I've been thinking more about Ben and Mena, Six Apart, and this licensing scheme, and I've decided that I don't blame them for this turn of events. They started developing Movable Type in their spare bedroom, in their spare time, and as it got more popular, they decided it would be great if they could actually make some money off this product. So they became Six Apart and started offering TypePad. Still, the fees from that and the support fees and the donations just weren't enough, so they've started licensing. That's perfectly rational, because after all, they've got to make money in order to live. Six Apart is not Amazon.
The problem is that they've built up a huge user base which not only is accustomed to a free Movable Type but is now feeling betrayed. Six Apart (it's not Ben and Mena any more, don't kid yourself) has got to know that, but my gut says it doesn't matter too much to their business plan. They're not making money off those customers
anyway. Instead, they're beginning to develop and market MT as a content management system, not just a weblog tool. That way they can charge businesses up the wazoo, and their free users can go hang.
It's unfortunate for us, but I guess we should have seen it coming. Their business model just didn't work, and the fact that MT was never open source means that they had the option to do what they've just done.
It also means that they can choose to develop it however they want, and the spam crisis over the last months has really brought that to a head. Personally, I really don't like the solutions
that have been incorporated into MT. I don't want any part of TypeKey, and I won't have that link-redirect rubbish either. The thing is, too many people are using Movable Type, so there's a big playing field for people who want to abuse our blogs. We all want different features and solutions, too, and we don't get to choose what direction MT takes.
It's really just as well that this happened. It's an opportunity for me to assess my needs and look for a new tool. If it doesn't have all the features I want, then I get to write them myself. What could be better?
Stephen says:
I followed your link to "Mena's Corner" and was amazed by all comments/trackbacks that have been left. I shouldn't be amazed; it's human nature, and nothing demonstrates how petty that nature can be than when people are asked to pay for a quality product they previously received for free.
I mean really. These people are seem to think a blogging tool is an entitlement. They're acting like little spoiled brats. In the grown-up world, people are willing to pay for things of value. Those who complain that the previously free lunch now comes with menu prices-- no sympathy from me.
Laurabelle says:
I didn't read all those trackbacks, but most people are complaining not that they're being asked to pay but that the prices are unreasonable and that they were given no warning at all. Even the beta-testers didn't know. I'd be willing to cough up a little money, but not $69, no way, no how. I don't blame anyone else for being upset about it too.
The major reason I'm not going to upgrade to 3.0 (free version) is that I would have to register with TypeKey, and I'm not willing to do that. I don't like the idea of TypeKey, and I won't use it on my blog or comment on blogs that require it. I have an inherent distrust of a centralized authentication like that, especially when it's managed by Six Apart. I would have trusted Ben and Mena, I think, but Six Apart is about profit. Six Apart has violated the trust of its users who felt they had a relationship and an understanding. We thought big changes like this licensing scheme wouldn't be thrust upon us so suddenly, but they were.
Maybe we come off as a little petty, but that's because it's easy to complain about the money and hard to articulate what's really bothering us: we feel betrayed. We shouldn't feel that way, because we were wrong to place so much faith in a profit-driven organization, but we did.
Don't worry, we'll get over it all soon enough.
Stephen says:
$69: It's a piece of change, I'll give you that. About 3 or 4 DVDs, which kind of puts it in perspective from the viewpoint of how much enjoyment one derives from blogging.
Typekey: I'm there with you.
Ben and Mena: Don't know them. Can't know them from just the internet (although the internet can give us that illusion). Therefore, don't trust them.
Six-Apart: A business; a soulless entity-- which, unsurprisingly, behaves like a soulless entity.
Betrayal: Maybe I don't feel betrayed because I never trusted to begin with. I like it when people give me a product for little or no monetary gain, but I don't expect it, and I look for strings attached when it's offered. We live in an unabashed capitalist society; we shouldn't be surprised when its members behave like capitalists.
(Addendum: I realize I must come off as pretty hard-nosed and untrusting. Fact of the matter-- the number of people I trust absolutely can be counted on one hand. Others are to be trusted only within the parameters of my expectations for them, some of which are fairly dismal.)
Laurabelle says:
See, there you go. Your expectations were different from everyone else's.
In retrospect, you were right, but soon enough it'll be water under the bridge for everyone.