# Why I Won't be Renewing my FreeBSD Journal Subscription



## jrm@ (Feb 17, 2015)

Why I Won't be Renewing my FreeBSD Journal Subscription


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## ondra_knezour (Feb 17, 2015)

Same here. I paid for the first issue, oh, what a crap app, but there was option to export PDF. Fine, I paid annual subscription from the second issue and what? PDF export removed. So I didn't read those excellent articles too carefully because of ***ity distribution and I am not going to renew. Not because of those few bucks, which I would like to send to support my preferred server OS, but as a signal to the Foundation, that something is not working here. I said that several times on Foundation's FB, but never got a reply.

Aside from this, I think there must be someone with little crappy publishing options in the Foundation - publish the Journal website as an image for many month, publish monthly update as a PDF printout of some HTML or whatever with broken pagination... Asked couple of times if any web authoring help is needed informally; see previous paragraph for results.

If this opinion is more common in the FreeBSD public, this thread may be place where to speak up to show the Foundation that something may need little change.


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## Beastie7 (Feb 17, 2015)

Here's a better idea, publish actual (physical) magazines! I can't stand the idea of ebooks


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## Deleted member 9563 (Feb 17, 2015)

Physical magazines are indeed nice. I love paper and have books that span over 300 years. Despite that love and commitment, my tired old eyes prefer to read off a screen. The cheap modern monitors have gotten so good that I don't even bother to use TTL monitors any more. Green on black, not as good as the old P1 phosphor, but still very relaxing. Anyway, I would have hoped that an electronic BSD (that's for computers - no?) publication would be available in pure text format. It's the only way to go for clear, fashion-free, and accessible, communication.


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## Oko (Feb 17, 2015)

Beastie7 said:


> Here's a better idea, publish actual (physical) magazines! I can't stand the idea of ebooks


Too bad there is not vote down button. You would get one now. I don't like reading ebooks either but I love planet Earth and trees more than little pain I will endure next 2-3 years until electronic reader improve enough not to notice any difference with "real" books.


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## Oko (Feb 17, 2015)

jrm said:


> Why I Won't be Renewing my FreeBSD Journal Subscription[/URL]


It seems very logical to me FreeBSD Journal is only available at App stores. Finally most FreeBSD developers run OS X on their laptops/desktops.

http://people.freebsd.org/~bz/200805DevSummit/


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## fernandel (Feb 17, 2015)

Oko said:


> Too bad there is not vote down button. You would get one now. I don't like reading ebooks either but I love planet Earth and trees more than little pain I will endure next 2-3 until electronic reader improve enough not to notice any difference with "real" books.


Yes, you are right about down button because I will use it on your post. If you like a planet Earth so much do you use a bicycle for going to work or public transportation? Do you have a solar energy at home or you are burning wood or oil or gas? And more and more... I love books and IMO they are not a problem for the planet Earth and IMHO if people start reading paper book more also planet Earth will be better (not just books about computers).


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## wblock@ (Feb 17, 2015)

Both printed books and computers rely on a polluting and toxic manufacturing process.  Which is worse is an interesting question, but a distraction here.

If you don't like the way the Journal is published, let the Foundation know.


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## Carpetsmoker (Feb 17, 2015)

Oko said:


> Too bad there is not vote down button. You would get one now. I don't like reading ebooks either but I love planet Earth and trees more than little pain I will endure next 2-3 until electronic reader improve enough not to notice any difference with "real" books.



Paper is very recyclable. Also, I believe most tree-loss (eg. Brazilian and Indonesian forests) is simply due to people wanting to farm there (often trees are just burnt, which provides good soil for farming), but I don't have any figures handy to back that up right now (lack of time, sorry :-( )

In other words, the "save the environment, think before you print"-attitude is a good one as such, but I'm not sure it really matters that much on this issue.

There's also the issue that paper books have to be produces just *once*, and then it's done. But for reading an eBook, you need a device *every time*. This costs power, and if you have a 150W desktop, quite a bit of power. If you use a tablet or some such, then that contains toxic materials in for example the batteries. Not to mention that some of the materials are so called "conflict materials", where the profit from them is being used to feul wars and/or terrorism... Unfortunately, all of this is rather complex, and I can't confidently say which option is the better here..



fernandel said:


> If you like a planet Earth so much do you use a bicycle for going to work or public transportation? Do you have a solar energy at home or you are burning wood or oil or gas? And more and more



This is a logical fallacy on several levels. First off, it's an ad hominem attack, and doesn't address the substance. It's also something of a No true Scotsman, since apparently no one is allowed to comment on environmental issues unless they do *every possible* thing they can do for the environment.


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## Oko (Feb 17, 2015)

fernandel said:


> If you like a planet Earth so much do you use a bicycle for going to work or public transportation?


If it is going to make you feel better while I lived in Arizona I used bicycle to go to work and between my wife and I we had only 10 year old Toyota Corolla to be able to bring groceries home. Our house did have solar panels but unfortunately I had no money to invest to get off the grid completely. That would really make me feel good. Unfortunately I am unable to maintain that life style in Pittsburgh due to the lack of public transport and climate differences.


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## drhowarddrfine (Feb 18, 2015)

Oko said:


> I love planet Earth and trees more


Growing trees for paper manufacturing is manufacturing itself and that industry replants more trees than they cut down.


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## Carbide (Feb 18, 2015)

fernandel said:


> ....Do you have a solar energy at home or you are burning wood....



Yes and yes. It's not an or, you see.


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## jrm@ (Feb 18, 2015)

I added a poll.  Maybe this can be useful for the foundation to gauge if a change is necessary.  In my experience they have been receptive to feedback, both positive and constructively negative.


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## Crivens (Feb 18, 2015)

Oko said:


> It seems very logical to me FreeBSD Journal is only available at App stores. Finally most FreeBSD developers run OS X on their laptops/desktops.
> 
> http://people.freebsd.org/~bz/200805DevSummit/


To enter the nitpicking mode here - they certainly run something on Apple hardware. If it is OS-X can not be deduced from the viewpoint. It may be possible, but then again I know people who buy Apple hardware to run FreeBSD on it. It is some hardware that is not changing at the blink of an eye, maybe it is more expensive but it might be worth it.

But I think this point came up already somewhere.

On the other hand, I would like to add to the poll. But it is only by this thread that I got aware of the existence of that journal, so I can not give an opinion.


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## Oko (Feb 18, 2015)

Crivens said:


> To enter the nitpicking mode here - they certainly run something on Apple hardware. If it is OS-X can not be deduced from the viewpoint. It may be possible, but then again I know people who buy Apple hardware to run FreeBSD on it. It is some hardware that is not changing at the blink of an eye, maybe it is more expensive but it might be worth it.
> 
> But I think this point came up already somewhere.



The post was meant to be a joke. I like to pick on your(FreeBSD) guys about that. I have done that in the past and I am sure it will happen again. Yes from the mathematical logic point of view having Apple hardware doesn't imply running OS X so you are 100% right  and I have to agree with you being trained as a research mathematician.


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## fernandel (Feb 18, 2015)

Oko said:


> The post was meant to be a joke. I like to pick on your(FreeBSD) guys about that.




I didn't understand as a joke and your picking on FreeBSD developers is maybe fun for you but maybe not for the others. And what OS have on their computers is their problem not mine. Maybe is yours but I don't know.


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## Beastie7 (Feb 19, 2015)

Agreed with carpetsmoker.

I would gladly pay $5-10~ a month for a physical issue. This would be a part of my means of supporting the FreeBSD project also.


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## jungleboogie (Feb 25, 2015)

The only reason I'm dissatisfied is due to how long it takes the publication to actually be made available. If its bimonthly, that means it should be made available at the top of the first month, not the last week before the second bimonthly publication is should be made available.

I'll renew because I like the articles and because it probably helps the foundation. I don't know if the authors of the articles are paid or if they're donating their time to write the articles.

*To the foundation:*
What would it take to have a more consistent on time release schedule? You already know what the topics will be about[0]. Either release it the first week of the first month or the first week in the second month.

Of course, if this means FreeBSD OS things not being taken care of because of the magazine, then it's just about managing time.

[0] https://www.freebsdfoundation.org/journal

Thanks!


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## jungleboogie (Feb 25, 2015)

Hi Beastie7,


Beastie7 said:


> Agreed with carpetsmoker.
> 
> I would gladly pay $5-10~ a month for a physical issue. This would be a part of my means of supporting the FreeBSD project also.



But wouldn't that mean the foundation has LESS revenue from the magazine? Admittedly, I don't know how publishing periodicals would work but someone has to cover the cost to print it and mail it out. At $60 for 6 issues, that's $10 an issue. For myself, that's much harder to buy into over $20. I think most editions last year were around 48-50 pages so you're willing to pay $0.20/page?


I do think, however, if you subscribe to the mobile app, you get access to the desktop version and vise-avers. Having a subscription for each is silly and something I'd expect my newspaper to do.


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## m4r1n (Feb 28, 2015)

jungleboogie said:


> Hi Beastie7,
> But wouldn't that mean the foundation has LESS revenue from the magazine? Admittedly, I don't know how publishing periodicals would work but someone has to cover the cost to print it and mail it out. At $60 for 6 issues, that's $10 an issue. For myself, that's much harder to buy into over $20. I think most editions last year were around 48-50 pages so you're willing to pay $0.20/page?



Maybe some would. Why not let some people cover the real cost of a printed edition ? For example, if we assume the Foundation earns $18 yearly from one Digital Edition subscription, and it costs $60 a year to ship 6 paper prints, they may propose a $78 plan for plain old paper prints.

If that's not possible, it would be nice to _at least _allow subscribers to download PDF issues. Then people would of course be able to print them by themselves, but even more important: *they would be allowed to zoom in!* The DE web reader prevents us to zoom in/out. A colleague of mine is totally unable to read the magazine because of his very low vision. It would make reading far more comfortable even for myself.

I have a final question about the subscription model. What would happen if I chose not to renew my subscription ? Would I still access the old issues of the magazine, or would I completely lose access ? In the latter case, PDF downloads would be the least they can do.


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## jungleboogie (Mar 2, 2015)

m4r1n said:


> Maybe some would. Why not let some people cover the real cost of a printed edition ? For example, if we assume the Foundation earns $18 yearly from one Digital Edition subscription, and it costs $60 a year to ship 6 paper prints, they may propose a $78 plan for plain old paper prints.
> 
> If that's not possible, it would be nice to _at least _allow subscribers to download PDF issues. Then people would of course be able to print them by themselves, but even more important: *they would be allowed to zoom in!* The DE web reader prevents us to zoom in/out. A colleague of mine is totally unable to read the magazine because of his very low vision. It would make reading far more comfortable even for myself.
> 
> I have a final question about the subscription model. What would happen if I chose not to renew my subscription ? Would I still access the old issues of the magazine, or would I completely lose access ? In the latter case, PDF downloads would be the least they can do.


You have valid points about covering printed edition and at least allowing a PDF version. Linux Journal (used lLinux before fFreeBSD) allowed you download ALL magazines from sept 2009 in pdf, epub, mobi even if you signed up today. I don't know what the subscription is for their monthly magazine, probably $20-30.

My subscription to fFreeBSD journal lapsed and I'll likely renew. It looks like I have access to past magazines but that's likely because it's downloaded on my phone.


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## m4r1n (Mar 2, 2015)

In fact it seems the Digital Edition also gives access to all previous issues. I've been able to read the first two magazines whereas I had no subscription at that time.


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## zwieblum (Mar 3, 2015)

If the FreeBSD Journal was printed on paper, then I'd subscribe immediately. As an app ... no way.


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## retrogamer (Mar 3, 2015)

I'd also throw my hat in here, and say that if I could just download a .pdf of the Journal, I'd consider subscribing.  I make a small annual donation to The FreeBSD Foundation already, but I'd still be interested in paying for the content aside from that.  I don't even own any devices that I could purchase it with (I still don't have a cell phone or tablet), so it's not even an option for me.


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## jrm@ (Mar 4, 2015)

retrogamer said:


> I don't even own any devices that I could purchase it with (I still don't have a cell phone or tablet), so it's not even an option for me.


There is a desktop edition.  Other have commented on it above.


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## retrogamer (Mar 4, 2015)

jrm said:


> There is a desktop edition.  Other have commented on it above.


I should have clarified what I meant by that.  From what I understand, I can't actually download a .pdf from the browser version (the website isn't very clear, If I misunderstood, I apologize).  To me, "purchasing" entails that I get a non-DRM'ed, offline copy in some standard format.   Is the desktop version separate from the browser-based version, or is that the same thing?

EDIT:  Let me say, I'm not trying to force my views on anyone, I just have no interest in web based subscriptions.  That's the same reason I'm content with FreeBSD for gaming, I can run my GOG games just as well with WINE on any *nix OS that it's available for, while not being interested in Steam.


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## jrm@ (Mar 4, 2015)

retrogamer said:


> I should have clarified what I meant by that.  From what I understand, I can't actually download a .pdf from the browser version (the website isn't very clear, If I misunderstood, I apologize).  To me, "purchasing" entails that I get a non-DRM'ed, offline copy in some standard format.   Is the desktop version separate from the browser-based version, or is that the same thing?



I relate.  Desktop version == Browser-based version.


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## ronaldlees (Mar 21, 2015)

I think the people behind the mag did some research and solicited some numbers on the potential customer base before they decided to make the magazine _eformat only_.  They had considered paper, as I recall, but there wasn't quite enough interest. Paper is very expensive.  It's cost is not just a matter of the physical printing process, but also of the layout requirements, etc.

In one of my lives I'm a self described novelist.  I've run the numbers on these things myself.  The problem with certain eformats is piracy, of course.  Personally, I distributed one particular novelette in a non-DRM format, and in no time at all there were dozens of illegitimate copies on Amazon. There were so many that my own stuff was completely drowned out.   Stephen King has (last I read about it) sworn off ebook distro completely.  So - if they're actually going to get paid enough to (break even) - they have to consider all the ramifications - even though some of those go against the grain of open source and the "everything should be free" philosophy.


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## jrm@ (Mar 21, 2015)

To be clear, my beef wasn't completely due to the journal being locked down.  The short version was that it was locked down _and_ distributed poorly.    I'm not qualified to say much about publishing books, but I will say that Michael W. Lucas and Peter N. M. Hansteen seem to be successful publishing DRM-free and they have a personal stake in the financial success of the books.  Maybe I'm naive enough to hope that enough people in the community understand that if we want high quality books we have to pay the authors.


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## jungleboogie (Apr 28, 2015)

For what it's worth, I can access March/April edition online and through the mobile app.

Hopefully this occurs for you two and it doesn't mean I inadvertently purchased two subscriptions.


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## retrogamer (Apr 28, 2015)

ronaldlees said:


> I think the people behind the mag did some research and solicited some numbers on the potential customer base before they decided to make the magazine _eformat only_.  They had considered paper, as I recall, but there wasn't quite enough interest. Paper is very expensive.  It's cost is not just a matter of the physical printing process, but also of the layout requirements, etc.
> 
> In one of my lives I'm a self described novelist.  I've run the numbers on these things myself.  The problem with certain eformats is piracy, of course.  Personally, I distributed one particular novelette in a non-DRM format, and in no time at all there were dozens of illegitimate copies on Amazon. There were so many that my own stuff was completely drowned out.   Stephen King has (last I read about it) sworn off ebook distro completely.  So - if they're actually going to get paid enough to (break even) - they have to consider all the ramifications - even though some of those go against the grain of open source and the "everything should be free" philosophy.


I get that reasoning, it's just too bad.  Here's a thought:  Maybe it would be worth considering a Kickstarter (or some other funding platform) to fund one year of the magazine, that would be released DRM free in an open format.  The condition being that if the funding failed, the status quo would continue.  I still don't know if it would work, Krita barely met its goal (which I contributed to) and that is an increasingly popular and important tool among artists.  It might be worth a shot, though.

EDIT:  Here is a link to the Krita Kickstater if anyone is interested - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/krita/krita-open-source-digital-painting-accelerate-deve


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## Beastie7 (Apr 28, 2015)

I can't help but feel that the Foundation isn't doing enough marketing communication to elicit more potential users. I know it isn't as important, but adding a little more "flashiness" or modernization to the website could aid in invoking more users. It doesn't really look welcoming, imo. Highlighting products and services that are built on FreeBSD with cute pictures, slogans, and whatnot could help raise "attractiveness" so to speak. Mozilla is a perfect example. The same thing goes for the FreeBSD wiki.

Simply raising awareness through better marketing, I believe, would really solve a lot of these monetary/man power issues. It's cheaper too.

This is a bit of a tangent here, but it sort of relates to the issue discussed.


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## retrogamer (Apr 29, 2015)

Beastie7 said:


> I can't help but feel that the Foundation isn't doing enough marketing communication to elicit more potential users. I know it isn't as important, but adding a little more "flashiness" or modernization to the website could aid in invoking more users. It doesn't really look welcoming, imo. Highlighting products and services that are built on FreeBSD with cute pictures, slogans, and whatnot could help raise "attractiveness" so to speak. Mozilla is a perfect example. The same thing goes for the FreeBSD wiki.
> 
> Simply raising awareness through better marketing, I believe, would really solve a lot of these monetary/man power issues. It's cheaper too.
> 
> This is a bit of a tangent here, but it sort of relates to the issue discussed.


I think that's putting the cart before the horse, a bit.  How many of these potential users, who valuable time and resources would be wasted on, would actually contribute back (financially or in terms of code) to the project?  Probably few, if any (if you look at the OpenBSD website, you'll see they appear to be actively pushing away those types of users; I'm a web designer and they make it blatantly clear they have no use for our ilk).  Marketing an open source project to people who will not do anything to support your open source project is just a bad idea from a business standpoint.  Now, if you're talking PC-BSD, I think it might be a different story.


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## Beastie7 (Apr 29, 2015)

Well it's worth a try at least, who knows. I agree desired results aren't guaranteed, but it isn't really that expensive to improve how we reach out to the wider audience. The point is just to raise awareness. Linux wasn't really popular until Stallman went his GPL chest beating rampage. Not saying we should do it that way, but yeah. haha


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## jrm@ (Apr 2, 2016)

From the FreeBSD Foundation March 2016 Update email,


> Browser-Based subscribers now have the ability to download and share PDFs of the articles!


This is fantastic news.  Have any browser-based subscribers been able to download PDFs of recent editions?  I have not.

Update: While the January/February 2016 edition doesn't have a PDF download link, older editions do.


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## cpm@ (Apr 3, 2016)

Yep, I can only download the open articles:

https://www.freebsdfoundation.org/journal/open-articles/


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## jrm@ (Apr 3, 2016)

No.  I downloaded PDFs of all editions (not just individual articles) except the one for January/February 2016.


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## cpm@ (Apr 3, 2016)

jrm said:


> No.  I downloaded PDFs of all editions (not just individual articles) except the one for January/February 2016.



I mean that open articles benefit only to non-subscribers


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## sidetone (Apr 8, 2016)

The Journal website isn't working properly. Whenever I choose any single issue, after clicking the button, it goes to choosing the "September/October 2015" issue for payment.

On another subject...
From the discussions, it doesn't make sense for FreeBSD to have a drm subscription unless, FreeBSD has a port to it or it can be viewed only from the browser. In other words, if FreeBSD is going to make it drm, it needs to be accessible from FreeBSD. If it can't be easily accessed from FreeBSD, there's no sense in doing that. The last time I ordered, it was in PDF, otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered buying that issue. According to the earlier comments on this thread, If they are worried, maybe they should at least make buying older issues available in PDF.


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## cpm@ (Apr 9, 2016)

sidetone said:


> The Journal website isn't working properly. Whenever I choose any single issue, after clicking the button, it goes to choosing the "September/October 2015" issue for payment.



Did you try to contact with the right person?


> For Editorial, Advertising Information, or Subscription Questions Contact:
> Walter Andrzejewski
> walter@freebsdjournal.com
> +1.888.290.9469


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