22 Years of Tux Machines and a Community Stronger Than Ever Before
Some days ago we began drafting a new and up-to-date introduction to Tux Machines, with the same for Techrights. When we added an "intro" back in 2013 (likewise for Techrights when we added a Drupal component to it - way back in 2014) it was rushed and terse, it didn't explain to a new reader/visitor what the site was about, so here is the "intro" we plan to put in the front page in a few weeks from now, subject to feedback or suggestions we get from the community by then:
What is Tux Machines?
Tux Machines is a fast portal and online community, focusing on technical news and sharing of relevant news. Born in 2004 in the United States, Tux Machines is a hub of information pertaining to GNU/Linux (the latter has a mascot called "Tux") as well as Free software that typically accompanies GNU/Linux systems or machines. The name Tux Machines was coined by Susan Linton, who comes from Tennessee.
As its name suggests, the primary focus of the site is Linux or GNU/Linux. Additionally, we cover GNU/Linux-like operating systems (UNIX, BSD, and various hobby projects). We try to keep abreast of Android as well, as it contains Linux.
Since its birth in 1983, GNU/Linux has grown considerably and now occupies all the world's most important datacentres, is contained inside most of today's gadgets, and a growing share of client-side devices found on people's desks (or laps). From an underdog in the 1990s, GNU/Linux is fast turning into the de facto standard.
Despite ongoing challenges from traditional monopolies (and monopolists), GNU/Linux and Tux Machines continue to grow rapidly or at least steadily in terms of breadth of usage/access. Acceptance is established and - accordingly - widespread vendor support (technical acceptance) is attained, with hardware manufacturers and gaming studios treating the platform as a "first class citizen". Earning respect takes time and sweat. Tux Machines is in fact one of the longest-standing sites in its area; some of the counterparts became slopfarms (they publish LLM slop - a form of state-of-the-art plagiarism), shut down entirely, or simply became inactive.
Tux Machines is run by a very broad community of volunteers from all around the world. We have an interconnected (not solitary, except online) team including site developers, system administrators, authors, coders, curators, moderators, and guest contributors. The team continues to grow.
In terms of size, Tux Machines has close to half a million pages and many galleries of old GNU/Linux distributions. It's also a home to many old distro reviews - in that regard, it supplants an historical record that is considered invaluable. Many widely respected sites continue to link to our old reviews, some as old as 20+ years ago.
Every year Tux Machines keeps alive a tradition of anniversary parties; those are organised by the community and bring together people who otherwise collaborate online (over the Net). To keep a healthy atmosphere of collaboration we also utilise IRC.
Looking into the coming decade (or longer), Tux Machines will probably need to deal with new challenges, both to GNU/Linux and to Software Freedom. By promoting a message hostile towards monopolists and back doors (surveillance/wiretapping) Tux Machines makes itself rather potent enemies with deep pockets.
Tux Machines is managed and run (also sponsored) by its collective of principled volunteers; it's neither a business nor a traditional publisher. It's the product of goodwill altruism.
We've already received some feedback from the community and improved it accordingly. It's a team effort.
Contact us if you believe there's something we ought to add. We plan to finalise this about a week after the upcoming anniversary party. █