Why I Support the Haskell Foundation
Last November at the Haskell eXchange conference, Simon Peyton Jones announced the Haskell Foundation. This can be understood as many things: an organization dedicated to the hard work of making Haskell more successful and useful, a touchpoint for different parts of the Haskell community to come together and cooperate, and a focus knob to direct general support (financial and otherwise) for the Haskell community and maximize its impact.
I recently decided to become a ma jor contributor to the Haskell Foundation, and I’m writing about the reasons behind my decision. I also hope to encourage others who can easily do so (and only those who can easily do so) to join me in pledging ongoing support for the organization as individuals with passion and love for Haskell and its community. In short, there’s a real opportunity here and we’re always stronger when we act together.
I hope this goes without saying, but I will say it anyway. Haskell has, for many years now, been a source of great joy in my life. It has been a way to unwind, whether it’s solving Project Euler problems, throwing together a physics demo, or solving a math problem. It’s been with me when I just need to get away from the stresses of daily life. It has also been my life’s work. Though I’ve yet to be paid to write Haskell, my volunteer work in schools, teaching children with Haskell, has been my way to give back to the world and accomplish something meaningful with my life.
