[WEB4LIB] RE: Moveable Type for Libraries

[Michael McCulley]

Karen,

Since Andrew was asking about inhouse library Weblog needs, I imagine you
are suggesting Typepad because of the password protection for a whole blog
aspect? I haven't tried that yet, but want to.. as a test for privacy and
security. I wonder if the crawlers and others can "get in" a hosted Typepad
blog you might use as an "intranet." Just pondering out loud...

Best,
Michael

-- 
P. Michael McCulley aka DrWeb
mailto:drweb at san.rr.com
San Diego, CA 
http://drweb.typepad.com/

Quote of the Moment:
 We come to love not by finding the perfect person but by learning to see an
imperfect person perfectly.
Saturday, October 30, 2004 7:30:25 PM 
 
>-----Original Message-----
>From: web4lib at webjunction.org 
>[mailto:web4lib at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of K.G. Schneider
>Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2004 1:43 PM
>To: Multiple recipients of list
>Subject: [WEB4LIB] RE: Moveable Type for Libraries
>
>> We are looking at using Moveable Type for our in-house library weblog
>> needs. In reviewing the MT web site, I wasn't apparent to me 
>which license
>> category we would qualify. Not-For-Profit seems the closest 
>fit but MT
>> doesn't seem to directly recognize the library/government 
>sector within
>> their categories. If you know the answer, please drop me a line!
>> 
>> Thank you,
>> 
>> Andrew Mutch
>> Library Systems Technician
>> Waterford Township Public Library
>> Waterford, MI
>> 
>
>Andrew, write and ask them. I spent a lot of time talking to MT about
>library pricing a month or two ago, and they chose to leave it 
>a flexible
>model. (I can't remember how I got involved; maybe from my 
>comments on my
>blog about the new software. They talked to a number of other 
>librarians, as
>well.) They were very surprised by the many types of libraries 
>available. I
>believe that they are committed to serving the library community at
>reasonable cost. 
>
>Regarding 2.66 and 3.1*, whooo, world of difference. I 
>maintain multiple MT
>blogs, and the upgrade to 3.1 had several crucial changes. One 
>is comment
>authentication. 3.1* is robust and flexible; you can allow 
>anyone to comment
>(a bad idea--you'll be flooded with spam, and don't talk to me about MT
>Blacklist, how do YOU spell laborious...), enable approval, 
>etc. Another new
>feature is postdating. Imagine a busy week where you know 
>three out of five
>days you aren't going to be around or will be pressed for 
>time. Create your
>entries and they show up on the scheduled date. (You need to be able to
>enable cron on your server for this.) Then there were some 
>nice template
>options. 
>
>I am running 3.1, but plan to go to whatever's available over the Xmas
>holiday, when I have a little more time. 
>
>The contact form for librarians is at:
>
>http://moveabletype.org/get_movable_type_education.shtml
>
>Scroll down to the bottom of the page. 
>
>I am very happy with Movable Type. I understand many people 
>like Wordpress,
>but most of the library blogs I read are running MT, which tells you
>something. (Or not.) Frankly, for the features and support, 
>it's a fantastic
>value. 
>
>The only problems I have had with MT have to do with my 
>hosting provider,
>which at times has changed permissions and not told me. But MT 
>was very fast
>in responding (and they were right, it wasn't MT, it was Dreamhost). 
>
>If you don't want to get into installing software, don't 
>overlook Typepad.
>It has a lot of features. For me, installing MT is one way to retain or
>develop technical skills, which I may not actually need in the 
>real world
>but I personally feel are important. If I want a new feature 
>in my blog, I
>force myself to learn something new. If you scratch that itch 
>some other
>way, or you don't feel it at all, consider Typepad. 
>
>Karen G. Schneider
>kgs at bluehighways.com