Why I Still Like Fedora

I see/hear the occasional trashing of RedHat/Fedora on the lists and from instructors (one really well respected and favorite instructor of mine said "Friends don't let friends run RedHat" =-) ) and I understand it, in part. The RedHat package for certain tools that NetSec folks use aren't up to snuff with with other distros or an install from source. Old tools like Shadow and IDABench took pains to mention if you're running RedHat, ditch the installed version and get source. But the issues I've found or heard about aren't game changers. I install most of my tools from source anyway. I rarely depend on a package. And RedHat's habit of renumbering interfaces between reboots...well, you ought to have the MAC hardwired in your network scripts anyway. The thing I love about RedHat is that it works. Plain and simple. I've used it for 10 years now (starting with RedHat 6.2) and never had a situation where it wouldn't install (unlike the Debian 5 install I just tried to do, where it couldn't find the factory installed (common) disk drive in an IBM 8171 Think Centre). It's been stable and easy to maintain version after version. I like things that work they way they're supposed. I've tested many other flavors for desktop/laptops, and always keep coming back to Fedora. I'd like to give Debian another shot. If it could find my hard drive...