Our site name was once a clever way of telling you we were promoting Open Source technology for use in business or the home office — “Open (Source) for Business.” Much has changed over the last ten years, but we remain here for the same reason: we are passionate about the topics that appear on these virtual pages.
A decade ago when this magazine first opened, using Open Source for business was still a fairly novel idea. It was our original mission to press that idea. However much we may have contributed to the process, we realized a few years ago it was no longer so novel, at least not enough so to continue with it as our sole mission. Not yet willing to simply shut down the operation, we still felt drawn to support business. So while we continued exploring Open Source, technology in general, we began adding thought pieces and lifestyle material.
You can only write what you know. All of us staff are one flavor or another of Christian. The very nature of Christian faith encourages such involvement of the self it's impossible we would all come up with the same answers, so we have tried to offer an eclectic mix. There have also been some original fiction pieces, and we wish we could get more of them. We've been very pleased with Dennis Powell's regular editorials on life in general. But you don't have to consider yourself a writer to contribute, just have something to say which fits in with what we've done, or would like to do. We'll be glad to offer any degree of editing or even ghost writing you might need. We aren't seeking fame and fortune for ourselves, we just enjoy writing.
It's not as if we are desperately trying to keep a business running here. This thing just about pays for itself, and none of us get a dime. We write and publish here because we can't shut up, and it seems at least a few people are interested in what we have to say. As long as you keep showing up, we'll keep trying to offer something to make it worth your while. While we get comments on certain topics, naturally, we get little feedback in the way of requests to cover something we've missed. Got an idea for something? Let us know.
Each of us on staff has things we emphasize, things we do best. Our Editor-in-Chief, Tim Butler, while working on his PhD in Theology (Reformation Studies), loves to play with smart phones, the social web, and Macs. He's the serious business guy. Eduardo Sánchez is chasing a degree in Law down in his home town of Asunción, Paraguay, to add to his Theology degree. When he has time, he covers International issues for us, as well as art and culture. A strong Linux supporter and user, he does a lot of translation work for various projects. Jason Kettinger has helped us a lot with sports, American performing arts, church and theology from a High Church viewpoint, and whatever else interests him. Yours truly still tries to carry the load on Open Source technology itself as a Linux user, along with exploring other operating systems, and the odd fiction or religion piece. In case you haven't caught on, I'm the resident Christian Mystic. There's room for just about anyone; would you like to “see your name in lights”? Bring your own unique viewpoint to cover something we've missed.
Invariably our personal interests will drift on to other things, and it will be reflected in what we publish here. We don't shy from controversy, but we don't chase it, either. We take the position computers technology should serve people, not the other way around. It's our favorite tool, but just a tool. Life is far more than that. So we might support our favorite OS, text editor, and so forth, but it's not our religion. We might be willing to explain why we like this one or that, but we don't take ourselves that seriously. Nobody is pretending we can compete with the big technology sites, nor any of the news or lifestyle giants. As long as folks keep reading, we'll keep publishing.
We are still Open for Business, just in a different sense.
Ed Hurst is Associate Editor of Open for Business.