As Red Hat has scaled, it has to remain staffed with all types of non-technical business professionals. How do you help these professionals learn to "sell free software"? Has it been difficult to train these professionals on the open source business model?
Red Hat has distinguished itself through its commitment to open source and its ability to remain profitable.
Mike Olson famously said "you can't build a successful stand-alone company purely on open source."[1] He argues that you cannot scale an open source model that does not rely on selling proprietary components because it is too easy for competitors to undercut a vendor's services offerings when they don't have to pay for R&D.
How do you feel about that assessment? Is Red Hat's success impossible to replicate by other open source companies?
What advice to you have for building a sustainable business, especially one that is driven by open source values?
Mormonism is designed to be a demanding religion, which many do not appreciates. But many do follow the religious tenants do to the influence it has on us.
It is a gross exaggeration to imply that most people have a bad the experience in the Church of Jesus Christ. Similarly, though based on facts, your statements about Joseph Smith and early Utah are exaggerations with no context. It is a shame that your experience with Mormonism left you so bitter, but hanging out on exmormon.org can't improve your perspective.
I don't agree with calling pornography a public health crisis; it would be more honest to label it a widespread moral failing. But it is similarly incorrect to pretend that differences in moral values don't impact the other members of our society. We have a democratic process to resolve such differences. You undermine useful discussion when you label those who disagree with you as cultists or to misrepresent their viewpoints.
I appreciate the parent comment. This topic actually got me to log in. I'm usually too lazy, but an AC response doesn't seem appropriate here.
The funny thing about Mormons is that they are so normal most people know a few without even realizing it. Our religion is as rational as any other (more rational than many), and it is a lot nicer than the rabid secularism that is prevalent around here.
The amount of bigoted ignorance isn't surprising, given that the culture of Slashdot embraces making fun of topics of about which the community knows very little. But I am surprised at how hateful some of the comments are.
Hopefully people realize that lots of Mormons participate in the Slashdot community, so if you have any sincere questions you can ask.
In the meantime, I'll be doing my normal Slashdot things like writing open source code, reading tech blogs, appreciating science, improving the environment, helping my neighbor, and being a Christian. Well, I guess the last one isn't so normal around here.
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