>I'v seen quite many who doesn't create much of whitepapers or books but (mostly free) VFP tools (PRG, VCX, APP...) for the mass community. When the download counter is something like many thousands, do you think that they have contribute to the community and how does this kind of contribution count in your list?

Probably ont from just one thing, it is difficul to answer a hypothetical question like this since they are always many factors to consider overall. It is about an accumulation of contributions as well as the overall perception in the community.