I think Eckel sees Scala the way I do, as a somehow incomplete vision of the future of programming, but I was disappointed by this talk. I was hoping to hear some deeper insights into what specifically Eckel would want to rethink about Scala. I don't think he was really able to elucidate what he wants to change. He vaguely mentioned Scala 3, but didn't seem to have looked very deeply into it.
Like others, I was also a bit perplexed by his description of the community. In his descriptions of Python's BDFL, I couldn't help but feel Odersky's leadership was shortchanged a bit. I primarily programmed in Scala for the past year and my experience with the community has been nothing but positive, whether on mailing lists or StackOverflow.
Of course, perception is reality, and even Odersky has spoken on a culture of elitism in Scala in the past. I also think the lack of women in the Scala scene makes a point in itself, as well. I just wish more cogent examples had been provided, because the problems in the community need to be highlighted before they can be solved.
My biggest issue with Scala hasn't been community, but lack of maturity on the project level. The larger Python, JS, and Ruby communities simply have more out there in terms of community contributed content. The tradeoff for me has been that versus the sheer elegance of Scala.
I also think there's a lot of truth to the point that the multiparadigm of ways to do something in Scala leads to each team or organization developing a distinct style, which is unfortunate. On the other hand, Scala code seems have this property of evolution toward succinctness and elegance over time. You may not know how to get it right the first shot, but you'll eventually roll down the gradually sloped pit of success. In JS, by contrast, doing things the right way tends to look almost like an abuse of the language.