License Troubles
I really like Movable Type, but their license is really vague. Last month, I talked about my problems using MT with clients. Now a hosting provider has been asked to not install MT for their customers. While it might be more of a marketing faux-pas, this has really infuriated some of the Movable Type users in the past week. Al has a good run-through of everything going on and goes into more depth about the situation.
My original problem, was using Movable Type with users who were non-profits. These groups, including my employer, have license to use MT for free. Would these groups need to be included in the $150 charge per program, if I install the software as a consultant?
I’ll still use Movable Type, because it works for *my* needs, but my clients will use a system best suited for *their* needs. If that’s a homegrown CMS or something like Mambo or Drupal, then I’ll use that instead. Licensing is a feature, just like ease of use.
June 25th, 2003 at 1:06 am
“A suitable GPL’d replacement might be WordPress.”
I’ll second this (I have a recently blown up bare bones install at http://fultonchain.net/b2)– with a few caveats.
For me the biggest advantage to WordPress is that it’s PHP, PHP I understand– Perl may as well be quantum physics as far as I’m concerned. The other thing that I like is the firm commitment they have made to web standards.
However, there are a few items missing from WordPress that, to me, are critical. Firstly, it does not support multiple weblogs out of the box… this is something I need and is a deal breaker. Secondly, the native image management has a long way to go… with the GD library so readily available this is something I would have liked to see in the betas. Finally, the lack of a conversion script for other weblog applications is likely to hinder widespread adoption.
Mike L. and Matthew are doing wonderful things, but in terms of features WordPress has a way to go before it’s a viable alternative to MT. I’m sure it will get there, but it ain’t there yet.
Mike, if you want a look at the guts of WordPress drop me an email and I’ll give you the login for my install. It’s stock except for a few stylesheet tweaks.
June 25th, 2003 at 4:06 am
I too used to make clients pay the full commercial license fee for Movable Type, but with the rise of pMachine and its more reasonable cost, I’ve begun to recommend it over MT. It seems like the vague language of the MT EULA is a double-edged sword for Six Apart and the Trotts.
June 25th, 2003 at 4:06 am
Elle,
I’m not sold on this. On the thread that started this thing ( http://www.site-essential.com/scgi-bin/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=2161 ) Rick Ellis weighs in with the following,
“And in the case of pMachine in particular, we own a hosting company that offers pMachine by default on all accounts, so we have a vested interest in not permitting other hosting companies to offer our product unless they can do so in a way that both benefits us and doesn’t undercut us.”
Though he is more forthright and skips the legalese, it amounts to pretty much the same thing.
June 25th, 2003 at 5:06 am
I forgot about this post, but originally it was Beth who brought the whole MT License issue to my attention.
http://www.mutatedmonkeys.com/weblog/archives/000801.html
June 25th, 2003 at 12:06 pm
I’ve used MT a few times with clients, and always had them pay for the commercial license, regardless of nonprofit status. For most, that’s a small price for a fairly robust, but easy to use CMS.
In my opinion, $150 is the most they should charge for the commercial flavor of the product. I’m afraid with Six Apart’s new focus on a hosted product, the upcoming “Pro” versions may have an increased fee. If that’s the case, it’s time to shop around.
June 25th, 2003 at 12:06 pm
I too have had issues with the Movable Type license, which is vague in many ways…
A suitable GPL’d replacement might be WordPress (if you can use PHP/MySQL.) http://wordpress.org/
June 25th, 2003 at 12:06 pm
I’ve started to look at WordPress from afar. The one thing I love about Movable Type, is the developer community and the support forums….if WordPress has that, then they’re going to get more converts.
It might be time to actually learn to program, just to pull myself out of this whole blog software deal.
**later**
I’d also like to add that Dan Benjamin’s “Soapbox” looks killer. Just wish he would finally release it!
June 26th, 2003 at 5:06 am
Hmm, Al. In the case of a hosting company offering pMachine-based accounts, I can definitely see that. I suppose as a blog-focused hosting service, then the EULAs of pMachine, GreyMatter, Movable Type, etc. would be infinitely more pertinent, but as a freelance consultant, I doubt you and I would run into the legal tangles Bloghouse now finds itself in.
Ah, well. I can’t say I fault the Trotts for their choice to pursue this matter. Everybody’s got to have their something, you know?