SixApart has updated their MT3 licensing.
The good news is, it’s significantly better.
The bad news is … well, it’s not as much better as some folks would like, and there’s a lot of folks who have basically already bailed on MT over this.
And I’m not sure where I am in that equation.
The good changes are:
- The limit on the number of blogs hs been removed from the pay versions.
- There’s a mechanism (the “Unlimited Personal Edition”) to remove the limit on authors.
- The PR machine is finally in swing. 6A notes that there’s no annual maintenance fee, and that paid licenses get free updates and bug fixes (it’s not clear if that means that Free Edition users will be stuck at 3.0 or what).
- There’s attractive provisions for non-profits and education licenses.
The not-so-good not-changes are:
- The free version is still 1 author, 3 blogs.
- The personal edition is still limited to five authors for the not-insignificant-price of $70. If you want unlimited authors, the price goes up to $100.
That being all said, that’s a lot of moolah. Not that some of the other highly-touted alternatives are free. But … for a lot of people, including some dedicated hobbyists, that puts casual blogging (if over one author or over three blogs) out of reach. At least with MT.
Though, of course, that may be just the way it is. After all, many dedicated hobbyists in any number of realms will drop $70 or $100 on Stuff. On one visit to the hobby shop. On one weekend. It’s not unreasonable, perhaps, to ask for that for blogging software, and damned good blogging software at that.
On the other hand, it’s tough, mentally, to go from free to fee.
As for me? I’m still happy at 2.661, but I’m sure I’ll eventually feel the pressure (internally-generated or not) to go beyond. In which case, the course I take may very well be determined by the form and function of the general release MT3. I mean, I can afford the licensing, and there are distinct advantages to not migrating, but if I’m going through a major upgrade, I want to be sure that MT is still the tool I want it to be.
More on this as I read other folks howling, or applauding, over it.