Some more responses from people involved in Processing were linked by tigerfiend on Reddit. Because Twitter requires a login to view complete threads, I looked up tigerfiend’s links on nitter. I’m reposting them here to minimize link rot and to provide a record of the conversation should the other copies be deleted. If interested, you may want to check with the source links for updates.
Earlier this week, Ben Fry wrote a personal thread about his views on Processing and the Processing Foundation, saying that he left the Foundation because he disagreed with its direction. I’m clarifying that I’m aligned with the Processing Foundation, my vision of Processing and the Processing Foundation are the same.
The Foundation is actively and financially supporting development for Processing and p5.js and related projects. Ben refused financial resources multiple times and never articulated an alternative plan. He was offered direct payment and he was offered a budget to hire people. This whole time he was a board member of the Foundation, he was the President; he had an equal stake in decision making. After he left the board and after a few months for all of us to cool off, he was again offered financial support for Processing.
This isn’t about Ben and Casey so let’s please not oversimplify it, it’s so much larger, so many amazing people are involved with Processing and the Foundation in 2023.
I would like to post a note to say that I am in full support of the Processing Foundation, its mission, its leadership, and direction.
Growing up, it was my dream to be a musical theater director. Strangely enough, I recently woke up and discovered I had been teaching and helping to maintain open source tools for creative coding for 20 years. I love doing it and I love the community with all my heart.
In 2012, I was invited to help start the Processing Foundation. I was always being invited to do things. I never had to struggle or prove to anyone that I had value in the community.
Though it was always right in front of my face, it took me some time to learn and see other people’s struggles. I’m still learning. I’m still missing seeing so much.
Supporting a community and maintaining open source software is not easy. It’s really hard. I believe the team at the Processing Foundation is equipped to take us into the future and find new and better solutions for sustainable open source and healthy and inclusive communities.
Casey and Ben created Processing in 2001. They’ve dedicated 20+ years to building and maintaining both the software and its community. The elegant simplicity of the Processing language, website, and IDE is the original source of inspiration for all of my teaching and work.
sometimes i think about how @p5xjs, used by so many white men to achieve financial success and recognition, was created and led by women/femme BIPOC artists based on core values of inclusion and access p5js.org/community
For my own safety and the safety of the other women and people of color involved in these projects, I can’t engage with his lies here on twitter. I believe the work and values of @p5xjs and the processing foundation are clear and people can form their own conclusions.