One benefit might be that an open culture encourages the "early release/frequent iteration" model. Another would be that it fosters education, since people who want to learn programming have more real resources to learn from.<p>I'm very interested to hear more - especially if you feel that an open culture has impacted you on a personal level somehow.
Here's one on the personal level. This might sound a little silly, but simply being <i>allowed</i> to submit a bug report and see the progress being made on that bug has got to be one of the most cathartic experiences in my entire relationship with machines and software.