The Return of Linux.com

What a long, strange month it’s been.

While Luke Skywalker spent most of the “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” movie trying to bring Darth Vader back from the Dark Side, the Return of Linux.com hasn’t been quite so dramatic. But it has not been without its moments, which is why we’re so happy to be back online today and back to the work of providing a neutral, online forum where Linux users and developers can share information and collaborate on “all matters Linux.”

There are some changes to the site that you will notice right away. Because too many of our community features were being abused with spam, we will be restoring Linux.com with just the features that people were using and with a clear purpose for each.

Here are a few immediate changes to the site:

* Community profiles and groups have been removed. We are building a new community component for the site and community profiles will be the first priority, but this will take some time. Groups will not return; however, the most popular groups will get dedicated forum areas.

* A new forum has been built, and the sections in the previous Linux.com forum remain the same. Your avatars from the old forum are available in the new one. You can access the new forum here: http://www.linux.com/community/forums
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* Community blogs and Questions/Answers remain consistent.

* We’ve added a “Submit” button next to your profile name as it appears in the upper right hand corner upon login. This should make it much easier to submit your articles and tutorials.

* The 2012 Linux.com Guru contest has been suspended. It would not be fair to continue the contest given the downtime we’ve experienced. Additionally, with changes to the community section of the site, we’ll be redesigning the Guru system for launch in the New Year. We will be sending free Linux.com Store merchandise to frequent contributors during the final months of this year as a thank you for the community’s ongoing support.

We will continue to publish original content, such as Linux tutorials, Linux videos, individual Linux stories, industry-specific blogs, Linux comics, Linux slideshows and a full directory of Linux and open source software and hardware, among other resources. We will also continue to curate the most important Linux-related stories of the day here on home page, so that you can get informed perspectives on everything you need in one place. We also look forward to your contributed blogs, articles and videos that share what you’re working on and learning.

Thank you for being a part of Linux.com’s past, present and future. Thank you, too, for your patience as we continue to tweak the site in the days and weeks ahead.

It would not be the resource it is without your help. As we move forward, may the force be with you.