TLDR.md
# Note: Hapi was built by Walmart
Hapi was (_originally_) built by (_the fantastic team of people assembled by [@hueniverse](https://github.com/hueniverse)_) [@WalmartLabs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/@WalmartLabs)
for Walmart.
[Walmart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walmart) is *by far* the most successful
retailer in the world and they have achieved their success (*in part*) by
investing heavily in their *technological competitive advantage*.
If you are not keen on Walmart for any of
[these](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Walmart) reasons,
at least *consider* the fact that they have open-sourced their full
node stack to allow others to benefit from their hard work.
I took the time to read *extensively* about Walmart as part of my
Retail course at University
see: [History of Walmart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Walmart)
and [In Sam We Trust](https://www.bizsum.com/summaries/sam-we-trust).
The fact is that
[Sam Walton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Walton)
achieved *much* of his success through
investing in *technology*
(Barcodes, EPOS, Satellite Uplink for faster IT Systems and Logistics Tracking, etc)
to drive cost savings and passed those savings on to the
customers where other retailers got left behind with their paper-based
"*it still works, why change?*" approach.
Since Sam's passing the Walmart leadership has compromised its ethics
in favor of maximising profits. This documented in:
[The High Cost Of Low Price](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Wal*Mart+-+The+High+Cost+Of+Low+Price)
and [The Wal-Mart Effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wal-Mart_Effect)
While I think we can/should continue send a
[*clear message*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_voting)
to [Bentonville](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walmart#Corporate_affairs)
by preferring to spend our $¥£€ at Local & Fairtrade retailers where ever possible,
we can still *use* the ***best-in-class*** code the *fantastic engineers*
have built (to meet their *vast* supply-chain and e-commerce needs and
open-sourced) to craft our own software products/projects.
Using the transport analogy, I don't *like* using fossil fuels to get from A-to-B
because of the CO2 emissions. But I'm *pragmatic* about how I travel
the [thousand miles](https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=distance+from+London+to+Lisbon)
to visit my family twice a year. I could do two weeks by horse-and-cart,
two days by train or two hours by plane each way. Which option do you take...?
By chosing Hapi you are opting for the jet engine.
Make up your own mind on whether you feel that using code written for Walmart
goes against your ethics. <br />
If you find a *better* open source Node.js stack that fits your needs,
*please* ***[tell us](https://twitter.com/nelsonic)*** about it!