have proven that they can be restrained in a manner that makes for great results.

To fork these things and make them fit in more with the entire Mint ecosystem could be a good thing, lets just hope they aren't biting off too much.

Mint is one of those distros that basically took the usability essence of Windows XP and just continued that into the future. No whacky concepts or bold plans for radical change based on a hunch, just subtle and measured improvements one after another. Arguably they took the hardest path forward and nailed it.