We have gotten deeply involved, much more deeply, in Bedework than we anticipated when we started collaborating with Washington more than four years ago. However, our overall focus remains delivering value locally (to the RPI community) while at the same time making Bedework attractive enough to other universities that they would adopt the software and contribute to its development.
Earlier I stated that we view our open software work as the confluence of enlightened self-interest and altruism. The self-interest was to provide our university with a public events calendaring system, which we have done. Perhaps it was all enlightened self interest, however.
However, what we have gotten out of this project has transcended the calendaring system itself. Bedework and our participation in CalConnect has reconnected us the larger world and community of university software development.
Our open software project has allowed us meet, collaborate, and be influenced by so many talented people in higher ed around the world, an opportunity that probably would not have come our way if we had not engaged in an open software project. It is an opportunity to show the same kindness to others that the University of Washington showed us by welcoming us into their UWCalendar open software project.
It is an opportunity to continue the tradition of open software development of contributing according to our ability. It is an opportunity to reconnect with our own university by hiring a student to work with us on this project.
Ultimately, Joey “The lips” Fagan, the trumpet player in Alan Parker's “The Commitments,” talking about what the band meant after it broke up, said it best, “You're missin' the point. The success of the band was irrelevant - you raised their expectations of life, you lifted their horizons . . . “
That's what this open software project has done for us professionally - it raised our expectations and lifted our horizons.
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