What's the best open source group weblog software and why?
January 8, 2004 9:43 PM Subscribe
What's the best open source group weblog software and why? FreeFilter and MetaPhilter look neck and neck. Scoop seems a little too oversized for the average group weblog.
No it's not!
(well, admin wise, but the code is a mess)
I've been working on a new version for the last few weeks that's functionally equivalent to the last one. So far it's got
* XML pipeline architecture (XML/XSLT)
* Data and theme-level caching (previous version could produce about 100 pages a second on my PC, this one can do 400)
* Web install that sets up database and stuff so there's no config files to edit
* an adminlog
* pretty urls...phwoar!
But yeah, either FF of MePhi have enough users to keep them going and give you some level of assurance they're not going to fade away -- not like the badass phpilfer
posted by holloway at 11:01 PM on January 8, 2004
(well, admin wise, but the code is a mess)
I've been working on a new version for the last few weeks that's functionally equivalent to the last one. So far it's got
* XML pipeline architecture (XML/XSLT)
* Data and theme-level caching (previous version could produce about 100 pages a second on my PC, this one can do 400)
* Web install that sets up database and stuff so there's no config files to edit
* an adminlog
* pretty urls...phwoar!
But yeah, either FF of MePhi have enough users to keep them going and give you some level of assurance they're not going to fade away -- not like the badass phpilfer
posted by holloway at 11:01 PM on January 8, 2004
I sound like a broken record, but the power and flexibility of Moveable Type is worth considering, if you're comfortable with css and widgety stuff to set it up just the way you like. It's quite possible to build a MeFi-like site with MT with minimal fuss, I'd say, although the user-management tools are quite weak, and might be problem with many, many users.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:24 PM on January 8, 2004
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:24 PM on January 8, 2004
opensourceCMS has online demo versions of many CMS/weblog options.
pMachine has some good features and its user-management features are more automated/user self-managing than Movable Type.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:14 AM on January 9, 2004
pMachine has some good features and its user-management features are more automated/user self-managing than Movable Type.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:14 AM on January 9, 2004
Stav, I'd like to second your recommendation of MT as a community blog tool, but I think for right now it's a bit ambitious and might not offer such a positive experience except to people who have enough experience to be able to customize it appropriately. We do expect user management and registration features to be improved in our upcoming versions, though.
posted by anildash at 12:23 AM on January 9, 2004
posted by anildash at 12:23 AM on January 9, 2004
It depends if you want a group weblog (select group of individuals posting, with anyone commenting) or community weblog (anyone can sign up and post, anyone can sign up and comment). I have a group weblog with 6 people using MT, and I've never had any problems.
posted by Orange Goblin at 2:30 AM on January 9, 2004
posted by Orange Goblin at 2:30 AM on January 9, 2004
Response by poster: I'm looking for a community weblog tool, one where it's really easy to signup and have full posting rights. This will be for an open site that is a *.filter site, like MeFi but for one specific topic.
I've got no aversion to Movable Type, other than it doesn't seem to fit this format (yet) as well as I'd like it to. I'm glad to hear from Anil that user management and registration will be streamlined in the upcoming releases.
I will be using MT to setup some group weblogs for web development clients, so I know that if you're dealing with smaller groups that are more closed (say a company and select clients), MT can do the job splendidly.
Stav, "power and flexibility" are the exact words I tell my clients when I pitch to them the idea of getting an MT license.
posted by will at 5:32 AM on January 9, 2004
I've got no aversion to Movable Type, other than it doesn't seem to fit this format (yet) as well as I'd like it to. I'm glad to hear from Anil that user management and registration will be streamlined in the upcoming releases.
I will be using MT to setup some group weblogs for web development clients, so I know that if you're dealing with smaller groups that are more closed (say a company and select clients), MT can do the job splendidly.
Stav, "power and flexibility" are the exact words I tell my clients when I pitch to them the idea of getting an MT license.
posted by will at 5:32 AM on January 9, 2004
Have you looked at slashcode? If you can turn off some of the more complicated features (journals, moderation, etc) it might be pretty good.
Now i'm curious to see what kind of website idea you've got cooking up.
posted by Space Coyote at 7:24 AM on January 9, 2004
Now i'm curious to see what kind of website idea you've got cooking up.
posted by Space Coyote at 7:24 AM on January 9, 2004
Yeah, but if you're gonna go the slashcode route, you're better off using Scoop anyhow. Fer example. Warning, self-link to website with no competent designer.
Depending on what you want to do, Scoop may be overpowered, but it's been pretty cool to work with, and there's a lot of decent functionality that we've enjoyed fiddling with and tweaking.
posted by cortex at 8:15 AM on January 9, 2004
Depending on what you want to do, Scoop may be overpowered, but it's been pretty cool to work with, and there's a lot of decent functionality that we've enjoyed fiddling with and tweaking.
posted by cortex at 8:15 AM on January 9, 2004
I'll second pMachine. Love it. Have you looked at the resources reviews on blogroots?
posted by terrapin at 9:12 AM on January 9, 2004
posted by terrapin at 9:12 AM on January 9, 2004
i've worked a lot with MetaPhilter and would reccomend it if your project is MeFi-like. the thing i like best is that it's completely flexible in terms of presentation.
the flexibility has a pretty high performance trade-off, however. so if you're looking to host in a shared environment or expect a large user base, the time MePhi takes to generate a page may not be acceptable.
posted by danOstuporStar at 9:14 AM on January 9, 2004
the flexibility has a pretty high performance trade-off, however. so if you're looking to host in a shared environment or expect a large user base, the time MePhi takes to generate a page may not be acceptable.
posted by danOstuporStar at 9:14 AM on January 9, 2004
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by riffola at 10:09 PM on January 8, 2004