Linux Journal shuts down

[fox]

I was quite surprised to read the announcement that Linux Journal is ceasing publication. Some of you may know that I was on their editorial board (although I didn't do much), but I had no inkling that the journal was in financial trouble. They were originally going to shut down in 2017, but their fortunes were temporarily revived by a sponsorship from the company that sells the PIA VPN. They tried some different strategies, including deeper technical analyses ("deep dives"), but ultimately, it didn't work.

As a member of their Board, I was receiving their online monthly magazine gratis; it is one of three I get every month. (The others are Linux Magazine and Linux Format; the latter thanks to our local library subscription.) Unfortunately, it was my least favourite of the three. Most of it was much too technical for my background, and I wasn't motivated enough to force myself through the articles that featured a lot of code. As a result, I read only a few of their articles, so I can't say that I'll miss reading the magazine all that much. Nevertheless, I thought it filled a niche for the more proficient Linux users and devs (Jason would have appreciated it more than I did), and I'm never happy to see any Linux enterprise fail.

One nice thing they have done is to post their back issues, which you can download here. Take a look; you'll find many of their topics interesting and informative.

[Jason]

That's unfortunate. I have similar feelings about it as you that they were more about serving system admins than Linux hobbyists. But still, it's sad to lose a voice in the Linux community even if it only filled a niche market.