Re: Philly Lambda Charter / Splintering, was Re: Scala in Philly?

[Brian Clapper <bmc@clapper.org>]

On 6/3/10 3:08 PM, Kyle R. Burton wrote:
> On Thu, May 27, 2010 at 4:48 PM, Brian Clapper <bmc@clapper.org> wrote:
>> Just sent this to the scala-users mailing list. Seems apropos here, as
>> well:
>> ---
>> A few of us Scala enthusiasts in and around the Philadelphia, PA, area
>> have been throwing around the idea of a Philly-area Scala group. I
>> said I'd toss an email out into the ether, to see whether there are
>> any other people on this list in the same general area who'd be
>> interested. Drop me an email, if so. Courtesy of Mark Chadwick, we
>> already have a cool acro-name; we just need the people to go with it.
> 
> That PHASE is getting started is a good sign - it shows that there is
> a growing interest in functional programming, that we have enthusiasm
> and energy in the local tech community.
> 
> My idea of what Philly Lambda is, is that it's centered around
> interesting technologies, inclusive of FP, but not necessarily with a
> focus on a particular, specific language or technology.  I would have
> expected it to host Scala - is there something about the group that
> didn't serve your needs or is there something else you expect to get
> out of a Scala specific group?  (I have some ideas of what, I'm just
> interested in your reasoning).
> 
> With this splintering off, I'm wondering if there may also be interest
> in a Clojure offshoot?

Honestly, it just seemed that a group focused primarily on Scala didn't fit
with Philly Lambda's charter. I'm doing a lot of Scala programming these days,
and I'm interested in sharing notes and experiences with others who are doing
the same. This does not mean I'm not also interested in what's going on with
Philly Lambda, but I thought (perhaps erroneously) that trying to shoehorn a
Scala group into Philly Lambda might go against the more inclusive nature of
the Philly Lambda charter. If my assumptions were wrong, mea culpa.

That said, I see no reason why there cannot be an affiliation of some sort
between the groups. If it makes sense for PHASE to be an official offshoot or
subsidiary of Philly Lambda, then I personally have no problem with that
arrangement. In fact, arrangements like that have much to recommend
them--assuming they make sense, that is.

Also, it's not my intent to "own" or "run" PHASE. It's not so much an ego thing
as a desire to pull together people who can help one another. But someone has
to start the ball rolling. I figured I might as well fire the first shot.
-- 
-Brian

Brian Clapper, http://www.clapper.org/bmc/
Man is a Generalist.  Specialization is for insects.
	-- Lazarus Long