Where the Hell is Distrowatch?

[heiowge]

Ok, I know Susan Linton's not doing it anymore, but surely someone else could have?

When Mike stopped doing the disc, you found someone to fill in. When Jon stopped doing whatever he did, it still got done...

And yet, there's no distrowatch...

I mean, it's not like it's the most challenging article to write - A side commentary, 3 reviews and a printout of the latest rankings (the highlight of my month is working out how many times more views Mint got than Ubuntu! ) Three hours work, tops!

Come on Mr Morrison! Get it sorted!

[Dutch_Master]

Three hours work, tops!

Get it sorted!

Looks you've just landed yourself a (parttime) job at LXF towers then

[Ram]

Urm... hadn't missed it 'til you mentioned it.

[nelz]

When Mike stopped doing the disc, you found someone to fill in.

Actually, Mike was filling in while I stopped doing the disc

[wyliecoyoteuk]

Is a replacement planned?

[northumbrian1]

Distrowatch has its own website at www.distrowatch.com and goes a lot further than Linux Format can spare on its pages - incidentally, I subscribe to another magazine from Germany only to find that LXF is better and return in only a few short months to find that the pagination has been reduced from 114 pages to 98 and Susan Linton and a number of other guys have left Linux Towers - why? Meanwhile, the Magazine despite the reduction in pages is still very good albeit shorter articles and I'm relieved that the good Doctor is still at his post. I would be appalled if He left the Towers! northumbrian1.

[M-Saunders]

Hi,

Susan Linton and a number of other guys have left Linux Towers - why?

Yes, Graham, Andrew and Ben have all left the magazine. I'm doing a new podcast with Andrew and Ben while we conjure up new ideas, so you can join us at www.linuxlifestyle.com -- hope to see you there!

Cheers,
Mike

[Nuke]

I always found Distrowatch interesting, a way of hearing about more obscure distros than the usual Ubuntu/Fedora/Mint.

However, I would not attach any importance to their Hit Rankings (and they do not claim it) as they are obviously bizarre. Things like OpenBSD at 49 and Red Hat at 40, yet ones I've never heard of above them (Simplicity 19, wattOS 24). In some ways perhaps people go to a distro page on Distrowatch because they had never heard of it, out of curiosity. Why else would you visit the page? After all, if you are using a distro you would not go to Distowatch for help, you would go to the distro's own web site.

Like I have never gone to my own distro's page on Distrowatch (Mepis at 67), why would I ........ there, I just did. It's still at 67 back at the Rankings though, and it hasn't even counted my visit

[nelz]

The rankings are also linked to releases, when a new version is released and makes it into the news on the front page, it shoots up the rankings for a while.

[ChriThor]

Susan Linton and a number of other guys have left Linux Towers

To clarify - the decision to stop doing the Distrowatch pages and the guys making the decision to leave aren't really related.

[northumbrian1]

The specifics relate to the reader, who sees these anomalies as a downgrading, or a backward step of the magazine - whether that happens to be true or not.


When Mike Sanders left Linux Towers for pastures new in Europe, i thought that was a disaster to lose such a Fine Mind that understood how Linux worked (and other machines that I have played with) such as the Play-station and other Game Controllers. However, as we have seen, He, Mike Sanders, hasn't really left us - he does podcasts and still writes articles for the magazine and keeps his oar in, when it comes to helping us to reach out and become (nearly) as good as him!


I know Journalists change jobs occasionally - mainly to stop going 'stale' on the public they write for, and also to try for a better-paid or better conditions in an Office environment say, that isn't so crowded or small as Linux Towers has been described as from time to time...

[northumbrian1]

I have an Amiga I still play with (besides writing on my main PC with Precise Pangolin - - oh yeah I've done the Ring-tailed Rat and the Stupid Salamander, minus the much-promised Mir component)!

I also play with my Comodore 64 computer with its wonderful music Sid-chip, the BBC computer is also at the back of the cupboard as well as the Game-cube and PS1 or what it was called (impolitely by users). I even have a really early Suse 6.1 setup which still works fine -and which I esched for Ubuntu Dapper Drake. What do you use besides the exotic new Linuxes today?

[ChriThor]

Understood.

Future's policy is to stonewall when problems occur. That's not mine, though. I've always tried to be as open and approachable as possible to readers and that's why I think it's probably time I said something here.

This is Chris, btw. I only joined LXF a few months ago and most of what has transpired was a surprise to me (I did joke once that I imagined walking into the office, only to discover I was the only one who'd turned up for work - I didn't realise how close that was to truth at the time).

Distrowatch was one of the spreads that was dropped to cope with the page cut that you mention, northumbrian1. There are other reasons for its demise, one of them helowge nails very well.

I would also like to be able to say that the magazine's pagination will increase again, but we are in the lap of the bean counters. That I understand, only too well, means we probably don't offer as much value to you as we did. By even mentioning it I'm breaking a cardinal rule of publishing, because the hope is that you won't notice. Daft, I know.

The rapid loss of people that I respect, particularly Graham, has meant we haven't done a sparkling job of communicating what's going to happen. But we are beginning to see moments when we can look up from our work and consider what else we can do to make LXF better in print and online.

I think the best thing to promise is that we will always produce the best quality magazine/content that we can.

For anyone wondering if I'm just a stooge shoved onto LXF to fill a role. Well, I actually volunteered to join the magazine. I've been working in computing titles for ten years and I think FOSS is an incredible force for good in the world.

I'll also put my hands up to being a Linux Jedi in training, but I'm learning rapidly. But that is just me - we still have experts writing for us (and we're always looking for more).

The LXF also isn't rudderless: we have a new editor, Neil Mohr and we're charging through interviews for a technical ed.

This really is a new beginning in many ways for LXF. I wish Andrew, Ben & Graham well and hope they make a go of LinuxLifestyle etc. However, this is LXF and this is our forum. There's no better time to say what you want from the magazine, from TuxRadar and all the other things we do. We can't promise to be able to do everything you ask or want, but we'll listen and do what we can.

I hope that all makes sense and please email me (my address is on the welcome page) or look me up on Twitter (tweetinCT).

I'd be grateful if whoever has admin access to add me on as an admin too, please (once you've verified who I say I am - I could be lying, of course).

It seems that in the 'transition' no one thought to hand over the keys, which, unfortunately, is the way things go at Future sometimes.

Cheers!

[lok1950]

Since no one has said it yet Welcome to the forums and hopefully the bean counters aren't watching them to closely though without the ads here lately they may notice a lack of income from the click though's

Enjoy the Choice

[nelz]

I'd be grateful if whoever has admin access to add me on as an admin too, please (once you've verified who I say I am - I could be lying, of course).

It seems that in the 'transition' no one thought to hand over the keys, which, unfortunately, is the way things go at Future sometimes.

And most other places. Fortunately, I have a spare key - ooh the power, should I admin Chris or 1sf?

Drop me an email from the office on Monday to confirm you are you and I'll sort it.