You can do what you want of course. The root argument is that having a “us vs them” mindset has been a big barrier for functional languages in the past. There are languages similar to Elm that have existed for 30 or 40 or 50 years, but for some reason, many have a reputation as being academic or esoteric. Some people who like those languages have become quite resentful about that perception, and I saw a lot of folks acting in an “us vs them” way that it tended to alienate folks. So I encouraged folks to not see functional programming as a cool club for the cool kids. It’s just a thing you can do or you can not do. Like if you use this hammer or that hammer. I think cultural norms like that have actually been extremely important for Elm, and individual behavior has implications for the group. (E.g. it is a quite a small minority of folks that identify as “typed functional programmers” that end up in aggressive and negative interactions, but it does not need to be a large group to create a more general perception.)
The argument itself is independent of me. The root idea is that setting up “us vs them” has a way of “strengthening a community” but in a way that is actually not that welcoming. For example, should a Pythonista get along with a Rubyist? Look around Hacker News and see what the data suggests. So if you want people to say something else, make a better argument that is well-supported by historical data. You say “Good communities are …” but based on what? What is another programming language community that is like that? JavaScript? What are the full implications of having 100 perspectives on everything? Does it have an impact on the package ecosystem? Does that make it harder or easier to get work done? Okay, maybe there is another example… What are the implications of that? How does it fit with other parts of their community?
I’m hopeful that your perspective is explained by the perception of typed functional languages changing so much that you don’t think the root argument based on “us vs them in the historical context of typed functional programming being esoteric” is no longer relevant. That’d be a good improvement. But I don’t think it follows that “therefore encouraging ‘us vs them’ thinking has no other serious downsides.” Again, look at every single Hacker News thread ever. Or look at it in a different context, like in the great blender vs food processor debate.