Movable Type is putting together a developer’s program and wants your input:
Based on the comments and questions raised about offering support services, we’ll be working on creating a Movable Type Developer/Service Provider Network that will rely more on a software/service-provider relationship rather than that of licensor/licensee. We’d love to hear what you think about this sort of a program and if you have any ideas or suggestions of how it would work best for you as a service-provider or developer.
Email your comments to: [email protected]
If it were up to me, there would be no limitations on the ability of third parties to provide support, enhancements, or redistribution of Movable Type, as long as all the end-users of said services are in compliance with the terms of MT’s license, but I would also charge a nominal fee, on the order of $25, for every non-commercial user. Seems to me that the issue is to induce more people to pay MT, not to prevent others from making money off MT. But that’s just me, I didn’t write the code, and there are lots of ways to spin it.
Why would they resist this? The base software is worth $25 a YEAR, never mind paying once. Someone is asleep at the switch somewhere.
I use MT now, and I’d even consider paying for it. They should have a free beginner’s version, a low-price paid premium version ($12-$25/year at most, maybe make it a donation or a small ad instead) for non-corporate and non-top-tier bloggers, and maybe a higher-priced super premium version for corporate and top-tier bloggers. They could cut deals with earthlink and other companies that would include MT service in the earthlink service.
They should get down on their knees for anyone who’d be willing to provide support for their product. If they want to get money out of those people, they could have optional training courses. Less recommended would be paid certification.
For an example, see everyone’s favorite little-DB-that-almost-could: http://www.mysql.com/training-and-certification.html
Lonewacko – there is a low price version. Make a donation of $45 or more and you’re entitled to e-mail support and a recently updated key that pings MT’s site when you add a new post. My understanding is that the Pro versions are in the works. Read the FAQ. I’ve used the support personally a number of times, found it to be responsive and helpful.
I landed here via Kathy Kinsley’s site and I must say that the righteous indignation is appalling. The folks behind MT are not “idiots” with “their heads up their asses”, they simply got caught up in a misunderstanding that is being resolved. A misunderstanding that could have been avoided if Kathy Kinsley had bothered to take five minutes and contact SixApart about her idea. A little couth would certainly help your argument, mate.
Furthermore, there’s a very good reason why charging a nominal fee for every non-commercial user won’t happen: Sixapart has maintained that there will always be a free version of MT available. While you’ve certainly done an excellent job of making them look like heartless misanthropes, the reality is they are very much committed to the idea of personal publishing. This fact is quite obvious in how they’ve run their company since MT was first released.
Yes, the licensing issues can be confusing, but that’s certainly not unique to this situation (ever read a Microsoft EULA?) and it’s certainly not deserving of such a bilious indictment.