Talk about a Happy New Year. The reason: it turns out we're not dead. In fact, we're more alive than ever, thanks to a rescue by readers—specifically, by the hackers who run Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN, a London Trust Media company. PIA are avid supporters of freenode and the larger FOSS community. They’re also all about Linux and the rest of the modern portfolio of allied concerns: privacy, crypto, freedom, personal agency, rewriting the rules of business and government around all of those, and having fun with constructive hacking of all kinds. We couldn’t have asked for a better rescue ship to come along for us.

In addition, they aren't merely rescuing this ship we were ready to scuttle; they're making it seaworthy again and are committed to making it bigger and better than we were ever in a position to think about during our entirely self-funded past.

This is exactly what we had hoped for in recent years, but hardly expected. Really and truly, I waited to put up our farewell post until all hope was lost. But hey, it turns out you don't have to believe in miracles to experience one, because that's exactly what happened here.

So here's what I know for sure, so far.

First, the PIA people are hard-core Linux, free software and open-source hackers. They are just as committed to FOSS values as Phil Hughes was when he published the first issue of Linux Journal in April 1994, the same month Linus released version 1.0 of Linux. (Friends and colleagues of Phil's, especially those who worked for him at Linux Journal for many years, know how completely principled he was and still is.) They also want to do right by developers, users, and the whole free and open networked world. That's one reason they stepped forward to save us.

Second, they’re eager to support us in building Linux Journal 2.0 around the substantial core of devoted readers we had through the many years of Linux Journal 1.x. And, this means we need to hear from you. How and where would you like us to go, now that we're back afloat and our purpose is to thrive and not just to survive? For that, at the very least, we'll be hanging out in the #linuxjournal channel at freenode.net. We'll also be making some long overdue improvements to the website. While that’s going on, we will open conversational channels there too.

Third, expect to see familiar names and faces continuing to work here. I'm staying on, as will Jill Franklin, Doc Searls and others. We also will be recruiting talent for covering Linux and topics in adjacent areas that are as hot (or ready to be) as Linux was in 1994.

Fourth, we are committed to giving our subscribers everything we can to reward their support. For starters, if you haven't yet claimed your archive of all Linux Journal back issues, please ping me (carliefairchild at linuxjournal dot com). While we collectively brainstorm what Linux Journal 2.0 will become, our subscribers will be at the forefront of those discussions. You've stood by us, and that support means everything to us. Stay tuned.

Fifth (but not finally), we are committed to leading the way toward new and better business models for publishing than the usual suspects we've seen so far. Doc Searls, who in addition to his work at Linux Journal has been running ProjectVRM out of Harvard's Berkman Klein Center since ‘06, is eager to use Linux Journal 2.0 as a laboratory for expanding one corner of that work: creating better ways of doing advertising that supports publishers, rather than the kind that chases tracked eyeballs—and for moving beyond the advertising model as well. Help with that is also welcome.

So again, thanks for your support for so many years, and thanks in advance for the fresh help we are sure to get as we set sail again on a better ship than ever.

*The photo above was shot by Doc on our final Geek Cruise in 2005. (See here, here and here for reports on that.) Doing cruises again is just one among many possibilities we can now start thinking about. Again, we’d love your help.