Drama over the open-source JavaScript framework Node.js continues. In the latest installment, its official project head, TJ Fontaine, has abruptly stepped aside—both from Node and from his job at Joyent, Node’s longtime corporate sponsor.
Fontaine’s departure comes just a few months after Joyent announced plans to turn over Node governance to an independent foundation. That decision followed an open-source schism in the Node community that led several of its primary contributors to launch their own version of the Node software dubbed IO.js. (There are now signs that the Node and IO projects may be on the road to reunion.)
See also: Joyent Waves A White Flag, Hands Off Node.js To A New Foundation
In a blog post, Fontaine said it’s the “right time” to move on. “It’s because of this strong team, community, and the formation of the Foundation that it makes it the right time for me to step back.”
Fontaine’s post didn’t mention that he was leaving Joyent, although a company spokesperson confirmed the departure via email to VentureBeat. Julien Gilli, a Joyent software engineer, will slide in as the interim Node lead. Fontaine praised Gilli in his farewell post, calling him an “incredible addition” to the team who has “done wonders for the project.”
Photo by Lauren Orsini for ReadWrite
