Most all major problems with scale are due to single-process threads. Node.js had it's moment with single-process thread. Blocking will happen even with events but @ scale. He solved his issue with multiple queue-workers + messaging between. This alleviated his blocking, and some people spoke to the fact that node had a cluster workflow which could have also alleviated this issue as well.

Some languages make this workflow more obvious, and some people get stuck in the general way of thinking about problems. I think this is more of an engineering problem and thinking out of the box and ultimately his direction in looking for resources & help within the general community.

I think when you run into problems like these, you need to try to contact the community at large to ask about scaling, and ways scaling is generally done with these types of tasks. Thinking you're the only one who ever experiences trouble scaling is very juvenile and expresses inexperience & ultimately ego. Yes, he solved a problem, but he felt he had to uproot himself in the code already there to do it.

I guess he solved his problem, but he had a quicker path very possibly, he just didn't know it existed.