Welcome to HOSS
The Houston Open Source Society (HOSS) is a society dedicated to promoting open source software education, development, and support. We profess collaborative coding practices, user-ownership of data and software, and digital civic engagement in the Houston metropolitan area.
Our society is always flat, and free. We're a voluntary community organization that functions as a democratic egalitarian collective. Money never exchanges hands. We're not a profit-corporation nor a 501(c)(3) non-profit, we're just a bunch of Houstonians from all walks of life.
We meet every Wednesday at different locations around Houston. Each meeting features talks and discussions about open source projects, and technologies. We also host collaborative coding sessions, and classes, and opportunities to contribute to important civic technology initiatives.
Hacker, programmer, student or tech enthusiast? Check us out!
What We Do
Join us every Wednesday for classes, talks, discussions, coding sessions, and community building
- Talks
- Share knowledge through lightning talks about technology you're interested in.
- Classes
- Learn software development at all levels, from scripting to kernel design.
- Open Source Development
- Collaborate on projects and learn how to own your software and data.
- Civic Technology
- Contribute to OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikipedia, and Wikimedia Commons.
- Community Building
- Foster connections between developers, designers, and technology enthusiasts
Next Meeting
Our meetings rotate to different locations each week. Check our Meetings by Week section to find details about the current week's meeting location and agenda.
Get Involved
- Attend Meetings: Join us every (or any) Wednesday at rotating locations around Houston.
- Give a Talk: Share any technology that interests you. Lightning talks are 30 seconds to 15 minutes.
Want to take your involvement up a notch, Join Us.
What We Believe
- Open Source First: We advocate for open source solutions and contribute to existing projects whenever possible
- Civic Engagement: Technology should serve the public good, and we actively contribute to civic technology projects
- Inclusive Community: We welcome developers, designers, students, and technology enthusiasts of all skill levels. Knowledge sharing and peer mentorship are core to our community