Blog software updated
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Movable Type is the software behind this blog. We’ve not only upgraded our servers, but have also upgraded our MT software to version 3.01. This is a good step forward for us, as our blogs have recently been the victims of increasing volumes of spam.
“How do you spam a blog?” you say. Well, Movable Type permits blog entries to be open for comment by site visitors. Spammers have learned that they can put links to their own web sites into their comments - pornography sites, prescription drug sites, and so forth. And we were getting dozens of such “comments” a day in some of our blogs.
The new (3.x) versions of Movable Type, however, allow us to restrict comment posting to individuals whose identities have been verified. And it allows us to preview the comments before allowing them to appear on the site. A big relief! You can check it out online at the SixApart web site. It’s worth checking out if you need these kinds of capabilities.
The SixApart license fee structure is pretty affordable. It’s in the same league with buying Microsoft Office. Their fees are based on the number of active blog authors who use the software. For us that’s no problem, but I can envision environments in which it would become a big problem. Our YouthMoves blog, for instance, was designed to have a bunch of authors, each posting a few entries and then soliciting comments. That would be prohibitively expensive under the new SixApart license structure. For single-author blogs, however, their fees are fine. And so far the Movable Type software has been easy to install, easy to use, and very reliable.
