Editing Free Software Magazine

{{short description|Web site and magazine about free software}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox magazine
| title          = Free Software Magazine
| image_file     = FreeSoftwareMagazineLogo.png
| image_size     = 179px
| image_caption  =
| editor         = [[Tony Mobily]]
| editor_title   = Editor in Chief
| frequency      = 
| circulation    =
| category       = Internet magazine
| company        = The Open Company Partners Inc.
| publisher      =
| firstdate      = {{start date and age|2004|11}}
| country        = United States
| based      =
| language       = English
| website        = {{URL|www.freesoftwaremagazine.com}}
| issn           = 
}}

'''''Free Software Magazine''''' (also known as '''''FSM''''' and originally titled '''''The Open Voice''''') is a Web site that produces a (generally bi-monthly) mostly free-content [[online magazine]] about free software.

It was started in November 2004 by Australian Tony Mobily, the former editor of ''TUX Magazine'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tuxmagazine.com/node/1000226|title=Welcome to Tony Mobily, TUX Magazine's new editor|author=Phil Hughes|date=September 25, 2006|work=TUX Magazine|access-date=July 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928175226/http://www.tuxmagazine.com/node/1000226|archive-date=September 28, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> under the auspices of The Open Company Partners, Inc. (based in the United States), and carried the subtitle ''The free magazine for the free software world''.

==History==
FSM was originally conceived by its creator as a magazine to be sold in both print and electronic formats, with a higher signal-to-noise ratio than mass-produced print Linux magazines.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.linux.com/feature/42113 |title=Interview: Tony Mobily, ''Free Software Magazine'' |work=NewsForge |date=2005-02-15 |first=Aaron |last=Klemm |access-date=2008-12-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080417085155/http://www.linux.com/feature/42113 |archive-date=2008-04-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Under this model, the articles were freely licensed six weeks after the print edition's publication.  As O'Reilly Media's onLAMP.com noted, "several excellent magazines cover Linux, but they’re directed at particular subsets of Linux users and don’t have the broad mandate of Free Software Magazine."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oreillynet.com/onlamp/blog/2005/01/free_software_magazine.html |title=Free Software Magazine |author=Andy Oram |date=2005-08-20 |work=[[O'Reilly Media]] OnLAMP.com}}</ref>

However, the high costs of printing and postage resulted in the magazine moving to exclusively electronic publication via [[Portable Document Format|PDF]].

===PDF version history===
Initially a print-ready, hand-crafted  PDF version was available for download. With Issue 16 (February 2007), this was withdrawn, with the publishers citing time and money constraints. As a result, the magazine is no longer available in print copy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/blogs/so_why_has_the_pdf_gone |title=So, why has the PDF gone? |date=2007-02-06 |first=Tony |last=Mobily |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210054321/http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/blogs/so_why_has_the_pdf_gone |archive-date=2007-02-10 }}</ref> This move sparked a harsh response from some members of the community. As a result, from March 2008, PDF and printer friendly version of articles and PDF versions of entire issues were made available to all logged-in users. These PDF files are created automatically using TOXIC{{angle bracket|}} and omit the styling and presentation of the print-ready ones.

==Content==
FSM devotes most of its context to [[Linux]], the [[GNU Project]] and free software in general, including articles about software freedom and how it can be protected. The issues had three main sections:
;Power-up: Non-technical articles about various subjects (interviews, opinions, book reviews, etc.)
;User space: Articles aimed at end users.
;Hacker's code: Technical articles about what can be achieved with free software.

Most of the articles are released under a free license (generally a [[Creative Commons License]] or [[GNU Free Documentation License]]). Some articles are released under a verbatim-copying-only license.

In keeping with the move to more on-line content, FSM moved to blog-style columns where regular authors write on more political, philosophical and ethical aspects of the free software world, and discuss free software advocacy and community in addition to tutorials and reviews of free software. There is also a community posts section which allows registered users to post similar blog-style pieces. The site also features a regular [[webcomic]] "the Bizarre Cathedral".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/taxonomy/term/1395 |title=List of Bizarre Cathedral comics on FSM |access-date=2010-05-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100822140022/http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/taxonomy/term/1395 |archive-date=2010-08-22 }}</ref>

==''Free Software Daily''==
'''''Free Software Daily''''' ('''''FS Daily''''') was a [[website]] originally created by the staff of FSM that posted summaries of articles about [[free software]]. At first, it was based on [[Slash (weblog system)|Slash]] and was similar in nature to [[Slashdot.org]].  However, the project died before it could gain momentum, mainly because of the huge hardware resources required by Slash and the time constraints of the FSM staff.

The FSM website's blogs somewhat filled the gap that ''Free Software Daily'' originally planned to fill. But later, ''FS Daily'' came back, first as a [[Pligg]] based site,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/blogs/fsdaily_is_back |title=Free Software Daily is back! |date=2007-06-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613010701/http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/blogs/fsdaily_is_back |archive-date=2007-06-13 }}</ref> and then as a [[Drigg]] site. Drigg was developed by Free Software Magazine's editor Tony Mobily specifically for FSDaily. However, Drigg is now available as a standard [[Drupal]] module.

Although Free Software Magazine and Free Software Daily share similar motives and a common root, they are no longer directly connected.<ref>[http://www.fsdaily.com/Community/FSD_Community_for_Support_and_Suggestions#comment-3188 Dave Guard of FSDaily on FSM & FSD]</ref>

==''Free Software Magazine Press''==
In 2009 Free Software Magazine Press published their first book under the imprint of '''Free Software Magazine Press'''. The book, ''Achieving Impossible Things with Free Culture and Commons-Based Enterprise''  by Terry Hancock, was published both as a printed book<!-- <ref name="lulu-5213803">{{cite book |last1=Hancock |first1=Terry |title=Achieving Impossible Things with Free Culture and Commons-Based Enterprise |publisher=[[Lulu.com]] |url=http://www..com/shop/terry-hancock/achieving-impossible-things-with-free-culture-and-commons-based-enterprise/paperback/product-5213803.html |archive-url=https://web..org/web/20121112131829/http://www..com/shop/terry-hancock/achieving-impossible-things-with-free-culture-and-commons-based-enterprise/paperback/product-5213803.html |archive-date=12 November 2012 |access-date=23 December 2021 |date=2009-09-02 |quote=(Paperback) date 12 November 2012}}</ref> --> and as a series of free articles<ref name="FSM-2770">{{cite web |url=http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/books/making_the_impossible_happen_the_rules_of_free_culture |last1=Hancock |first1=Terry |title=Achieving Impossible Things with Free Culture and Commons-Based Enterprise |website=Free Software Magazine |year=2009 |access-date=2010-07-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814072018/http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/books/making_the_impossible_happen_the_rules_of_free_culture|archive-date=2011-08-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref> released under an "[[CC BY-SA|Attribution Share-Alike]]" [[Creative Commons license]].<ref name="archive.org@terry_hancock">{{cite book |last1=Hancock |first1=Terry |title=Achieving Impossible Things with Free Culture and Commons-Based Enterprise |date=2009 |publisher=Free Software Magazine Press |isbn=9780578032726 |url=https://archive.org/details/Achieving_Impossible_Things_with_Free_Culture_and_Commons_Based_Enterprise |access-date=23 December 2021 |language=English |quote=archive.org}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
*[[Linux Journal]]
*[[Linux Weekly News]]
*[[Linux Gazette]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{Official website}}

{{Linux}}

[[Category:Bimonthly magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:Computer magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:Downloadable magazines]]
[[Category:Drupal]]
[[Category:Free magazines]]
[[Category:Free software websites]]
[[Category:Linux magazines]]
[[Category:Magazines established in 2004]]
[[Category:Online computer magazines]]