[Web4lib] blogging software - - subscribing users by just adding their email address?

[Karen Harker]

We've been using MovableType on our own servers behind a firewall for our staff blogs.  Managing authors is a task done by the MT administrator, but it's pretty easy.  We set the usernames to be the same as what they use to log onto their computers, so it's easy for staff to remember.  MT has an automated password re-set method based on a password hint (i.e. city of their birth), but even if the staff member forgets the hint, the administrator can easily re-set the password.
 
The only problem we've encountered with using MT for staff blogs behind the firewall is that Web-based feed readers will not pick up the feeds.  But browser-based readers can, and we've purchased licenses for NewsGator, a client-based reader, for those who want something better. 
 
That being said, because we will soon be implementing SharePoint for our staff intranet, we will start using the SP blogging feature.  However, if I had my 'druthers, I'd stick with MT, because it's more sophisticated and flexible.  I would not implement SP solely for the blogging feature. It's only redeeming features are auto-login using the Windows network, and auto-posting from within Word 2007.  But we want all internal info centralized, so we're sacrificing our MT for SP.
 
If all you want is a good, secure blogging system, MovableType (especially v.4) is the way to go.
 
 
 
Karen R. Harker, MLS, MPH
UT Southwestern Medical Library
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Dallas, TX  75390-9049
214-648-8946
http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/library/ 

>>> On 11/26/07 at 5:49 PM, in message <474B14FE.6000.00BE.0 at email.smith.edu>, "Eric Loehr" <eloehr at email.smith.edu> wrote:
Hello all,

We're considering setting up a blog for staff discussion of library issues;  we'd like the blog to be private - - open only to libraries staff - - and we'd like to be able to just automatically subscribe our staff as users (to give them permission to post and comment on other posts) by adding their email address, and not making them create an account first.

I've created blogs on Wordpress.com and Blogger, but for those you have to invite users, who have to have a Wordpress or Google account to be able to join.  Are there other hosted blog services (preferably free) that might allow us to set up a blog as described?  Or, is there any blogging software that could be installed on our own server that would allow us to accomplish the above?

My guess is that it's not possible to both have a restricted access blog and at the same time have users not part of an existing user database, but there's new stuff out there all the time and you never know...

thanks for any insight you can provide.

Eric





Eric Loehr
Library Systems Manager
Smith College Libraries
(413) 585-2969
eloehr at email.smith.edu 

Smith College official correspondence 


_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4lib at webjunction.org 
http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/