TCH-Sales Posted May 7, 2003 Share Posted May 7, 2003 I figured this could be an interesting conversation starter for all the dozens and dozens of TotalChoice loyalists out there. What do you use to blog? MT? b2? Livejournal? Tell us what it is you use, and why do you use it! I know there has to be a couple of bloggers out there, so let me see what you like and don't like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethohio3 Posted May 7, 2003 Share Posted May 7, 2003 I don't use one yet, because MT balked when I tried to set it up, and then I got busy with other things and didn't get back to it. I have no loyalty at the moment, and if TCH had one that magically installed from the Control Panel, I'd just use it and be happy for a while, until I had reason to be dissatisfied (if ever). --Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurl Posted May 8, 2003 Share Posted May 8, 2003 Great timing , I was just going to ask what type of blog is best if there is a best and where do I find this? So many questions ......hahahahhahaha I wish to start one so please point me in the right direction or any tiny scrap of info would be appreciated..... Tech Gurl is at it again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Sales Posted May 8, 2003 Author Share Posted May 8, 2003 Hey Tech Gurl, I just went back to Moveable Type myself: cerealkeeler.net I like it, but some might say it's too bloated. There's alot of alternatives out there though, so just take a look around.. I'm sure you'll find one that suits your needs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolageek Posted May 8, 2003 Share Posted May 8, 2003 Hey Tech Gurl, I just went back to Moveable Type myself: cerealkeeler.net I like it, but some might say it's too bloated. There's alot of alternatives out there though, so just take a look around.. I'm sure you'll find one that suits your needs! I use (and love) MT on noleftturns.com and reelidentities.org (as well as a few others that arn't public right now) It may be considered bloated for those that want a simple blog, but I think as you think of more things you want to be able to do on your site, you won't see it as "bloat" anymore, but as flexibility. My $00.02 Vincent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head Guru Posted May 8, 2003 Share Posted May 8, 2003 MT is for sure bloated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Sales Posted May 8, 2003 Author Share Posted May 8, 2003 I was just pointing out Vincent that there's many alternatives out there. Also, everybody is entitled to their 2 cents, I just feel like MoveableType could be written better. Right now it just feels like the basic concept was good, but instead of building a better product, they just kinda stuck in fixes here and there. But I do use MT, just because I'm spoild to it, and don't have anytime to really learn and play with much else. Check this thread I did on a comparison blog tool I found for more alternatives out there: http://www.totalchoicehosting.com/forums/i...t=0entry10633 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Rick Posted May 8, 2003 Share Posted May 8, 2003 MT is for sure bloated. It's not bloated, it's feature-laden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayners Posted May 9, 2003 Share Posted May 9, 2003 What in particular do you guys think is bloated about MT? Needless to say, I've worked with it quite a bit, so I'm curious how it looks from the outside. I've been toying with the idea of writing my own blogging software, so it would be nice to hear what people think of existing solutions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Sales Posted May 9, 2003 Author Share Posted May 9, 2003 I just hate the fact that everything seems to be so limited with MT for my first complaint. Of course, something becomes big and the "norm" its going to get that "comercialized". I think a much better product would come of it if they redid it from the bottom up when updating, because right now it just has that "patched" feeling. Also the mt tags are getting out of control with confusing. That's just my personal moan though... If you were to start your own blogging software you'd have to keep us updated! There are some alright alternatives out there so far. I really liked Pivot, but its still being developed so it had some loose ends here and there that got anoying. The good thing about it though, was that it was all in PHP, and was more designed with regular CSS, so it'd be easy to pull it into a regular site layout, without having to have it off over by itself. So there ya go, my opinions and good stuffins! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayners Posted May 9, 2003 Share Posted May 9, 2003 I just hate the fact that everything seems to be so limited with MT for my first complaint. Of course, something becomes big and the "norm" its going to get that "comercialized".How so? What feels limited? I think a much better product would come of it if they redid it from the bottom up when updating, because right now it just has that "patched" feeling. Also the mt tags are getting out of control with confusing. That's just my personal moan though... Nothing wrong with reexamining, and, if necessary, redesigning, software every few years. Heck, that's what we've been doing at work for the last year or so. Do you think you could get a bit more specific than "patched" feeling? I don't really get the same feeling myself, but then again I'm hacking away at the source myself half the time. And I do agree that the plugins are starting to get a little out of hand. That's the main reason that Kristine started the MT Plugins Directory, why I got her to add the MT Plugins Bug Tracker, and why I'm writing the MT Plugin Manager. There's too many plugins out there to be easily handled manually. And in addition to just taking care of the installing, upgrading, and uninstalling, I'm shooting for the Plugin Manager to be a documentation provider as well. Docs are always handy. If you were to start your own blogging software you'd have to keep us updated! There are some alright alternatives out there so far. I really liked Pivot, but its still being developed so it had some loose ends here and there that got anoying. The good thing about it though, was that it was all in PHP, and was more designed with regular CSS, so it'd be easy to pull it into a regular site layout, without having to have it off over by itself. Well, I don't have anything in particular down on paper just yet. I've been thinking about putting up a site (http://blog.rayners.org/ or something along those lines) to just do some brainstorming and gather some user feedback to see what people think. Nothing is certainly set in stone yet, though I'm leaning more towards Perl for the "main" implementation, along with perhaps a PHP API to add on to it... Templating system.. Plugin interfaces out the wazoo.. yada yada yada.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Sales Posted May 9, 2003 Author Share Posted May 9, 2003 I'd say the most limiting thing about it is all the "you can do this" but you "can't do that" legalize that most nobody reads but me before they use it. I'm always one to fallow the rules and such, but there's just too many checks and balances in there you don't know if your breaking the agreement or not. Like say if I did advertising on my blog, is there only a certain limit to the money I could make through it before it's considered a "comercial" site? I'm just an old school beliver of if you pay something for a product, it's yours to do with what you want to do. Also, say I told my year's worth of bloggin on my site to people, on a CD for $10 a year or something. Just taking the text files off MT and then reselling them... I'd be more than happy to pay or donate if I didn't feel like in 6 months there's going to be 12 more pages of legalize I've got to hire a lawer to go through before I use the product. As far as patches go, I wish Moveable Type was built around being "patchable". It feels like to me the origional source code was never ment to be patched with all those that are out there today. If there was a way to add patches and add-ons without editing the source code and hacking and slashing your way though. I think that would get LOTS of people's attention. Say you only have to put a plugin in one folder, CHMOD it, then it's ready to go. Or maybe provide a way through the actual interface to plugin something without working about doing it the old way at all. Let me know as soon as you get the blogging software project on the way! I'd like to at least be a feedback person from the masses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayners Posted May 9, 2003 Share Posted May 9, 2003 I'd say the most limiting thing about it is all the "you can do this" but you "can't do that" legalize that most nobody reads but me before they use it. I'm always one to fallow the rules and such, but there's just too many checks and balances in there you don't know if your breaking the agreement or not. Ahh, okay. Legal limitations. I thought you were talking about technical limitations. I'd be more than happy to pay or donate if I didn't feel like in 6 months there's going to be 12 more pages of legalize I've got to hire a lawer to go through before I use the product.Simple licenses are a good thing as far as I'm concerned. As far as patches go, I wish Moveable Type was built around being "patchable". It feels like to me the origional source code was never ment to be patched with all those that are out there today. If there was a way to add patches and add-ons without editing the source code and hacking and slashing your way though. I think that would get LOTS of people's attention. Say you only have to put a plugin in one folder, CHMOD it, then it's ready to go. Or maybe provide a way through the actual interface to plugin something without working about doing it the old way at all. Just to clear things up, there are two distinct things we are talking about here. First of all, a "patch." A patch is a modification to the source code of a core file in the system (for example the author archives patch I created many moons ago). Next, is a "plugin." A plugin is a file containing some amount of code that makes use of an API that the system provides to add additional functionality or capability to the system. Okay, now that we have the vocabulary ironed out, let me say that patches, while useful, are not always a good thing to be released to the masses. By altering the system, they alter the baseline, which starts up a complete support nightmare (among other things). Features or plugins may break, new bugs may be created, etc, etc. That's not to say that the patches shouldn't be generated. The best thing to do with a patch, in my opinion, is to make the software's author(s) aware of it and let them incorporate it into a future version. Now, if they chose not to, that's another story. Beyond that, plugins are great. They can extend the system in ways the original author(s) may never have even considered. By delegating a lot of the systems components to the plugin level, that allows the author(s) to concentrate on the system core. (Can you tell what direction I'm thinking of heading in for my own software ) Let me know as soon as you get the blogging software project on the way! I'd like to at least be a feedback person from the masses! Well, I just went ahead and created the development blog, though there's no actual content there yet. Maybe in a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Sales Posted May 9, 2003 Author Share Posted May 9, 2003 Just bookmarked it! So I'll be keeping an eye on it's progression. Also, thanks for clarifying the lingo there, my thoughts were going a little faster than my fingers, so didn't mean for it to sound like it did. Now all those people at home (why do I feel like I'm on a TV show?!) know which from which. Sounds like we're pretty much on the same page, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how this goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayners Posted May 9, 2003 Share Posted May 9, 2003 Bah! That's what I get for telling people that I've been considering it. People actually want to see progress now. Anyways, just as a side note, one of the first steps in any system design is a Data Dictionary. Basically, it's just a list of words and what they mean, mostly so everybody is on the same page from the get-go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Sales Posted May 9, 2003 Author Share Posted May 9, 2003 come on, it's been a few hours.. you mean it's not done yet?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Legs Posted May 9, 2003 Share Posted May 9, 2003 i'll just jump in here with this: i think all the blog software out there is great, it's allowing tons of people to easily build sites. what's a drag is visiting several blogs and finding they all look exactly alike. but i guess that's the downside of getting the content online. my own blog runs off that old guestbook script that everybody used to use, the kind available from Matt's Script Archive. it's not exactly the most robust system, but it was a fun exercise in messing with CGI code, something i know nothing about. i'm hoping to write my own blog script in PHP one of these days. i've seen a few indie blogs out there, but not as many as i would expect. does anybody know any offhand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Sales Posted May 10, 2003 Author Share Posted May 10, 2003 what do you mean by indie blogs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head Guru Posted May 10, 2003 Share Posted May 10, 2003 bottom line... BLOGS ARE EVIL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lianna Posted May 10, 2003 Share Posted May 10, 2003 Oh my gosh. HG showed considerable restraint! He waited till page two to proclaim his *dislike*. So my penny worth: I don't know blogs, don't do blogs, had a bad experience with phpnuke install (pre-cpanel) and then discovered: PostNuke. Inside 20 minutes, I had it installed (THE easiest install I have ever done) and a calendar pluggin, theme change, and some playing with the workings of it. Not saying it's the best or even good, but it sure was easy to get started for someone completely unfamiliar with the whole concept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Sales Posted May 10, 2003 Author Share Posted May 10, 2003 Another easy to install content management system is e107.. figured mentioning that might get Bill happy again since he's a big e107 fan.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolageek Posted May 12, 2003 Share Posted May 12, 2003 I was just pointing out Vincent that there's many alternatives out there. Also, everybody is entitled to their 2 cents, I just feel like MoveableType could be written better. Right now it just feels like the basic concept was good, but instead of building a better product, they just kinda stuck in fixes here and there. But I do use MT, just because I'm spoild to it, and don't have anytime to really learn and play with much else. Check this thread I did on a comparison blog tool I found for more alternatives out there: http://www.totalchoicehosting.com/forums/i...t=0entry10633 I loved that comparison site. I didn't realise there were so many blogs out there. As for a patchy feel, I don't get that feeling at all with MT. Postnuke and PHPNuke feel very convaluted and patchy to me, however. I find MT is extremely flexable and well written. The tags are a bit confusing, but I've gotten used to them for the most part. The Plugins work better (for the most part) than anything I used for *nuke. I cant wait to see what Rayners comes up with.. I'm a big fan of his MT work. Vincent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayners Posted May 12, 2003 Share Posted May 12, 2003 Just a quick update. Since I've actually come up with a working name for the software, I changed the URL of the development blog. It is now residing at: http://blognplay.rayners.org/. It's nice to hear I've got so many fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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