As for the community contributing things, ever heard of too many chefs ruining the meal?

Interesting point, however, the community hardly constitues the "chefs" here. IMO, the "chefs" are the relatively few Bioware developers - these are of course the ones that will make the final decision on things. The community is merely generating ideas. And I say the more ideas the better!
Indeed. Were the game being made by committee (as some people seem to believe), then the "too many chefs" comment might apply. That's not the case. Getting feedback and ideas and community-building are not the same as catering to the whim of every armchair developer out there who has an agenda.