I never realized how many folks in the blog echo chamber were so cost-sensitive and willing to jump the gun and turn their backs on a fantastic piece of software.
Well, now I know. So much for loyalty. The judgment has been largely instant and harsh.
Yet another “If you have a problem with the new license terms, you’re a whining parasite” post.
Compare it with this:
Daring Fireball: Like a Lead Zeppelin:
But the people who are the most angry at Six Apart are people who are willing to pay for Movable Type, and are willing to accept license restrictions. Many of them donated, voluntarily, for previous versions.
Yup, some of us donated, meaning we paid for something when we didn’t have to. I don’t know if that’s factored into the $0.38 per download. What would be interesting would be some analysis of posting frequency by those who donated, ie, who really uses it (SixApart can tell how often a user updates if the person plugged in their donation key. I don’t see the donors page anymore: perhaps it went away when the VC money came in?).
This goes back to understanding how people use the software, understanding who they are, and using that to build out a business model. My guess is that no one has done that due diligence.
This just underscores my point: SixApart doesn’t seem to have thought through how their change in focus would be perceived. Again, the speed with which they adjusted license terms suggests the licensing was fungible. If that’s the case, why would anyone risk their credibility with something that was so important — the terms of an ongoing relationship — but not ready for prime time?