As a current scientist, I have mixed feelings. I'm a neutron scatterer and at an increasing number of facilities, our raw data is available to the public as we

As a current scientist, I have mixed feelings. I'm a neutron scatterer and at an increasing number of facilities, our raw data is available to the public as we take it (or after an embargo period) unless it's proprietary (that is, someone like GM is paying to use the facility). Personally, I think this is a good thing if someone needs to check a result later. It's also convenient for accessing data after an experiment (we have a model where scientists go to different facilities to perform experiments). I do try to put code out in public repositories, but I will say that often what stops me isn't a question of a competitive edge, but rather the fact that my code is ugly. For example, I have developed a small code (relatively slow) that calculates an instrument resolution. I wrote it back when I was first learning python and it is truly ugly and there are a number of things I would do differently today if I had more time. Recently, someone from another facility asked for it and I had some reluctance because of that ugliness. Eventually, I just made a git repository and pointed them at it (along with an offer to help if they got stuck) because I realized that otherwise it would never get out. However, I have met people who refuse to share their code and figure that it's an easy way for them to get added to a paper... BUT--I will say that while I'm working on a paper, it's an entirely different story. I wouldn't want to put code that's being used to reduce a specific set of data (along with the data) out in the wild before the paper was accepted. I would say the same thing for drafts of the actual paper, grant applications, etc. That would seem like asking to get scooped. As for the question of it breaking the bank--I do pay for private repos, but if you want to change the practice of people just swapping files back and forth, then the barrier to entry needs to be extremely low.... On a final note, I will say that my facility does develop code for general use and we do put it out on github/googlecode, but that's different than "adhoc" code...