Why Is Typesafe Less Involved in Nurturing Scala User Groups?

Great question. I've often pondered this myself and have spent over two years trying to understand the reasoning behind it. I am an organizer of Scala Bay, a user group that currently boasts over 2,000 members. Though Typesafe does an excellent job in organizing global events like Scala Days, there are aspects where they exert minimal influence.

Typesafe's Role in the Scala Community

Typesafe is a company dedicated to supporting the adoption of Scala in the enterprise, as well as providing support for Akka and Play Framework. Scala, on the other hand, is an open-source project that relies heavily on community-driven evolution. Typesafe believes in empowering the open-source community to grow independently, without interference from the company.

As Miguel noted, Typesafe does not consider itself the authority or overseer of the Scala community. This aligns with their mission to support the community rather than control it. While they are always willing to support user groups externally, they ensure that no appearance of control is present.

How Typesafe Supports User Groups

Typesafe supports user groups by covering expenses such as buying pizza and arranging for speakers to visit events, as long as it does not appear as though the company is dictating anything to the group. If you wish to request support, you can contact marketing@ Requests are evaluated based on considerations of these potential influences.

Typesafe also believes in the valuable contributions of every voice within the community. User groups play a crucial role in fostering community interactions, and Typesafe remains committed to supporting them where possible. However, the community also operates independently and grows organically.

Key Takeaways

Typesafe supports user groups to empower the community, but not to control it. User groups are central to community interactions but can grow independently. Typesafe evaluates support requests based on avoiding any perception of control or financial limitations.

For more information or to support a user group event, please reach out to marketing@

Credits: Miguel, an anonymous contributor who asked the original question, and the members of the Scala Bay user group for their valuable insights and feedback.