I had missed the tempest in a teapot between Jot and SocialText, but whil catching up with these old news I found this mouthful from Jonathan D. Nolen:
"What it comes down to for me as a customer, really, is this: I don’t just want open source code. I want a partnership with an open company. Open source code and open data are just a minimum bar. You also have to provide channels of communication — and participate in them. And you have to be honest about your product: both its problems and its future directions. In the end, the open relationship with your customers will prove far more valuable (as well as more remunerative) than open source code alone."
Some open source projects are living dead while some closed source software vendors managed to create thriving communities around open access to data. I know which one is more important to me as a customer.
02/27/05 update: The Open Company Test.