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Mena spits the dummy over SixApart disaster

Mena spits the dummy over SixApart disaster

The once popular co-founder of SixApart, Mena Trott, has today spat the dummy at her once loyal support base over the hot topic in the blogosphere this week: the new licensing arrangements for the once popular Movable Type blogging product.
In a post to the Six Log, Mena calls for further feedback on the licensing structure: Mena:”I left the TrackBacks on for all the other posts because we genuinely wanted to get all feedback, positive and negative. Now, I’m looking for rational, just the facts sort of posts with simple information. Please, no commentary, no cussing, no judgments.” ie we don’t really want your opinion, please beg for a better licensing system. But wait, it gets better, for goodness sake don’t disagree with her: Mena: “To keep focus on scenarios that can help shape changes in the licensing, I’m going to delete TrackBacks that are detracting or commentaries on Six Apart” We predict this post will last 5 seconds on the SixLog trackback register, if we haven’t already been blacklisted already.
And heres my final two bobs worth for today: if SixApart wants to survive this sack some staff, use the money to hire some decent PR people and some external marketing consultants, and you may still have a viable business in 6 months. And I promise not to write anything further on MT until I convert to another blogging tool.

View Comments (3)
  • We’ve never been disrespectful to you, we’ve provided you with a tool that you apparently enjoy using, and we’re asking you to help us make things work in a way that suits you. I’m not sure what justifies your vitriol or the baseless accusations you’ve made about Mena.

    If you’re interested in helping people or having Movable Type’s licenses evolve to something that fits your needs, I’d be glad to talk to you. And if you’re considering switching, I’m wondering what features you’re lacking in your current version of Movable Type that justifies your switch. Feel free to email me if you’d like to have a dialogue about this.

  • I don’t use MT so this doesn’t affect me, but as a casual observer I am a little amazed at the tone of your post:

    If I understand it correctly, the version of MT you are running will not require a paid license.

    Meanwhile, 6A are acknowledging the flap their announcements caused and are trying to engage the MT user base in a calm and rational conversation. Mena has simply asked people to quit yelling and cussing…fair enough, name calling doesn’t solve anything.

    6A are trying to build a sustainable business…clearly they can’t simply provide MT for free forever, so some kind of paid license arrangements were always enevitable. Maybe they did screw it up a bit, but give them a break…from what I can see they are trying to find some sensible (and sustainable) middle ground.

    Just my 2 cents.

  • Charles,

    SixApart is NOT providing MT for free forever. They were already charging $69 and $150 or so for the licensed use of MT, or have you been hibernating too long in your cave? They did the classic bait-and-switch and after having gotten everybody using MT, turned around and moped the “new” licensing structure.

    What’s there to “talk” about? All that fuss is just delaying tactics. There’s no need to talk about it but to bring the “licensing structure” to a less exorbitant level (ie, what it was before).

    Greed, as you’ve seen, has made you wipe out all that goodwill you people had accumulated.

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