Open source software is freely available for anyone to use, modify, and distribute. This means that anyone can access the source code of the software and make changes to it, as long as they follow the terms of the open source license. This can lead to a lot of innovation and collaboration, as developers from all over the world can contribute to the development of applications.
By having access to the source code, developers are free to modify the software to meet their needs and to create their own versions of the software. This avoids vendor lock in, where a single platform can effectively hold hostage & block customers from switching to a competing platform.
Vendor lock in is the business model for many “Walled” platforms – such as Facebook Marketplace, Shopify, Microsoft 365, Wix, etc – where just like The Hotel California “you can never leave”. Without source code access, developers are unable to verify that code is secure and that correct privacy practices are being followed.
Greyt.co.za is Open Source
This website is hosted on a Linux web server, running PHP application server, MySQL database server and WordPress CMS. The entire “application stack” is open source.