The Movable Type Saga

You’ve found MOVABLE TYPE. What started as a pet personal project has grown into something that we decided to release upon the weblogging masses. I know, you’re probably saying “not another weblogging management system.” Hopefully some of our features will make this seem as exciting to you as it does to us. But, really, maybe we’re just excited because it’s our project. - Ben & Mena

Multiple blogs are really an important feature for me, not only to enable multiple visible online journals, but for the ability to manage disparate sources of content in the backend, then join them seamlessly into one “superblog”. - Mena

Donations via Amazon gift certificates will be treated just like Paypal donations, so for every $20, you’ll receive a recently updated key. And, for donations of $45 and up, you’ll be entitled to extra and personal support. - Mena

Particularly exciting is the success we’ve already had in getting some of the MT advanced features working — namely secure posting via email and FTP to remote host. - Mena

Version 2.0 of Movable Type is now released. This version of Movable Type is still free for personal or non-profit use; note that version 2.0 is not free, however, for commercial or for-profit use. - Ben

How many MT-powered weblogs/sites do you run? - Movable Type User Survey

Now that version 2.6 is released, we’re pleased to announce that Movable Type Pro is in development for a summer 2003 release. Since our first release of Movable Type in October 2001, we’ve planned for a more deluxe version of the software — a version with the features that power users require…Movable Type Pro will be a for-pay version, but as we always stated, donors will be offered discounted rates based on their donations. See the FAQ for more information. This is our way of saying “thank you” to all our users that have allowed us to continue developing during this past year and a half. - Mena

Beginning today, we are also be releasing nightly builds of Movable Type, based on CVS snapshots. These are development releases and are geared towards users comfortable with running development versions of software…By opening up new features and hooks to developers, we will be giving them more time to implement new plugins before official releases. - Ben

These changes to our company definitely mark a new chapter in our history, but our goal is to just get better at what we’ve been doing, not to alter the way that our company works. Our existing base of Movable Type users should see a lot to be excited about, from improvements to Movable Type due to the development work being done on TypePad and Movable Type Pro, to the larger base of plugins, extensions, and third-party programs that will be developed due to the bigger audience of people using Six Apart products. - Mena

First, for personal, non-commercial users, Movable Type is free to download and use. We don’t consider an Amazon wishlist link or a PayPal donation link to be a commercial use of your site, so you’re free to update your weblog and maintain your site with Movable Type and all we’d ask is that you link back to movabletype.org and donate whatever you feel the software is worth to you. - Mena

It’s amazing to think that it was almost one year ago that we began development on TypePad. Time has simply flown by and the product has taken shape in ways that we never would have imagined. I’m grateful to all who got us to this point (especially the latest additions to the team, Paul and Brenna) and look forward to the months ahead developing both TypePad and the various Movable Type offerings scheduled for release later this year. - Mena

It probably bears some examination what we mean by “weblog” these days, anyway. Weblogs used to be the part of a site which contained the frequently-updated posts of an author or authors, but now the term “weblog” is frequently used to refer not just to that part of a site, but to the additional items that make up a full-featured weblog, such as comments, categories, a blogroll, some way to find out more about the author, a way to get in touch with the author by email or instant message, and now low threshold links. All of these elements are in addition to the main body of posts that form the heart of the weblog. - Anil

As we work on Movable Type, we want to integrate what we’ve learned during the past year of TypePad development. - Mena

We are up to a lot of great stuff and we’ve wanted to share what we can with all of you. The great news is that we’ve got a new version of Movable Type planned for release in the next couple months that is a response to the sort of features and requests we’ve been hearing from our current users and other webloggers. Because of the success of TypePad and our ability to staff up, we’re working on releasing more features in the basic Movable Type package and concentrating the features needed for businesses, organizations and large content-driven sites into Movable Type Pro. The delay in Pro has been directly related to the shift in our user’s needs and our desire to distribute personal features into TypePad and Movable Type and by the overwhelming response to our products in the last ten months. - Mena

Movable Type 3.0 will be a free download and upgrade. We have full-time engineering resources devoted to this new version, and we plan to have a beta release in early Q1 of 2004. - Ben

TypeKey is an optional service and you, as a weblog owner, are not required to use it. - TypeKey and Movable Type Comment Registration FAQ

In addition, MT 3.0 benefits from all of the value that a corporation brings to the product and that Ben and I never had the resources to provide ourselves: official support through structured channels; developer programs and contests; an ecosystem to allow developers and companies to be rewarded and compensated for the work they do; a coherent and fair pricing plan that still lets us have a free version of Movable Type 3.0. - Mena

And for the many large institutions and businesses who want to use Movable Type, we finally have a coherent licensing structure that benefits both the end user and Six Apart. Yes, there will be a free version of Movable Type 3.0. With the new licenses going in effect today we will continue our tradition of offering a fully functional free version, there will also be a large variety of paid licenses that come with the structured support that we never felt that we could give our donors enough of. - Mena

Movable Type 3.0 Developer Edition is finally here, and we’ve got a lot to say about it. Mena’s explained the thinking that went into this new version over at Mena’s Corner, where you can get the full story. First, information on our new licenses, new prices, and our commitment to a free version. - Anil

For anyone who is complying with the license of 2.661 or below, there is no requirement to upgrade to 3.0 or any future version of Movable Type. The license which was in effect when you downloaded your version of Movable Type is the one that applies to your copy…Furthermore, it is not our intention to stiffle the creativity of our users. So, if you have a great weblog that uses 11 weblogs seamlessly to appear as one site or weblog, you should not be penalized. - Mena

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The Movable Type Saga

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