Opensource

Embracing Open Source Software

Last updated: March 13, 2025

Our Open Source Philosophy

At Houses on The Air, we believe in the power of open collaboration and transparency. That's why we've embraced open source principles throughout our organization. We're committed to sharing our code, encouraging community contributions, and building on the foundation laid by other open source projects.

Step 1: Understanding Open Source

Open source software is software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance. By using and contributing to open source software, we can foster a collaborative community and drive innovation.

Step 2: Benefits of Open Source

Using open source software for HOTA offers numerous benefits:

Transparency: Anyone can review the code, ensuring security and reliability.
Collaboration: Developers from around the world can contribute, improving the software.
Cost-effective: Open source software is often free to use, reducing costs.
Flexibility: The software can be customised to meet specific needs.

Step 3: Publishing HOTA Software as Open Source

We are committed to publishing all software developed for HOTA as open source. This allows the community to:

Review and improve the code through peer review
Create new features and fix bugs to benefit everyone
Adapt the software for other amateur radio events and purposes
Share knowledge and best practices across the radio community
Build upon each other's work rather than reinventing the wheel

Step 4: How to Contribute

If you want to contribute to HoTA's open source projects, here's how you can get involved:

Code Contributions

Visit our GitHub Organisation to find our projects
Fork the repository and make your changes
Submit a pull request with a description of your changes
Engage in the code review process

Other Contributions

Report bugs and issues on our issue trackers
Suggest new features or improvements
Improve documentation and examples
Help test new releases and features
Join our community discussions

Step 5: Growing the Community

By embracing open source, we aim to grow a vibrant community around HoTA. This community can:

Organise new events using the software.
Share experiences and best practices.
Collaborate on new features and improvements.
Support each other in using and developing the software.
Create a sustainable ecosystem around amateur radio activities.

Our Open Source Projects

HOTA Website - The main website codebase

Open Source License

Our projects are released under the MIT License, which allows you to:

Use the code freely for personal and commercial purposes
Modify the code to suit your needs
Distribute modified versions
Include the code in your own projects

All we ask is that you include the original copyright notice and license text.

Join us in our mission to make amateur radio more accessible and enjoyable through open source software!