Movable Type Isn’t Moving Me At All
I just spent the last two hours wasting my time trying to install Movable Type. I wanted to give it a try, to see if I preferred it over Word Press and, more generally, just to check it out. I made three different attempts to upload and install the software (20mb unzipped); each try failed for the same reason. The whole process is bloated, the set up and installation is not user friendly for both geeks and non-geeks alike, and the small sampling of online support files Movable Type has available are outdated and flawed, to say the least.
I followed the installation all the way through: I finished the database and email set up, I received confirmation that everything was set up correctly, I got additional confirmation that the config file was successfully written, and it was indicated that I would begin setting up my user account by clicking the “Continue” button. Upon doing so, I got a screen that read “Time to Upgrade!,” which is an odd thing to see on an install. That screen lead to screen prompting me for a username and password. Obviously, having not finished completely setting up an account, I do not have a username or a password. Rinse and repeat two more times using a newly set up MySQL database on my server and an attempt to streamline the process by putting everything in a single folder — the installation instructions had me moving 2 sets of files into 2 different folders.
I searched around and there was very little in the way of help. There’s no discernible logic to the way the Movable Type site is set up, specifically the help section; it’s like trying asking directions of someone that doesn’t speak the same language and who also happens to be schizophrenic. For example, they have a Troubleshooting section that covers, what I’m guessing are, common issues. That page advises that if you still have problems to search the “Movable Type Knowledge Base.” Scrolling through the list of installation issues I noted that most of the help articles were from 2005 with a couple of 2006 articles peppered in…none of which addressed my issue, with the 2008 version of their software.
The closest I could find in the way of not feeling completely alone in this situation was one guy, on some forum, who had the same problem back in 2007, but apparently that problem resolved itself according to his last post. Of the small number of responses he received, no one had any specific advice or information on how to remedy, or even what was causing, the problem he was having.
I’m sure there are plenty of people happily using Movable Type, but it doesn’t look like I’m going to be one of them anytime soon. If they can figure out a streamlined way to install the software, say maybe allow the end user to install the core files and then have the system download the rest after a setup, then maybe I’ll try again. Otherwise it looks like I’m sticking with the beauty of a 5 minute install that is WordPress.
Tags: blogging, CMS, installation, late in the morning, Movable Type, not sleeping, not user friendly, Word Press