[racket] Racketeers: a welcoming, friendly, educated, insightful, patient, responsive, and helpful community

From: Etan Wexler (racket-lang.org at r-6.org)
Date: Sat Aug 24 20:38:56 EDT 2013

Less than forty minutes after I posed my first question to the
Racketeers, core Racket author Matthew Flatt offered two solutions to
me and to the Racketeers. Make that “the other Racketeers”. Though I’d
only lurked around discussions taking place on Racket’s “users” e‐mail
forum, I had, within a few months of such lurking, come to feel a
pleasant sense of membership in the Racket community. The journey
started on 2013‐01‐02, when I wrote a message to the maintainers of
Racket’s Web site, posing the question that I’d eventually pose to the
other Racketeers. Core Racket author Eli Barzilay responded, advising
that I ask the Racketeers on “users”. I had unhappily expected such a
response; my lips curled into a frown. I delayed subscribing for some
time, dreading the flood of unwanted e‐mail. I was wrong to dread.
About my subscription, I regret only the delay that I took in placing
it. Racketeers form a community that is unusually welcoming, friendly,
educated, insightful, patient, responsive, and helpful. Discussions
between other Racketeers have often broadened and deepened my mind.
I’m grateful for the education that you’ve given to me. I thank you,
Eli. I thank you, Matthew. I thank you, Racketeers.

It just so happens that, as I was writing the foregoing passage, I was
listening to “Fire‐Breathing Fists”, Totalcult’s mash‐up of Cypress
Hill’s “Insane in the Brain” and Charlie Sheen’s manic proclamations.
With that inspiration, and without apology to the formidable Mr Sheen,
I offer the following.

I am on a drug. It’s called “Racket”. Racket’s got magic and it’s got
poetry in its fingertips. Get with the program. It’s all good. News
flash: Racket is special! Boom. Bring it. It’s on!


Posted on the users mailing list.