Indeed, their lack of openness is frustrating. I recently wrote[1] about the importance of open source code, and open data too, specifically in terms of crowdsourcing projects for scientific advancement. It'd be great if more of these projects were open, especially the ones with "open" in their name.

[1] http://www.jacobsheehy.com/2014/02/open-source-software-is-i...

(Full disclosure: I run an open project, PressureNet, that WeatherSignal competes with in the crowdsourced weather data space)