Alan Johnson

Like most everyone else, I've been trying to make sense of references to events that happened increasingly far in the past. /5

This is complicated by the fact that important discussions are filled with "This Tweet is unavailable" from folks who have chosen to block me. /6

I find the behavior outlined disturbing, especially in 2016 and 2017. /8

Alluded to, in a lot of discussion, is a pattern of behavior in interactions that is toxic in aggregate and/or abusiveness taking place in side channels. /9

As someone who I won't name pointed out, one can either miss, ignore, deny, or refute the circumstantial evidence. That's every individual's call. /10

I infer that some of this may be magnified by supporters, whose comments can sometimes cast the original person's comments in the worst possible light, if their support is not assertively refused. /11

What's a lot less clear is whether 1) the past makes De Goes problematic today 2) whether De Goes behavior from 2018-onward is also problematic /12

From these questions, different people are trying to further answer 1) should De Goes be given the spotlight at community events, like conferences? 2) should projects welcome him as a collaborator? 3) should he be persona non grata, generally speaking? /13

Mismatches in personal experience, perception of his negative impact, and scope of expected interaction are leading to very different answers from different people, and that is very confusing. /14

My interpretation of what I've seen is @jdegoes appears to have taken feedback and evolved. Many people cite his outreach as what brought them into the community, including underrepresented people. /15

The folks who are loudly fighting to change Scala's culture have had a lot of success in changing some of its pillars. They've had a lot of success in getting John De Goes and others to change their behavior for the better. /16

Maybe this perceived reform is genuine. Or maybe it's a trojan horse to stay in good graces and more quietly keep the door open to people who espouse viewpoints I find abhorrent. I think everyone has to make that judgement for themselves. /19

A big part of me vibes with @propensive's thread (https://twitter.com/propensive/status/1170098818286784512 …), and is ready to let the healing begin. /20

However... /21

The Scala community remains anachronistically dude-dominated. It feels like my college computer engineering classes from nearly 2 decades ago. This is not a minor detail. /22

As someone who also does a lot of front-end work, it stands in stark contrast to the much more powerfully inclusive and reflective communities there. /23

This is no single person's fault. It's a systemic issue inherited from "deep tech", and that culture continues to idolize visible dudes, center the thoughts of dudes, and fret over treatment of dudes--as has this thread. /25

It will continue to do so if more dudes don't speak up. That's why I'm writing this at 3am, after much consideration. /26

I can't help but notice the list of people seconding and ing @propensive's statement also appears to be mostly dudes. /27

Perhaps that's simply representative of our non-diverse community. Nonetheless, it's clear that many dudes would rather just "get back to coding". /28

Meanwhile, there are voices in the community who have said "I am marginalized by what happens in our community, and it feels like the community is cool with that" /29

My biggest concern is where does this leave underrepresented women and minorities? Are they voting with their feet, instead of their voices, as they empirically have to date? /END