* * * * *

                         The down side of selling out

> … If OSDN and/or VA collapsed someday then the OSDN web sites would not be
> simply released back into the wild but rather be liquidated as assets to
> the highest bidder, and you can bet the new owners would gladly run these
> sites into the ground for every last penny they can quickly earn from them.
> So at least you can be glad the original founders of these web sites still
> work here and they care a lot about how this web site works for you, the
> community. And if we're not able to turn a profit here despite our best
> efforts, whoever ends up grabbing our helm here will most likely toss this
> whole crew overboard, and I can assure you that the new crew will care far
> less about "community" then we ever did….
>

Kurt Gray, lead programmer for OSDN (Open Source Developer Network)'s ad
system about Making Ad Banners Suck Less [1]

Okay, so the Slashdot Crew [2] got several million when they sold out to VA
Linux. [3] This is something that hasn't actually been addressed all that
much and to a degree, does concern me. I mean, will Slashdot be around in
another five years? Will CmdrTaco [4] still be around with spelling and
grammar mistakes? Will he bolt once his options vest? Or will the entire
thing collapse and be run into the ground?

More importantly, will anybody care [5] at that point?

[1] http://www.kuro5hin.org/?op=displaystory;sid=2001/2/27/181041/142
[2] http://slashdot.org/
[3] http://www.valinux.com/
[4] http://cmdrtaco.net/
[5] http://www.camworld.com/journal/2001/02/#27

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