on 'important changes coming to glitch'
today the news is out that glitch is shutting down project hosting and user profiles. i knew this was coming in some form because gossip has always been fastly’s greatest export - with speedy and non-vague communication usually coming in at, generously, 10th place. i want to say this isn't a full shutdown of glitch, because it doesn't have to be[1]. the inclusion of user profiles in the announcement makes it hard to believe otherwise, though - i hope the powers that be reconsider that, as well as the timeline[2].
while it would be extremely valid for me to respond purely from a place of anger and frustration, my energy right now is better used in helping my fellow glitch community members - including my former glitch teammates - as we grieve this unfortunate, abrupt end to a very good, important chapter in many of our projects, careers and lives. i'm choosing to spend the next few weeks in celebration of our work as i find new homes for the past 9 years of my code!
to say it was an honor and privilege to help launch and grow the inspiring, creative glitch community is an understatement, just as much as saying “this news is disappointing yet unsurprising” is. but i know that the glitch team will make this transition as community-focused, fair and smooth as possible for all of us. if it doesn’t come across or happen that way, i simply ask that you challenge fastly management instead of them. there's no reason we need to be quiet about how we feel to the faces of those who make these decisions!
all that being said, i do sincerely want to thank fastly for giving glitch the opportunity to live to its 3-year acqui-versary this week. they generously took in a beautiful flower and placed it upon their sunny window sill with hopes to grow it more. the problem is they chose to never water it, and anyone with an elementary school education know what happens then. i wish us all a merry august earnings call season.
xoxo jenn
[1] would it not be nice for glitch to live as a community discovery platform, one that has been in the works - openly - for over a year
[2] only 6.5 weeks notice is comically unfair, especially coming from an enterprise company.