AKMA’s Random Thoughts

Platforms

Last week I blogged about the possibility of switching platforms. At the time, my notions about actually moving from Moveable Type to another package were just wistful admiration of other feature sets (and the possibility of using OS blogging software). At the time, I imagined that the licensing terms of SixApart would remain stable for my kind of user. That estimate, as almost everyone knows now, was incorrect.

SixApart (I’m accustomed to saying “Ben and Mena,” but of course now it’s Ben and Mena and Anil and lots of other employees I don’t know) have the very best backing and leadership. I wish them all the success in the world, and I’ll thrill to see them on CNN and I’ll cheer when they overtake the Gateses and the Waltons on the list of the world’s richest people. They have made a wonderful software package, and I don’t begrudge them a cent of the money they ask for or receive. It’s not about what they deserve or what I wish for them. Go, SixApart! Yay!

At the same time, I don’t think I can operate under the terms of the licenses they describe, nor am I confident that Seabury will be able to afford MT 3.0. The Disseminary doesn’t really fit any of their pricing plans, and Seabury is keeping a lid on salaries — and I wouldn’t want to look my co-workers in the eye and say, “We should all tighten our belts so that Seabury can buy Moveable Type 3.0,” especially when one of the points I advanced in favor of Moveable Type was that it would be free.

Which leaves me in a fix, because there’s no perfect match for my weblog software desiderata. Open Source — because that’s something the Disseminary stands for; some canned-meat comment control, because I’m a comment vegetarian; residing on my ISP, not relying on someone else’s centralized server; multiple-author, ’cause some of what we do requires that; multiple-blog, because, well, we use and plan on using more than one blog per software install; made by friends, because I’m big on solidarity and encouragement and mutuality; cheap or free, because we don’t have much funding. Not because we think developers should starve; developers should live like philosopher-queens and kings, of the jungle, at pricing schemes that they alone set, with no cavilling from the peanut gallery. On the other hand, we’re broke ourselves, and I can’t redefine my grant parameters or family budget. Everyone at SixApart deserves more of my money than they’re getting, but they aren’t alone, and I have to make frustrating decisions.

So, Moveable Type will continue to be made by lovely people I want to support, with all the multi-stuff I need, perhaps some spam control (though I see Ben’s been afflicted with some grotesque advertisements in his comments, too), but not Open Source and not affordable; Textpattern and WordPress are multi-blog impaired, if I understand them correctly. I still have to pursue acquaintance with Drupal and the new Bloxsom. (None of the developers of these packages counts as a “friend” at this point, except perhaps in the orkut sense, though I’m a big fan of Dean Allen and Matt).

And then there’s Blogware — not Open Source, but very heavy on the friendship angle, not intrinsically “multi-” friendly, and not free, exactly, but Elliot and Ross and Joey want to bring me along.

And I’d like to be moving in a direction that won’t complicate my life too much if someone decides to adopt an awkward pricing scheme, or a black-hat develops a new kind of spam, or I make new friends or lose touch with old ones. In short, I think, I’m in a very awkward fix.

For right now, I’ll test-drive the software from the guys with the t-shirt. And hey, there’s always the new Blogger. . . .

Posted by AKMA at May 14, 2004 09:11 PM | TrackBack