SixApart's licensing for Movable Type 3.0 is making me anxious

I love Movable Type. Movable Type changed my life. Movable Type is a better piece of software for me than anything I could have designed for myself. I would pay money for Movable Type. I’d like to see Ben and Mena Trott get rich from Movable Type. And I’ve been looking forward to the release of version 3.0, while they’ve been focused on other projects.

But their new licensing scheme is confusing. I think Inluminent hit the nail on the head: they need an unlimited personal license for a reasonable flat fee for personal use (say, $100 for unlimited users and weblogs) and either a flat fee or user/weblog licensing scheme for commercial users. Personal users shouldn’t be subjected to tiered licenses.

I don’t think anyone who is a serious enough blogger to need a lot of users or weblogs from Movable Type would object to paying $100 for such a wonderful tool.

But right now, I’m not sure what I’m going to do next.

I’m tempted to move to Expression Engine for its simpler license, dynamic php publishing, and the free “switcher” license they just offered me. I’m using their pMachine software for Coastsider and am considering migrating that site to Expression Engine.

But MT is making me consider whether I want to use commercial software at all.

I have been so happy with the GPL software I’ve been using lately that I’m tempted to move all my personal publishing to GPL as a gesture of support. WordPress seems to be the GPL solution of choice, with a large community and lots of momentum. It also uses php, which is quickly becoming my platform of choice. But it doesn’t have the author and weblog management flexibility of either commercial option.

MT 2.x does what I need right now. Until I need the features MT 3.x or Expression Engine, or WordPress matures, I think I’ll sit tight.

2 thoughts on “SixApart's licensing for Movable Type 3.0 is making me anxious

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