Some people mis interpret Fedora's Mission Statement.

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I am really frustrated by some of the things that I hear said on this
board.  Specifically when someone comes on here and touts the "Fedora is
bleeding edge software" and "if it isn't stable enough for you, go get
another distribution".  

That is NOT the intent of Fedora.   Fedora is NOT "by developers for
developers and the hell with the end user".  

Its ultimate goal is to produce production quality user ready
distributions.

Max Spevack addressed the specific topic of goals on Slashdot a while
ago.  http://interviews.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/17/177220

Specifically he states:

"I'm really glad this question was asked, because it gives me a chance
to try to bust the NUMBER ONE MYTH about Fedora -- that Fedora is "just
a beta for RHEL" or that "Fedora only exists to make Red Hat money" or
"Red Hat doesn't care about Fedora, it's just a dumping ground for
half-tested code". I hear all of those things from time to time, and
*none* of them are true."

This was written in August, 2006.  I think there are some people that
still live by the myth. 

"Let's back up for a moment -- the Red Hat Linux/Fedora Core split took
place in 2003. And while I wasn't at Red Hat during that time, I think
it's fair to state that there were some unfortunate choices made
internally about how Fedora was positioned, and because those statements
were made with a Red Hat voice, it helped to create a very strong
perception that Red Hat abandoned the community, and that Fedora wasn't
"good" for anything, or was a rejected part of Red Hat. Many mistakes
were made by Red Hat with regard to the "birth" of the Fedora Project --
there is absolutely no debating that."


Very truthful.  Thankfully we lived through those days.   
 

"I think there were some people within Red Hat who were afraid that the
"admission" that Fedora was production-quality, or that Fedora was
anything more than beta-quality, would cause difficulty for the people
trying to sell RHEL. Three years later, and that perception is still
very strong in certain places -- without fail there are a few comments
about that in every Slashdot story that mentions Fedora."

Note the words "Production Quality".
 

"And that's fine. Red Hat had a part in creating that perception, and so
Red Hat will have to work particularly hard to undo it. We have been,
and we continue to do so."

Unfortunately, I think there are many people in the Fedora community
that use the MYTH that Fedora is beta quality code to push their agenda
for Fedora to ship VOLUME instead QUALITY.
 
"The real story of Fedora, of course, is entirely opposite from the
"beta code only, not production worthy" stance."

So Fedora is NOT supposed to be beta quality code.   

"Our mission statement is clear, and is one that I think any open-source
developer would appreciate. 

Fedora is about the rapid progress of Free and Open Source software."


Here is where I think that Fedora has a huge problem.  The mission
statement doesn't mention the end user.  And yet the rapid "progress" of
Open Source code relies on it being acceptable and accepted by an end
user.  Is the end user my Grandma ?  Is it a recent comp sci grad ?  An
experienced Windows user ?

 
"That's it. We strive to produce a quality distribution of free software
that is cutting-edge, pushes the envelope of new open source technology,
and is also robust enough that it can be relied on for server or desktop
use."

PRODUCTION QUALITY.  Not beta quality.


"One of the terms that I really like, and that I think we're doing
better and better of making a reality is that of Fedora as an "open
development lab". As a user, if your priorities are cutting-edge
technology (without the nicks and cuts of a blade) and freedom, Fedora
is a great disto to use."

"Cutting edge technology (without the nicks and cuts of a blade)".
 


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