Jon Pretty

This undermines the claim, made several times in the advance email I received, that @jdegoes is deterring *new* contributors, if the annoyance at his communication style can only be perceived after months of exposure to it. /9

Instead, @jdegoes has developed a reputation for being "inspirational". I sense that even this can be a particular irritation if you don't like him, but there is ample evidence that @jdegoes has attracted many new contributors to Scala projects. /10

So I find it disingenuous that @typelevel are presenting their own distaste at @jdegoes's online style as having "prevented countless other contributors from stepping forward for fear of reprisal..." This appears to be unfounded speculation. /11

If you have a personal problem with @jdegoes, then damn well take ownership of your inability to work with a difficult person, rather than laying it at the door of unknown, unnamed hypothetical contributors. /12

The claim has also been made repeatedly that @jdegoes has failed to change despite numerous warnings and criticism. As someone who has passed plenty of criticism onto @jdegoes, I have been looking avidly for just such a change. /13

And there's plenty of evidence: If you watch videos of @jdegoes recorded after his keynote at @scalapeno_conf, you will struggle to find a single word or phrase to criticize. That's a change which came about in response to criticism. It's wilful blindness if you don't see it. /14

Why does this make me so angry? I've just finished organizing Scala World, a conference of 250 attendees, who had a fantastic time meeting, discussing, learning and sharing ideas around the Scala language, upon which I've based my entire career. /15

I've been working my arse off to try to bring people together for a few days of friendly collaboration, which I do for love, not for profit, as many other conference organizers do. @jdegoes was there, he enhanced the conference with his presence, and everyone had a good time. /16