Comments on: Moveable Type Rumblings

By: Don

Don — Wed, 19 May 2004 04:03:53 +0000

I looked at Six Apart/MT/Typepad but decided to go with WordPress due to cost. I usually like to host my own stuff anyway, and diddle with the code, etc.

I had some trouble getting WordPress installed (Win2K) but finally something magic happened and it now works. WP is very promising and I hope the dev team keeps up the good work. The Doc is very lacking, and judging from the Forum (which is very active), I think a lot of people have problems on the install. So this may need some flanging up.

I do think a bunch of people are looking at WP for their migration path.

By: Phil

Phil — Sun, 16 May 2004 04:07:59 +0000

Oh, OK! [shrugs shoulders] I don’t get it.

By: Christian

Christian — Sat, 15 May 2004 22:55:52 +0000

Taken from http://www.usemod.com (via Google):
Question: What does ‘wiki’ stand for?
Answer: It comes from the Hawaiian word wiki wiki, which means quick.

By: Phil

Phil — Sat, 15 May 2004 03:57:37 +0000

I’m new to blogging and recently got WP. I’ve had some issues getting it running, but I found the forums very helpful. I also found very useful information at the wiki (what does that stand for, anyway!?), and even on IRC.

I’m satisfied.

By: The Indiana Jones School of Management

The Indiana Jones School of Management — Fri, 14 May 2004 16:18:29 +0000

More Moveable Type Rumblings … and a Prediction
I want to follow up on what Alex has already written about the fallout surrounding Moveable Type’s license change and its possible implications for WordPress.

If there is no individually-priced software package like MT in the marketplace, people …

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 14 May 2004 16:14:45 +0000

Ok folks, Let’s get back on topic.

By: Christian

Christian — Fri, 14 May 2004 16:07:10 +0000

Alex, you need to use a WikiWord as screenname for the wiki.
alexking won’t work. It has to be AlexKing.
Are you sure you tried with the exact spelling?
By the way, WikiWords are explained at WPDocs.
Christian

By: Geof

Geof — Fri, 14 May 2004 13:35:07 +0000

Yeah, I think the issue for the wiki for people like Alex and I was that we were “registered” but never given login data.

I purportedly have an account on the wiki, but I’ve never been able to access it.

:shrug: That’s okay.

[I echo your thoughts, Alex, on hoping that WP is ready.]

By: Steph

Steph — Fri, 14 May 2004 09:30:27 +0000

and it doesn’t work?! I mean, I did just that a couple of hours ago…

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 14 May 2004 07:50:19 +0000

Sure, I’ve tried it a bunch of times.

By: Steph

Steph — Fri, 14 May 2004 07:49:36 +0000

For the wiki: click the login button, enter a username (like AlexKing) and the password of your choice. You’re logged in, you’re registered. No nasty signing-up process!

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 14 May 2004 06:21:27 +0000

I’m certainly not trying to say that the situations are the same, but I’m able to draw useful lessons from both of them.

Some of the business lessons you mention above are similar to some I mentioned in a previous post.

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 14 May 2004 05:08:25 +0000

Alex,
The big difference between the case you site and MT was:
1) MT had a big amateur developer community that contributed a lot to the product, many of whom are now being asked to pay for the sites they currently run and feel ripped off.

2) Six Apart are way late with their product from their original promise of Summer 2003, and it has a lot less features that they originally implied it would.

3) The biggest mistake of all – In response to a lot of grumbling about non-communication, they announced fall 2003 that the new version would be free.

People feel that they reneged on their promises and are charging more for very few new features.

Of course people can always stay on their current free 2.661 systems, but who wants to sit on a dead platform?

Business lessons I would take away:

1) Trying to get people to pay for a product that they have been getting for free is very hard.

2) Don’t comment on pricing until you have decided what it is.

3) Do a cost /benefit analysis before you decide to enrage your evangelist and developer community, and make sure the benefits are worth it. Sometimes they are.

It may well be that the have enough in-house programming talent and enough of a commercial reputation that they don’t need the army of contributors and evangelists any more — I just hope they did this as a conscious decision.