On the Principles of the Show
It seems like in the last month or so, I had to explain to several people, several times in a couple of venues why Dan and I do not immediately release a version of the show once we are finished recording. I thought I should repeat the explanation here for everyone’s benefit.
Linux Outlaws was never meant to be a news show. When I came up with the concept, I was modeling it very much after MacBreak Weekly and to some extend This Week in Tech itself. That is to say LO is designed to be discussion of and reflection on the Linux and open source / free software news of the week in a friendly, often lighthearted atmosphere. It should not be your primary source of these news. As such, LO was never designed to present a comprehensive, authorative or even reliable selection of what has happened in the last week and because of that I had never thought it to be a big issue that we have a pretty long lead time with the show (usually at least three days from recording to release). You could say that Linux Outlaws isn’t optimised to bring you information quickly, instead we concentrate pretty hard to maximise the quality of the show. This extends to content (both serious and humorous) and also audio quality and general listenability (cutting out the uhms, ahhs and pauses) which is especially important to both Dan and I. This takes time and we know that. The whole concept of the show is build around it. We realised pretty early into it that some people rather prefer the show very raw and quickly delivered. That is why we started experimenting with streaming it live and have kept that arrangement up since then. We now provide you with exactly the recording of it all as it happens live, both in video and pretty high quality audio formats. I even save the video to the Ustream site when I don’t forget to record it. This is our compromise for those of you who want the show immediately and/or in its raw state. We are, however, not willing to sacrifice the quality of the actual podcast because of this. There will be no raw, TLLTS-style, fresh-off-the-tape release of Linux Outlaws. The editing and releasing of the podcast will always take time and I am acutely aware of the fact that it has been taking longer lately. I will take steps against this (more on that in a minute) but I will not compromise the core values of our show for it. As long as this is still a hobby for both Dan and me, there will be no way that I can release the podcast much faster than we have done in the past couple of years. If you want it faster, either pay me to do the editing or watch the live show.
As the show has been getting longer and longer, and with the original mission in mind, I have come up with a plan to re-focus Linux Outlaws a bit to adjust for this. Starting with the next show (#136), we will stop listing all distro and software releases that we pick up on. We will only talk about the ones we find noteworthy for some reason or another. You are of course still free to send us feedback (which we always appreciate a lot) and tell us if you think we missed something important, but please respect our decision if we do not mention stuff you send us. By now, we are getting a lot of email and everybody has something else that he or she finds important. In the same vein, I will take it upon myself to more radically cut down the actual news items we talk about. I always do this in some kind of fashion or another, but I will try to be more ruthless with it now since I think we really need to focus on the important things and make the show a little less complicated again. If I do this correctly, chances are you won’t even notice but if you do, please remember: we are human too and humans make mistakes. With any luck, this will speed up the release of the show again and keep it fresh for many, many more episodes to come. Our purpose always has been and always will be to produce the most relevant while still entertaining Linux podcast in the highest quality possible out there.
Again, by all means send us feedback on all of this, we are always interested in what you think and how we can make the show better for all of you. Just one more thing: Before you send us email, think about what you are doing. Maybe read it over again before you push that “send” button. As I said, we are starting to get a lot of email and we take a chunk out of our personal free time to read it all (and we do read all the mail we get) — so please make it worth our while. If you do that, I am happy to read all of your feedback, a lot of it warms my heart every week and totally makes it worth it to do this show. We are grateful for all the intelligent rants, funny insults, well-worded criticism, witty jokes and random “I really like your show” comments we get. Please keep that up!
February 15th, 2010 at 13:59
Personally, I think you are adopting exactly the right stance. The edited show is very professional sounding and makes it much more enjoyable for me.
I didn’t realise until recently precisely how much time you spent on the final edit and I was staggered, given you have your studies, a part-time job and a life !
I’m not listening to LO for the latest, breaking news. In fact, I already am aware of most of the stories covered. What I am listening to is the discussion and analysis of those news stories as well as the rants, the ‘crap alert’, the beer of the week, the jokes, the impressions, the friendly atmosphere, the easy going and very natural humour.
Once again, all the time and effort you and Dan put into the show is greatly appreciated.
I don’t mind waiting 2-3 days for the final, polished release. I would much rather do that that get an even longer version with the ‘errs’ and ‘aaah’ and the private IRC jokes.
Keep the faith.
February 15th, 2010 at 14:05
Keep up the good work! I enjoy listening to your show, and the sound is really crisp and clean.
Good things comes to those who wait
February 15th, 2010 at 14:17
Definitely this is one of the best podcasts in our current age!
February 15th, 2010 at 14:50
Yea, I’m with andy.
I like to listen at my leisure and the sound and editing quality really shine through. The live show strikes a balance for the eager folk.
Your plan for the news is a good one. Sticking to releases that are major (ubuntu gnome fedora android) or the very rare (System Rescue CD).
February 15th, 2010 at 15:59
Yeah who gives two craps about a weird Linux that only 10 people use?? I surely don’t and I won’t miss that portion of the show.
Also, for those who bitch on how much time it takes Fab to edit it?? YOU AREN’T PAYING A DIME so….as Leo would say SCREW YOU!
February 15th, 2010 at 18:37
I think it’s good idea. I like the fact that you are interested of the sound quality, makes the listening experience little more enjoyable.
I hope you will keep doing Lo still long
February 15th, 2010 at 22:01
I don’t mind at all that it takes time to produce the podcast release. Usually, I listen to the show with some additional delay anyway, as there are other podcasts I enjoy and of course music.
For example, I listened to your 2009 review podcast in the end of January, which did not prevent me from lmao about the great podcast parody. Keep up the great work and take the time it needs to produce great quality.
Hoping for many more entertaining LO episodes to come.
February 15th, 2010 at 22:18
Thanks for the nice words, everyone. I am glad to see people appreciate the work we put into doing the show. Please don’t think we have been overly criticised or are pissed off in any way. I admit having been pissed off at some emails we’ve gotten in the past, but it’s nothing to loose sleep over. I just wanted to clarify this for everyone to make sure that there are no misunderstandings.
@rg: Time-shifted listening is what podcasts are for, after all, right? I mean that is one of the big things this medium has going for it in contrast to radio or traditional TV programming.
February 15th, 2010 at 22:29
@Fab: exactly. I listen to Linux Outlaws when I am in the mood for it or to Floss weekly or good old Rock’n'Roll. It’s very convenient to have a choice.
February 15th, 2010 at 22:31
I am totally with you there. I do exactly the same thing. Down to the Rock’n'Roll.
February 16th, 2010 at 02:15
Keep the good work going! I prefere the flawless podcast
February 16th, 2010 at 18:14
In the end, it is your show. Anyone that wants a different style show is more than welcome to buy a microphone and start recording.
February 18th, 2010 at 03:35
This is your show and you guys should release it in whatever form or manner/method you choose. What I especially like is how you both are open to continually refining and producing excellence in all you do.
The way you produce your show may not please some but it really shows professionalism and a degree of commitment to your listeners that you are this open about your process and content.
Thanks for the clarifications Fab and keep up the great work!!
February 18th, 2010 at 11:02
Thank you for the nice words. I swear this post wasn’t fishing for compliments…
As for the openness of the show, I think that comes with the territory. We never pretended to be fierce freedom crusaders, but we give our best to be as open as possible with the show. That’s what all this social networking and, gods help us, the COMMUNITY TOOLS are for after all, right?
Some decisions are, naturally, our own but we always listen to feedback.
February 18th, 2010 at 22:09
I’m pretty easy to please. I say do whatever works best for you & Dan. I’ve been listening to the show since it was in single digits and over the course of that whole time I’ve never been disappointed with the show.
February 19th, 2010 at 04:34
Good calls all around, Fab. I think keeping the show long, but not LONG, is perfect. Focused but not Shot of Jaq-y.
And I think it’s great that you guys edit out all the crap. I don’t listen to TLLTS, specifically b/c I just don’t enjoy the uber-raw. For that matter, I’m at least a week behind on your show, so getting the show out fast is pretty much irrelevant to me (it’ll be at least Tuesday, probably till I listen to the show that just came out).
It still boggles my mind that ya’ll do that much production EVERY week. Thanks for the hard work!
February 21st, 2010 at 09:40
Keep up the good work! I enjoy listening to your show
February 24th, 2010 at 16:34
[...] which would become episode 136 “Make Love, Not Proprietary Software”. Following this blog announcement by Fab earlier in the day, we were experimenting with a new slightly leaner format. I think it [...]
February 26th, 2010 at 12:52
ROFL Fab – I thought it was you getting pissed and messing about that made it longer in the first place
I found that I’m often too busy to listen to shows 90 minutes or longer – but with the shorter shows, if I feel I didn’t get satisfaction I can always play them again.
I often listen late anyway – I get my news through feeds, but you do find some good stories that I miss.