[TriLUG] Red Hat System Admin class

[Jeremy Portzer]

Marty Ferguson wrote:
> I beg to differ, Nick Goldwater.
> 
> Having taught the Red Hat courses and worked as an RHCX
> (Red Hat Certified Examiner) I can assure you that Red Hat Software
> has a mutual interest with all successful examinees (i.e., RHCE's that
> that earned their cert) to maintain confidentiality about the content of
> the examination.  No instructor is permitted to "teach the test" and each
> successful RHCE candidate can be assured that the certificate they
> hold is proof of their knowledge and aptitude.  
> 
> If the contents of the exam were openly discussed and posted on blogs,
> the value of the certification would become significantly debased  through
> the result of awarding the RHCE to (some percentage of) examinees who 
> invested no more effort in training and test preparation than to rehearse 
> the solutions to the hands-on portion of the exam.
> 
> There is no doubt in my mind that the requirement of confidentiality is of 
> utmost importance in maintaining the credibility of the certification and the
> social contract between RHCE's, employers, and Red Hat Software.
> 

Marty,

I think you're being overly defensive.  He didn't say that the ability 
to shield from criticism is the *sole* reason for the NDA.  He just said 
that was an aspect of the NDA.  He is certainly correct on that point, 
but that doesn't mean the NDA doesn't have plenty of other reasons for 
existing.  I agree with you that the NDA exists for legitimate reasons, 
but it doesn't make Nick's comment incorrect.

I am also wondering why you seem to be speaking on Red Hat's behalf. 
Unless you've received appropriate training from their PR department, 
I'm not sure they'd appreciate that.  For example, I don't believe the 
name of the company is Red Hat Software.  The official corporate name in 
the US is "Red Hat, Inc." according to a few sources I checked.  The 
word "Software" is not part of it.

--Jeremy