Comment by nickysielicki

Jon Pretty responded on twitter with the following:

https://twitter.com/propensive/status/1387168037908910085

> I've been aware for some time that a short relationship I had with another Scala developer in 2018, which is the subject of a blog post published today, was being discussed increasingly widely within the Scala community. A second post relating to an earlier, two-year relationship has also been published today.

> While I have no desire to discuss my private life in public, both posts contain several falsehoods, and I strongly reject their characterizations of me.

> I have always believed in unbiased kindness towards others, and given the relatively few women using Scala, plus my role as a prominent figure within the Scala community, I have gone out of my way to be as welcoming as possible to newcomers. This kindness extends to everyone in the community. And at the conferences I frequently attend or organize, I always try to make myself approachable and supportive.

> Through this openness, and over the last few years, during which time the Scala community has been the main focus of most of my activities, I have formed many friendships which have developed both at conferences and online. In the last decade, a tiny number of these proceeded, over a period of weeks or months, to become romantic relationships. They did so gradually, and with the full consent and cooperation of all parties.

> I have no doubt that both women who have published posts today were hurt when our relationships ended. So was I. But the nature of relationships is that many of them do end, and that does not always happen amicably. However, I stand by how I behaved during both relationships, and after they ended. The suggestions that I acted improperly are false or, at best, misinterpretations of my intent. I am happy to be independently scrutinised on any of the points raised.

> The nature of the claims that have been made is serious, and I do not discount that. But they are one-sided, retrospective revisions of the history of those relationships, which have evolved over the last three years.

> Nevertheless, given the open letter against me, I feel that regardless of the baselessness of these claims, it would not be appropriate for me to continue to participate at Scala conferences, so I shall no longer do so.

> I do not intend to discuss this matter further in public.

> - Jon Pretty

(OCR'd with tesseract)