“Linux vendor Red Hat Inc., in an apparent goodwill gesture
to its team of volunteer software programmers, offered them shares
of the company’s upcoming initial public offering (IPO) at a
discount price. But instead of inducing gratefulness, the
offer has angered some of Red Hat’s most loyal supporters and
highlighted some of the challenges facing the burgeoning online
brokerage industry.”
“The catch was that would-be investors had to acquire their
shares through the online brokerage E*Trade, which had the option
of rejecting them if they didn’t meet its IPO investment
requirements. Based on the dozens of postings that flooded
slashdot.com today, most invitees didn’t make the cut.”