Skip to content

Climb to the Stars

Stephanie Booth's online ramblings

  • Blog
  • Random Post
  • Coworking
  • Pages [old]
  • About
    • Now
    • Presse
  • Bluesky
  • Flickr
  • Tumblr
  • Facebook
  • Mastodon

Tag: license

Searching For a New Theme For Climb to the Stars [en]

[fr] Version courte: je cherche un nouveau thème pour Climb to the Stars.

These last few days I noticed things were going sour between Matt Mullenweg (WordPress) and Chris Pearson (Thesis) over licensing issues. I don’t write much code, and licensing looks like a big jungle to me, but things heating up did made me recall a few things I’d vaguely seen fly by over the last years about WordPress themes having to be GPL and Thesis not being GPL.

Anyway, I read Twitter streams from both Matt and Chris the other day and decided I was going to stay away from the topic.

I’ve used WordPress for years and know (and appreciate) Matt personally, and I’ve been happy so far with Thesis, which I paid a developper license for way back when during the launch.

I had a small issue early 2009 around the change of terms in the developper license (which went from allowing unlimited use to unlimited use on one’s own sites) but a quick e-mail with Chris cleared things up and he assured me that I could stick with the terms of the license as they were when I signed up. So, no beef. I’ve also regularly recommended Thesis around me.

A bit by chance this morning, I saw Philip Oakley‘s tweet about an interview he’d done with Matt on this topic. In the introduction text, he recommended that we first listen to this debate between Matt and Chris, moderated by Andrew Warner. I loaded it onto my iPhone, turned up the sound, and hopped on my exercise bike for my daily half-hour of sweaty indoor pedaling (TMI? ;-)).

I’d like to state that I started listening to the interview with no preconceived idea of who may be “right” or “wrong” over the issue (knowing, too, that I have in the past disagreed with a stand or two of Matt’s). I was hoping to learn a bit more about the rational arguments on both sides.

Ten minutes in, I felt like leaving the room (I couldn’t, remember, I was stuck pedaling on my indoor bike). At least, if I had been the one talking with Chris, I would have stopped trying to reason with him. Twenty minutes later, I got off my bike, turned off the podcast, and decided I’d had enough.

I like to think I have a pretty good grasp of conversation mechanics, and if this one was going nowhere, it’s pretty clear to me that it was largely Chris’s doing. I was appalled at how emotional (vs. rational) his responses were. At how he systematically didn’t respond to questions asked, falling back on “they’re out to get me” and “it’s my creation so I have a right to control it” arguments. This honestly didn’t give me the impression that Chris fully understood the licensing issue at hand, and that this was mainly about “me, me, me, my stuff, my work, me” (a vibe I had already got and didn’t like from his sites and marketing communication, the hyperbolic “I’m the best“, but I didn’t think it would translate that strongly into actual conversation.)

So, as you can guess — and whether the licensing issue actually stands or not — I’m looking for a new theme for Climb to the Stars. I think the one thing I really like about the Thesis layout is the multimedia box upper right, where I can randomly showcase my photos. I’m sure there are other themes out there doing that, or plugins.

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket
Author Stephanie BoothPosted on 19.07.2010Categories CTTS News, WordpressTags chris pearson, gpl, interview, license, matt mullenweb, theme, thesis, wpthesis11 Comments on Searching For a New Theme For Climb to the Stars [en]

On Movable Type 3.0 [en]

The pricing scheme accompanying MT 3.0 isn’t as disastrous as it seemed, after a clarification by SixApart — though it remains “expensive”. I’m waiting for the dust to settle before I decide if I upgrade to MT 3.0, move to WordPress, or stay with MT 2.661.

So, finally, it seems everything is not as bad as everybody has been thinking.

I don’t personally care much about what was “miscommunicated” or what was simply changed by SixApart. What I care about is that instead of my previous calculation which brought the licensing fees I would have had to pay to use the new version of Movable Type for my current/ongoing projects to $600, I would now probably manage with the Personal Edition 13 authors license for $150. Mind you, it’s still expensive for me, but it’s not ludicrous anymore.

SixApart have also clarified what they mean by “weblog” in their licensing restrictions: a weblog is a site powered by Movable Type. If you use 5 different “system weblogs” to make up your site, it’s still just one weblog. I find this pretty reassuring. If the personal license you bought is missing a few authors/weblogs to make you happy, you can add individual licenses for $10 each (per extra author or weblog).

What am I going to do? Since the uproar yesterday, I’ve been doing two things: waiting for the dust to settle (and trust me, there is still a lot of it in the air) and, like others, looking pretty closely at WordPress.

When I left Blogger at the beginning of this year, I had been nastily tempted by WordPress. I had given up on it at the time because it was lacking a few functionalities I wanted, MT being a more mature application. Things have changed now, and between the hierarchical categories, the bunch of really sexy CSS templates, and the fact that I can find the development team on Freenode (not even mentioning that WordPress is completely free), it is a very attractive alternative to MT for me.

But as I said above, there is no rush. I’ll give it a few weeks at least, and maybe wait for both Movable Type 3.0 (the “real” one, not the Developer Edition) and WordPress 1.2 to be out.

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket
Author Stephanie BoothPosted on 15.05.200411.04.2022Categories CTTS News, Social Media and the Web, WordpressTags blogging, Blogosphere Interest, categories, category, change, css, developer, expensive, feature, free, freenode, Geek / Technical, hierarchical, IRC, license, licensing, movable type, move, mt, price, pricing, Site News, Software and Tools, sub-categories, system, template, templates, tool, uproar, Weblogs, word press, Wordpress, wp8 Comments on On Movable Type 3.0 [en]

Welcome!

Stephanie Booth

Climb to the Stars is Stephanie Booth's personal site. Blog powered since summer 2000. Follow her on Twitter (@stephtara), Tumblr (Digital Crumble), Facebook and Mastodon.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Steph’s Intermittent Newsletter

powered by TinyLetter

  • La DIVA-5, comment l’utiliser pour poser un diagnostic de TDAH (Dora Wynchank)
  • Appeal Regarding the Suspension of my Facebook Account @stephtara
  • Facebook Suspension: Day 11
  • SOS mites alimentaires: vive les bocaux!
  • Facebook Account Suspended WTF
  • TDAH au féminin: troubles liés aux périodes prémenstruelles et périménopausales (Dora Wynchank)
  • Lift10: OhmyNews, the story and future of citizen journalism (Yeon-ho Oh)
  • Pourquoi mon compte facebook a-t-il été suspendu?
  • TDAH : Inattention, Anxiété et Insomnie
  • Not All Switzerland Speaks German, Dammit!
  • Facebook Suspension: Day 1102.09.2025
    It’s been 11 days since my Facebook account was suspended. Where are things at? The appeal, predictably, didn’t yield any results. No response, no e-mail, no change, nothing. I have no other “official” appeal routes, as I cannot access the platform at all. So I wrote up my appeal in a blog post. What you … Continue reading "Facebook Suspension: Day 11"
  • Appeal Regarding the Suspension of my Facebook Account @stephtara31.08.2025
    Given the official appeal process for the suspension of my account did not provide me with the opportunity to argue my case, I am doing it here. I believe that my account, like others, has been wrongfully suspended in the context of the “Facebook ban wave” that has been going on these last weeks and … Continue reading "Appeal Regarding the Suspension of my Facebook Account @stephtara"
  • Les commentaires qui se transforment en article29.08.2025
    Je me souviens très bien d’avoir eu conscience, quand Twitter et Facebook ont commencé à prendre de plus en plus de place dans la vie en ligne des gens et dans la mienne, de l’impact que ça a eu sur les blogs, et surtout les commentaires. Notre énergie rédactionnelle et interactionnelle s’est trouvée happée par … Continue reading "Les commentaires qui se transforment en article"
  • Pourquoi mon compte facebook a-t-il été suspendu?29.08.2025
    Au-delà de mon petit drame personnel, je pense qu’il est important de comprendre les mécanismes sous-jacents qui décident de nos vies et “morts” numériques. (Parce que quand 18 ans de publications disparaissent en un instant, c’est un peu ça quand même.) On investit du temps et de l’énergie dans une présence en ligne, sur une … Continue reading "Pourquoi mon compte facebook a-t-il été suspendu?"
  • Vrac du jour26.08.2025
    Je me demande si j’ai déjà utilisé ce titre. Peut-être que non. Je ne sais pas par quel bout commencer, j’ai un backlog d’au moins une demi-douzaine d’articles de blog qui font le cha-cha-cha dans ma RAM. Entre autres choses, Facebook me permettait de faire un peu de place là-dedans en déversant vite et facilement … Continue reading "Vrac du jour"
  1. Olivier Bruchez on Facebook Suspension: Day 1103.09.2025

    J'ai un rappel régulier (3 mois) pour exporter "toutes" mes données internet. C'est une sorte de checklist et je dois…

  2. Stephanie Booth on Facebook Suspension: Day 1103.09.2025

    Ça m'a fait monstre plaisir de te lire! Le pire, c'est que j'étais vraiment en train de mettre en branle…

  3. Stephanie Booth on Facebook Suspension: Day 1103.09.2025

    Merci pour ton message, Lyonel! ça me fait plaisir de savoir que tu es par là :-)

  4. Nathalie Aynié on Facebook Suspension: Day 1103.09.2025

    Heureusement que j'avais ton blog dans mes RSS car sinon je n'aurais pas vu. Beaucoup de monde sur Facebook, et…

  5. Lyonel Kaufmann on Facebook Suspension: Day 1102.09.2025

    Chère Stéphanie, Merci pour ce billet très complet qui me permet de mieux comprendre tout ce que Facebook représentait pour…

  • Blog
  • Random Post
  • Coworking
  • Pages [old]
  • About
    • Now
    • Presse
  • Bluesky
  • Flickr
  • Tumblr
  • Facebook
  • Mastodon
Climb to the Stars Proudly powered by WordPress