It’s not often I find myself disagreeing with something written by Joe ‘Zonker’ Brockmeier but there is a first time for everything and I found his OStatic post about Twitter’s list of the open source projects it uses and contributes to overly harsh on the microblogging service provider.

I can’t disagree with Joe’s central point – that StatusNet and Identi.ca are more open than Twitter – but I’m not sure it’s fair to criticize Twitter for talking about its use of open source on the grounds that it is not fully open.

Joe’s perspective on this seems to come from asking “what does Twitter have to gain from publishing the list?” He reasons that Twitter might be trying to “woo a few talented open source developers into working at Twitter over Google, or Facebook” which seems reasonable given the “Want to work on stuff like this? Check out our jobs” link.

My view on Twitter’s outpouring of affection for open source software would be to ask “what does open source have to gain from Twitter publishing the list?” The answer, it would appear to me, is credit – which is the least open source software projects deserve after contributions (code, resources, money).

The open source page at Twitter, like that at Facebook, gives credit and draws attention to a number of projects and shows a willingness to share not just in using and contributing to code, but to growing awareness of the significance of open source software.

Personally I would encourage other vendors and service providers to follow the lead of Facebook and Twitter in revealing what open source software they use.