The Break-Up

It’s officially over. We are done MovableType. Sure, we’ve had some great times. When things were working, they were really working. But, things aren’t working anymore and it’s time for me to move on.

Let’s not kid ourselves. We both knew this day was coming. I mean the frustrating start should have been a clue.  I totally should have known that I didn’t need months of frustration and a book to understand just what was going on with you. But I did.

Then, suddenly, things started clicking. You made me feel so smart when I was finally able to figure out some new bit of customization.  You made me feel proud when I was able to explain how you worked to others without any hesitation or worry about what bugs you would throw at me.

So I thought that maybe, just maybe, we’d had a false start, and it was just the getting-to-know-you jitters. But, then there would be some weirdness that I couldn’t understand or explain. Or, my host would delete my database and all you could give me was a text file that I couldn’t use without advanced knowledge of PERL and/or MySQL. And the doubt would start to creep in again. As content as I was with the way things were, it was too much of a roller coaster ride for me.

I also have to be honest about something:  I have strayed over the years.

It was never anything serious. I would try out a new platform just to see what it had to offer. There was never any real longing to change on my part. I just wanted to know, to feel, that I still had what it took to make a real blogging relationship work. So I would install the occasional WordPress or Expression Engine (or since we are being totally honest Drupal) platform. But they always seemed too new, too different.

I would end up going back to you because you were what I knew and understood. Things were comfortable. But, then you tried to re-invent yourself. I knew you didn’t do it for me, but I tried to play along anyway. Unfortunately, my heart just isn’t in it anymore.

So, this is goodbye. I’ve found a new platform. I know it hurts that it’s one of your biggest rivals. But lets be honest. You always knew another platform was waiting in the wings to take your place. It was only a matter of time.

I hope we can still be friends, but I will totally understand if that’s too difficult for you right now. I will always love you as my first real blogging platform, but for both our sakes, I think its time we make a clean break.