Hello Thad,

I think this comment merely is an enthusiastic shout-out that means 'in my opinion, OpenRefine rules (as in: it's a great solution) for data'. I know the person who responded here and will check with them if I'm correct.

Anyone is free to sign up to the project as a volunteer or advisor. There are absolutely no obligations or 'rules' (as in 'regulations'). At this moment, I see this as a sign that you are more interested than average, and are OK with, for instance, being directly approached on your talk page when new features can be tested and if we have questions or assumptions that we would like to check with the community. 

I will add this bit of info to the application text.

Sandra