Perhaps custom ROMs will only ever exist among a relatively small group of "hackers" or whatever you want to call us, but I do really hope we can grow this community in the coming years.
You know that xkcd with n standards, let's add another, now it's n+1? That's kinda how I feel about Android ROMs these days. I'm hopeful we can join forces to a greater extent, and make these platforms easier for less-technical folks to access.