By Brian Proffitt
Managing Editor
Being thankful is something that does not come easily for some
people, myself included.
First, there is the question of recognizing what to be thankful
for. Taking the time to step away from a busy life and really
seeing what we should be grateful is a process that many do not
have the chance to do.
Then there is the question of where to address those thanks.
While thanking Linus Torvalds for the Linux kernel is a
straighforward proposition, being grateful for family and friends
seems to imply a higher plane to send such gratitude.
For some, it is a matter of faith in a deity. For others, thanks
could be directed towards Fate. Or the human soul. Each of us has
our own beliefs. We choose to talk to God, Allah, Whomever. Or we
choose not to talk at all. It is the human condition, it seems, to
be individualist in our beliefs.
I have had occasion recently to be thankful for personal and
professional concerns. Events that have reminded me that being part
of a community is one of the best parts of living and working on
this plane of existence. I won’t wax rhapsodic about personal
events, but I did want to take a moment to mention a professional
gratitude.
When I work on this site, it is a very team effort, even though
many people get the impression that I am the sole person working on
Linux Today. On some levels that’s true, since I’m the only
employee responsible for getting the content together, assigning
original stories, writing, and monitoring talkbacks. But from day
one working on this site, I have always known that this is a
community site.
People contribute stories all of the time, adding their voices
to the content of the site. Not just directly either. Contributions
also shape future story placement, too. If enough people send me
contributions on a particular topic or from a certain writer, I am
going to seek out more of the same out in the future.
Talkbacks are another way of influencing the site. I can usually
tell when readers have had enough of a certain event when I post
the talkbacks. For instance, while some days it seems we’re up to
our eyeballs in SCO news, I personally make every effort
not to grab every story that surrounds another goofball
statement out of Linden.
Is this system perfect? By no means. Which is why I do
appreciate direct communication from readers as well. I don’t often
like to use talkbacks for site feedback and response, but I will
always answer e-mail or IM communications (aim: StartXScribe) about
Linux Today concerns.
These three communication methods are not what I am thankful
for; it is the people on the other end of the these lines of
communication. It is the readers and the members of the Linux and
Open Source communty, to whom I extend my thanks. You have been
friends, teachers, cajolers, and sometimes harrassers–but I would
not trade my experiences working with you for anything.
Thank you.
[Housekeeping Note: Linux Today is going to close down to
holiday/weekend mode starting local tomorrow morning, in observance
of the US Thanksgiving holiday. The news feed will resume normal
operations on Monday, December 1, 2003 at 0000 EST/0500
GMT.]