I don't honestly think it matters. Yeah, it sucks when you think that the game going on Version .6 means it'll probably be in development for a couple years to come, but the only situation where that's really a "bad thing" is if something else similar is released that kills it.
(EDIT: Well, a lot can happen in x years. Fractal Software could bankrupt or something. But I doubt that.)
Which isn't really likely, nor is it actually bad for us, because we'd have what we want.
The infrequency of the patch notes is entirely irrelevant. I can plan for what I want to do with my mods, but that doesn't even take 10 minutes of reading the notes to realize what I want to do with the new features.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE hearing news. The Patch Notes, and especially updates, give off the same vibes as reading about/purchasing a whole new game. But for however long it's been since I bought it, I've just stopped caring so much.
(That's not a bad thing.)