To be clear, I like the basic ideas here. What I'm about to post is meant as a request for clarification.
Quoting from the original post:
"The definition of Professional Magazine would be the converse of Fanzine, and would be pretty straightforward to determine:
Paid its contributors or staff monetarily in other than copies of the publication, and/or
Was generally available only for paid purchase"
There are several online magazines (e.g, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Clarkesworld) that follow a model where content is, and remains, available online as web pages for free, but also offer options, usually through third parties like Amazon, B&N, and Weightless Books, to purchase issues and subscriptions in eBook formats. To me, that seems to fail your second criterion. Apex Magazine is slightly different, in that it only offers the current issue online, with back issues available for purchase. This seems closer to qualifying. Strange Horizons pays contributors, but doesn't sell anything, choosing instead to rely on donations. My point being that "generally available only for paid purchase" may need a bit more detail. Either that, or just cut the word "only".
One of the top sources of short fiction Hugo nominees in recent years has been tor.com. I don't think that site would qualify as a magazine. I can live with that, but it does feel a little odd, locking the source of much award-worthy short fiction out of the category. I'd be interested in other people's opinions. (Note: Baen also offers stories online.)
no subject
Quoting from the original post:
"The definition of Professional Magazine would be the converse of Fanzine, and would be pretty straightforward to determine:
Paid its contributors or staff monetarily in other than copies of the publication, and/or
Was generally available only for paid purchase"
There are several online magazines (e.g, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Clarkesworld) that follow a model where content is, and remains, available online as web pages for free, but also offer options, usually through third parties like Amazon, B&N, and Weightless Books, to purchase issues and subscriptions in eBook formats. To me, that seems to fail your second criterion. Apex Magazine is slightly different, in that it only offers the current issue online, with back issues available for purchase. This seems closer to qualifying. Strange Horizons pays contributors, but doesn't sell anything, choosing instead to rely on donations. My point being that "generally available only for paid purchase" may need a bit more detail. Either that, or just cut the word "only".
One of the top sources of short fiction Hugo nominees in recent years has been tor.com. I don't think that site would qualify as a magazine. I can live with that, but it does feel a little odd, locking the source of much award-worthy short fiction out of the category. I'd be interested in other people's opinions. (Note: Baen also offers stories online.)