You get what you pay for
Stacy Tabb has compared Expression Engine and Wordpress and has decided in favor of the former. I don’t engage in arguments apropos of findings like hers; the extent of my participation in evangelizing WordPress is detailing its features and passing along feedback to those who need to know. However, her closing paragraph is misleading to an extent (although I do not insinuate any malice or disingenuousness on Stacy’s part). She says:
So, there you have it. Once again, I firmly stand by my lifelong motto: “You get what you pay for.” Expression Engine is $149, $99 if you upgrade from pMachine Pro or other blog software. WordPress is free.
WordPress is licensed under the GNU General Public License. Free is as free goes, but it isn’t junk just because it’s free. Mark Pilgrim explains how the GPL works in favor of greater improvement:
Many people misunderstand Free Software and the GNU General Public License. Many people equate the GPL to the boogeyman, because it’s viral, and that sounds like a bad thing. Here’s what viral licensing means: GPL software has the restrictions that it has, and that’s it. The GPL is quite restrictive on developers, not at all on end users. (More on that in a minute.) Regardless, GPL software has the restrictions that it has, but it can never become more restrictive. An upgrade can’t take away freedoms that I enjoyed with an older version.
A side effect of this is that, if I write a GPL program and then lose interest, and someone else picks it up and continues development, they are forced to release their version under the GPL. A new developer can’t take away freedoms that I enjoyed with the old version either.
[...] WordPress is Free Software. Its rules will never change. In the event that the WordPress community disbands and development stops, a new community can form around the orphaned code. It’s happened once already. In the extremely unlikely event that every single contributor (including every contributor to the original b2) agrees to relicense the code under a more restrictive license, I can still fork the current GPL-licensed code and start a new community around it. There is always a path forward. There are no dead ends.
Movable Type is a dead end. In the long run, the utility of all non-Free software approaches zero. All non-Free software is a dead end.
He posts a follow-up, which further bolsters my conclusions that the tech community can be just as territorial and political in their own interests as we warbloggers are. I use a lot of non-free software too. And I use a lot of free software as well. Open Office Dot Org for example, is undergoing development at a seemingly greater pace than most proprietary office suites. It is this kind of development branching that Movable Type and Expression Engine do not have. It is this kind of community-based development that WordPress uses to its great advantage. And this is what I get for free.
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[...] Mind of Mog 27.May.04 Free Vs Fee Jay has the scoop and some examples of just how spiffy free can be. Course, not one to keep q [...]
Pingback by Mind of Mog » Free Vs Fee — May 27, 2004 @ 7:09 am
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[...] only I could handle things that well. One Fine Jay, the voice of reason when it comes to dicey subjects not that he can’t be opinionated, he can. He is also quite politi [...]
Pingback by Mind of Mog » Bloggy Questions 6 — May 31, 2004 @ 5:59 pm
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[...] eulogy for irrevocable hype, the blogging system killed by greed and lack of innovation. Jay is doing what he does best; preaching the gospel of WordPress to the unwashed mass [...]
Pingback by insignificant thoughts — Jun 1, 2004 @ 4:49 am
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Free Vs Fee
Jay has the scoop and some examples of just how spiffy free can be.
Course, not one to keep quiet, I have a few examples of my own of spiffy design without duplicating Jay’s list.
Now with all that inspiration, I need to get to work here.
Trackback by Mind of Mog — May 27, 2004 @ 3:09 am
5
It is, of course, my opinion, and primarily based, as I explained, on the needs/quirks of my clients. For those of us who are NOT developers, we need a package that flies, right out of the box, not one who’s bells and whistles must be hacked into place. I just don’t have time to learn PHP right now.
Comment by Sekimori — May 27, 2004 @ 8:51 am
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The fact is that “learning” a set of propietary tags is no harder than “learning” a set of PHP functions, the only difference is some minor syntax. However if people are getting the impression that it’s harder because “it’s PHP” and they don’t know that then we’re presenting something wrong.
Comment by Matt — May 27, 2004 @ 12:57 pm
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The impression I’m getting is that more professional web tech/design people like Wordpress, because they’re familiar with CSS and PHP, which is what the majority of non-blog websites use. People who have worked strictly in the weblog realm don’t seem as enthusiatic about WP. I agree with Matt that tags are tags, and that maybe WP’s implementation needs to be communicated better to the blogging community.
Comment by Skillzy — May 27, 2004 @ 1:42 pm
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And there is my other argument (in general terms) against open source software…the documentation is either ridiculously paltry, or entirely communicated in forum format. If I don’t speak the language, doing endless searches in the forums becomes a huge timesink, and as I said, no time for love, Dr. Jones.
Comment by Sekimori — May 27, 2004 @ 7:29 pm
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In time, Stacy, the documentation will grow and get consolidated. Though WordPress may be ready for a lot of people I hope with time it will be ready for you, and others, as well.
Comment by OF Jay — May 27, 2004 @ 8:41 pm
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I am always willing to try something new…perhaps 1.2 will change my mind since I was using 1.0.1 for my initial testing. Upgrading now. Thanks for all the great input though.
Comment by Sekimori — May 27, 2004 @ 11:10 pm
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Oh you’re more than welcome. You know how to reach me. I’ve been using WP since its inception and am more than willing to help.
Comment by OF Jay — May 28, 2004 @ 12:53 am
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1.2 is a dramatic improvement in a lot of areas. You’ll probably have a better perspective once you take a look
Comment by Vinny — May 30, 2004 @ 11:07 pm
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Bloggy Questions 6
RE: Blogs – 7meme time.
1. Why do you read other blogs? Is it voyeurism? Curiosity? Are you just being nosy?
It started with the warblogs, following the situation in Iraq, then it was the poliblogs, from the Middle East to the White House, then g…
Trackback by Mind of Mog — May 31, 2004 @ 2:01 pm