There are 2 ideas about open source, neither of which are contradictory.
First is free and open code development which is a different development strategy than closed source development. This development is conducted by multiple contributors from various countries and skill levels. The advantages of this development model are lower cost, security, no vendor ‘lock in’, & better quality. This development is supported by groups like the Open Source Initiative, Apache Foundation, and Mozilla Foundations. These organizations help to maintain and coordinate various development efforts.
There is a moment in the life of any aspiring astronomer that it is time to buy that first telescope. It’s exciting to think about setting up your own viewing station whether that is on the deck of your home or having.
At Open Autism, we believe in both forms of Open Source. Open Source development will help to provide development resources to projects that might not normally have the funds or development resources. Additionally, Open Source Licensing will help to encourage further development and allow users to be able to customize their software. This is extremely important for Autistic users since they may need custom symbols or words to accommodate their learning needs. Additionally, open licenses allow researchers to make modifications to the code needed to conduct research without restricting their usage or publishing their code for further research.