Code as liability

It is my belief that custom code is a liability, its use should be minimized, and what there is should be made free or open source software.

Off the top of my head, I bring forth the following reasons:

• Software rot: the tendency of software that has not been used in a while to lose.
• Nobody understands it: Show me your flowchart and conceal your tables and I shall continue to be mystified. Show me your tables and I won't usually need your flowchart, it'll be obvious. -- Fred Brooks
• More fun, higher quality. (As a case in point, Debian GNU/Linux has roughly a dozen different themes for styling your login screen. And I found each one of those visually appealing and obviously designed by someone who liked doing it. I have never seen a commercial product where the preinstalled themes or templates were even remotely acceptable.) 
• It's more ethical and better for humanity in the long run. Scientists shouldn't hoard their knowledge, and neither should programmers.

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