As data rates continue to rise and electrical interconnects approach their physical limits, somehow interest in optical (photonic) technologies is gaining momentum. This BoF session will explore how community collaboration of software and hardware developers, hobbyists, physicists, engineers etc can contribute to next-generation optics (photonics) tools. We will discuss the current ecosystem of optical (photonic) tools, how newcomers can get started, the key challenges, and whether there is momentum to propse a dedicated devroom next year.