It ain’t a matter of logic
Responding to my post about expressing my satisfaction with Movable Type by sending Ben and Mena Trott some more money, Michael Stillwell wrote:
I find it quite fascinating that people are very much willing to pay for MT, but not for any of the software that MT depends on. To run, MT needs Perl and lots of Perl libraries. It may also need MySQL, and it probably uses Linux or FreeBSD. Each of these pieces of software is the product of several orders of magnitude more work than that which went into MT…
So why do people pay for MT, but not for the other bits of software responsible for getting their writing out onto the web? Is it because MT is the visible front-end to all the bits, whilst the back-end stuff is not? Do the people behind MT seem to deserve it more, or need it more? (It is their full-time job.) Is it because MT is written by two identifiable people, rather than hundreds? Is it simply because they directly ask for money? It’s a mystery to me, but the answer is surely worth knowing for all sorts of reasons.
Good questions that deserve as thoughtful a response as I can muster.
Is it because MT is the visible front-end to all the bits, whilst the back-end stuff is not? Almost certainly. I had no idea of the existence of the Perl Foundation, which Michael mentioned in his comment on my original post. Though I suspect it’s more that—rightly or wrongly—I have the sense of using Movable Type whereas the Perl that makes MT possible is beyond my ability to control.
Do the people behind MT seem to deserve it more, or need it more? Need has nothing to do with it. Whether Ben and Mena Trott are eking out a frugal existence on food stamps or living in a luxury apartment in Monaco to minimize their taxes is utterly immaterial. If they deserve it more (than other blogging software vendors) it’s only because (I believe) their product is superior. The money I give to charity, on the other hand, is based on (perceived) need.
Is it because MT is written by two identifiable people, rather than hundreds? Probably. As John (from john’s jottings) said in his comment: “Because it’s personal.” In other words, I have a relationship (of sorts) with Ben and Mena by virtue of having purchased, used, and been extremely happy with their software. I don’t know the hundreds of people who create Perl, MySQL, and PHP, though I appreciate the work they’ve done.
Is it simply because they directly ask for money? Absolutely. If MT was free, like Linux, Perl, MySQL, and PHP, then I’d happily use it without paying. But on the MT donation page, it says:
Donating is a way to show that you like what we’re doing and you want us to continue doing it. The development and support of Movable Type is entirely dependent on donations received; currently, developing Movable Type is a full-time job for the both of us…
Before you pay, though, make sure you’re actually going to use the product. Give yourself some time to get used to the system. See what others are doing with MT. And then, ask yourself what you think the system is worth.
In that regard, MT is just like any other piece of shareware (and I pay for every shareware program I use). Accordingly, I see the money I’ve paid not as a donation but rather as payment for software I use and value. I think Ben and Mena should charge a yearly subscription fee (say $US40-50 dollars). They don’t. So the best way I can translate my belief into action is by paying (what I regard as) a yearly subscription fee.
Would I pay for Perl, MySQL, and PHP? (I’ve already purchased Red Hat Linux 7 and 8 licenses.) Yes. If I was asked. And gladly. Would I donate money to the people who create Perl, MySQL, and PHP? No.
Where’s the logic in that, you ask? There is none. But, as a very smart man who’s been in the software distribution business for nearly twenty years once told me: “Logic hardly comes into it. Customers buy software largely for emotional reasons.”
What really matters is that I have an emotional investment in Movable Type (as I still have in Photoshop and Dreamweaver and I used to in Nisus and the Japanese Language Kit). Exactly like when I was a photographer. I used dozens of cameras over the years: Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Mamiya, Rolleiflex, Sinar, Linhof. But I only ever loved the Hasselblads and Leicas.
Well put, Jonathon. The only thing that I'd add -- the thought that I had when I first read the comment -- is that while I'm not paying money directly to the Perl Foundation, I will continue to give money to Michal Wallace over at Cornerhost for allowing me to borrow his servers, and his Perl installation, and his MySQL databases, and the rest of the foundation that he has set down, all of which allows me to run MT without a hitch.
Posted by: RKB on 16 January 2003 at 12:45 AM