Like most users of Moveable Type, I love the software. I went from GreyMatter to MT about 2 years ago and have never looked back. Ben and Mena have done a great job developing powerful software that meets the needs of its users. Furthermore, they’ve made a business ouf of it, and after all, that’s the American dream, right?

The problem they’re creating for themselves now with the release of MT 3.0 is that they’re overestimating the willingness of their users to pay for their software. The new licensing scheme real prices most users right out of the game.

I have no problem paying for good software. I think most users feel that way. The problem is that for so long, so much software has been free or close enough to it that the concept of paying for it after a while, no matter how good it is, seems foreign to some people. This is especially true when the licensing structure does not reflect the how most people use the software.

I’d guess that many, if not the majority, of the MT users run personal blogs. They aren’t making (much) money from their sites. Therefore, it’s more aking to a hobby than anything else. Now, some probably do make some money from donations or ads or affiliate programs, but most are just having fun. They are not going to pay $70 for a 3 author/5 weblog license. That’s just ridiculous. That’s not understanding your market. I’d imagine the free version of MT 3.0 is so limited for what most users will want that most users will begin migrating to a free or cheaper alternative.

This is really kind of sad, because as much as I want to see Six Apart succeed and MT prosper as an application, I don’t think it should happen at any cost. MT has enjoyed a long run of user loyalty, which is all about to be flushed away by this move. I hope Six Apart takes some time to re-think this model and comes up with something more realistic.

For now, I’ll keep running my perfectly accetable and free version of MT.