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Why Open Source?
The software we use to power your township website makes it's source code freely available to everyone. We feel that this enhances our ability to custom tailor the site to your needs, creates a large community of like-minded developers with which to further the potential of the software, and allows for quick response to the crucial security vulnerabilities that plague online software the internet over. We'd like to share with you some information on why we prefer open source.
Open Source is Everywhere:
It used to be that the term open source was seen as lesser quality or a free alternative. Today, open source software has proven to be a strong contender in all kinds of different markets. More than half the websites you visit every day are hosted using open source software. Mozilla's Firefox web browser now has nearly a third of the browser market. Even your Tivo uses software that is open source.
Open Source is More Secure:
With proprietary, or closed source software, we usually see one company with a small team of developers working on a piece of software. When a security vulnerability is discovered, we take comfort in knowing that there are literally thousands of people working to fix the problem as quickly as possible. With more people working on the code, more bugs can be found, and solved, faster.
Development Options:
Because the development community has access to the source code, the number of third party extensions and contributions to the code are much greater than we see with closed source platforms. The software we use to run your township website currently has nearly 5,000 extensions available that expand the role of what the software can do.
A Real Community:
Let's face it. Sometimes you run into a problem and you just can't find a good solution to save your life. With open-source software, not only do you get extensive documentation written by people who know the software by heart, but you've got access to a robust community of developers and simple front end users alike, many of whom may have run into the same problems. With a real support community you can get real answers.
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