There is some implicit expectation when people release a project as open source. As a OSS author if you don't understand this expectation, your project is going to hit massive roadblocks sooner or later.
There are tons of different styles of project management. I don't see the point in claiming one as the "OSS way." I think it's fair enough to criticize someone for their management style in itself; additionally criticizing them for breaking the "OSS contract" or "going against the spirit of OSS" is kind of silly IMO, and a cheap way to score argument points and pageviews.