Free Software Evangelism, revisited

[Ben Finney]

On 23-May-2006, Shane M. Coughlan wrote:
> Ben Finney wrote:
> > I don't see why you condition evangelism on *not* being business;
> > it seems to me evangelism is *all about* selling something.
> 
> Agreed.  If we separate evangelism from the concept of selling
> something (be it a product, service or idea), then we're left with
> something quite vacuous.  Evangelism for the sake of evangelism?

Here you seem to encompass selling of a "product, service or idea" as
worthwhile evangelism.

However:

> [...]
> If we go into a board-room to make a sale and fail there is little
> point in suggesting that the presenter has accomplished the
> consolation prize of open-ended advocacy. [...] It's almost
> impossible to measure, and the lack of a sale gives a reasonable
> indication that something has failed somewhere along the line.

By this point you seem to say that the only worthwhile evangelism is
to sell a product or service ("make a sale").

> Call me a scientist, but I prefer results we can measure.

As do I. How then do we measure our success if the purpose of a
particular evangelist is to sell an idea?

-- 
 \      "I know the guy who writes all those bumper stickers. He hates |
  `\                                      New York."  -- Steven Wright |
_o__)                                                                  |
Ben Finney <ben at benfinney.id.au>
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