nonsense. successful capitalism and successful open source combine both competition (generally across companies/projects) and cooperation (generally inside companies/projects). without competition you have cooperative mediocrity. do you views forks and competing libs/apps/frameworks as a bad thing?

So thats there to start with, the universe is dynamic – the fit things survive, that we can not stop. What we can affect is the defenition of “fit” and the winning criteria. Our brands/values/images, in a way (as superficial as they might be, they are a good base to start with) are the conditions commonly defined and redefined of what is “fit”, and therefore good for society/humanity.

And co-operation is certainly not opposed to competing/evolution nor should be impaired by it. But in fact, in order to cooperate we need to be competing to achieve something (with what is currently existent or non existent). It is the area where we can do something and choose in WHICH DIRECTION THE COMPETITION IS GOING. Thawte or Ubuntu are good for the long term of humanity and hopefully consumers choose them as “fitter” than non-open source and less consumer concerned brands. And there is your not so evil competition with socially good (or better) winners.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against Thawte – I’m glad you were involved, else ubuntu wouldn’t be so we resourced. I just think that in general, capitalists, such as yourself, tend to blind themselves to certain realities – the most basic one that competing and being better than your competitors is a good thing. Open source has shown, and is showing, that this just isn’t the case – co-operation is far superior, when you can convince yourself to forgive your counterparts their failings.

Uh, why, exactly? Isn’t a “brand” bascially an advertising gimmick to convince gullible customers that your product is better than your objectively comparable competitor’s product?

Mark Shuttleworth says: No, a brand is a set of values that you stick to, and which people can expect from you. You have a brand whether you like it or not. Your blog, for example, is a very clear statement of your values – it’s your brand – and it will define what people expect from you when they interact with you.

So is sounds a little like advertising for Thawte

Mark Shuttleworth says:
Ah, I wasn’t aware that it was a common practice. I was simply proud of the way they handled it, regardless of what others were doing. I’m no longer related to, invesdted in or involved with any CA’s, though it was a great business and a fun way to meet a lot of start-up entrepreneurs at the time

It’s really nice to know that some companies go the extra mile for their customers.