I don't see why you think that a 3rd option is not possible: someone who understands someone's opinion and accepts as a valid choice but has a different opinion

I don't see why you think that a 3rd option is not possible: someone who understands someone's opinion and accepts as a valid choice but has a different opinion. The issue boils down to opinion and personal preference. As such, it's not a matter of who's "correct". Clearly there are people in both camps (although I would say that "open source" camp is much bigger than "no-cost but not open source" camp). There are valid reasons for both options and I don't see why you assume than someone in "open source" camp is utterly incapable of accepting that being in "no-cost but no open source" camp is also a valid choice. I for one see no point in not releasing the source code if the app is free but if you want to keep your code secret, all the power to you.