Comments on: Why I’ve Become a WordPress Fanboy http://iconnectdots.com/2007/12/why-i-now-think.html Guidance, Insight and Ideas in a Time of Accelerating Change Tue, 22 May 2012 11:58:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: PXLated http://iconnectdots.com/2007/12/why-i-now-think.html/comment-page-1#comment-336 PXLated Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:19:54 +0000 http://iconnectdots.com.s11974.gridserver.com/2007/12/why-ive-become-a-wordpress-fanboy.html#comment-336 -- EE...may be so but there is also 100x less energy in the ecosystem surrounding it too -- True but that doesn't necessarily mean much. If there are 1,000 plugins where 990 are crap or something you don't need, the size of the ecosystem doesn't matter. Now if your clients site gets hacked and your the person they call first, that matters and you'll probably start thinking about security over 1,000 plugins and a big community. :-) – EE…may be so but there is also 100x less energy in the ecosystem surrounding it too –
True but that doesn’t necessarily mean much. If there are 1,000 plugins where 990 are crap or something you don’t need, the size of the ecosystem doesn’t matter. Now if your clients site gets hacked and your the person they call first, that matters and you’ll probably start thinking about security over 1,000 plugins and a big community. :-)

]]> By: Steve Borsch http://iconnectdots.com/2007/12/why-i-now-think.html/comment-page-1#comment-335 Steve Borsch Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:18:31 +0000 http://iconnectdots.com.s11974.gridserver.com/2007/12/why-ive-become-a-wordpress-fanboy.html#comment-335 @Lance: Nope, no java solutions are on my radar. There is this CA blogger and IT firm head who said it best as an answer to your question, "Java is taking a beating in better mass adoption against PHP simply because it is harder to setup in web hosting environment. PHP and even Ruby is available as an Apache module which is very trivial to setup and use. JSP / Servlets on the other hand is much harder to integrate with Apache." IMHO, *that* is why solutions like Wordpress work so well and have so much momentum. Is it the right tool for every job? Of course not. Is a java footprint better for the enterprise than, say, Movable Type Publishing Platform? Quite possibly but I actually don't care since the enterprise isn't the engine of growth in the world -- it's innovators, creators of new forms of value and small businesses who are and all of them need easy and yet powerful tools. People with modest capabilities can do amazing things with the tools like Wordpress and don't require investing in developer talent to do an install or maintain the tool. Tools like it also don't require complex machinations to create working extensions (i.e., plugins or themes) to add robust capability. I have never, ever used any java-centric toolsets without heavy developer involvement in the implementation and ongoing maintenance. @Lance: Nope, no java solutions are on my radar. There is this CA blogger and IT firm head who said it best as an answer to your question, “Java is taking a beating in better mass adoption against PHP simply because it is harder to setup in web hosting environment. PHP and even Ruby is available as an Apache module which is very trivial to setup and use. JSP / Servlets on the other hand is much harder to integrate with Apache.”

IMHO, *that* is why solutions like WordPress work so well and have so much momentum. Is it the right tool for every job? Of course not. Is a java footprint better for the enterprise than, say, Movable Type Publishing Platform? Quite possibly but I actually don’t care since the enterprise isn’t the engine of growth in the world — it’s innovators, creators of new forms of value and small businesses who are and all of them need easy and yet powerful tools.

People with modest capabilities can do amazing things with the tools like WordPress and don’t require investing in developer talent to do an install or maintain the tool. Tools like it also don’t require complex machinations to create working extensions (i.e., plugins or themes) to add robust capability. I have never, ever used any java-centric toolsets without heavy developer involvement in the implementation and ongoing maintenance.

]]> By: Lance Lavandowska http://iconnectdots.com/2007/12/why-i-now-think.html/comment-page-1#comment-334 Lance Lavandowska Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:45:55 +0000 http://iconnectdots.com.s11974.gridserver.com/2007/12/why-ive-become-a-wordpress-fanboy.html#comment-334 You don't mention any, so I wonder if you looked at any of the Java-based blogging solutions (there are several open-source options). I was one of the early developers of Roller , and though I haven't had time to work on it the last couple years it has only grown and improved and is now part of the Apache Foundation. You don’t mention any, so I wonder if you looked at any of the Java-based blogging solutions (there are several open-source options). I was one of the early developers of Roller , and though I haven’t had time to work on it the last couple years it has only grown and improved and is now part of the Apache Foundation.

]]> By: Steve Borsch http://iconnectdots.com/2007/12/why-i-now-think.html/comment-page-1#comment-333 Steve Borsch Tue, 11 Dec 2007 21:54:33 +0000 http://iconnectdots.com.s11974.gridserver.com/2007/12/why-ive-become-a-wordpress-fanboy.html#comment-333 @Christopher: Thanks for the condolences on Marc and the comments. @PXLated: To echo Christoper, as of v2.3.1, all known security exploits have been resolved. Security is always an issue, but choosing the right tool for the right job overrides it. Typepad is hosted as is Wordpress.com which limits vulnerabilities and yes, using 3rd party plug-ins is always dangerous which is why I don't use ones that open holes. A completely controlled system like EE -- though the install base is undoubtedly significantly smaller than any blog installed base -- is in theory more secure and the security model may be so but there is also 100x less energy in the ecosystem surrounding it too. @Christopher: Thanks for the condolences on Marc and the comments.

@PXLated: To echo Christoper, as of v2.3.1, all known security exploits have been resolved.

Security is always an issue, but choosing the right tool for the right job overrides it. Typepad is hosted as is WordPress.com which limits vulnerabilities and yes, using 3rd party plug-ins is always dangerous which is why I don’t use ones that open holes.

A completely controlled system like EE — though the install base is undoubtedly significantly smaller than any blog installed base — is in theory more secure and the security model may be so but there is also 100x less energy in the ecosystem surrounding it too.

]]> By: Christopher Murray http://iconnectdots.com/2007/12/why-i-now-think.html/comment-page-1#comment-332 Christopher Murray Mon, 10 Dec 2007 22:44:01 +0000 http://iconnectdots.com.s11974.gridserver.com/2007/12/why-ive-become-a-wordpress-fanboy.html#comment-332 I might be mistaken, but a quick look through that list of security issues reveals that a) most of those vulnerabilities are logged against older versions of WordPress, b) there are several duplicate records, and c) most of these are things that can be done without. I use a handful of plugins (usually ones recommended by power-users) and I have yet to find anything unusual. I wonder if you would mind posting some specific concerns. If I am incorrect in my assessment I would appreciate some further guidance. Christopher I might be mistaken, but a quick look through that list of security issues reveals that a) most of those vulnerabilities are logged against older versions of WordPress, b) there are several duplicate records, and c) most of these are things that can be done without. I use a handful of plugins (usually ones recommended by power-users) and I have yet to find anything unusual. I wonder if you would mind posting some specific concerns. If I am incorrect in my assessment I would appreciate some further guidance.
Christopher

]]> By: PXLated http://iconnectdots.com/2007/12/why-i-now-think.html/comment-page-1#comment-331 PXLated Mon, 10 Dec 2007 22:27:21 +0000 http://iconnectdots.com.s11974.gridserver.com/2007/12/why-ive-become-a-wordpress-fanboy.html#comment-331 You always seem to be concerned about security Steve. Kind of surprised you tout WordPress with all it's security problems. TypePad (1) and ExpressionEngine (1) are a lot more secure than WordPress (63), Drupal (57), or Joomla (73). Many of those WordPress (and Joomla) vulnerabilities come from the many third-party add-ons or plugins. Of course, you can't do much with WordPress without those, not much is actually built-in once you get beyond the basics. I agree with you though that you can get a quick, basic, good-looking blog going relatively quickly. Just watch out for the security issues and plugins breaking with WordPress updates though. You can check vulnerabilities here... http://www.securityfocus.com/cgi-bin/swsearch/swish.cgi?query=Wordpress&metaname=alldoc&sort=swishlastmodified&sbm=bid&start=60 You always seem to be concerned about security Steve. Kind of surprised you tout WordPress with all it’s security problems. TypePad (1) and ExpressionEngine (1) are a lot more secure than WordPress (63), Drupal (57), or Joomla (73).
Many of those WordPress (and Joomla) vulnerabilities come from the many third-party add-ons or plugins. Of course, you can’t do much with WordPress without those, not much is actually built-in once you get beyond the basics. I agree with you though that you can get a quick, basic, good-looking blog going relatively quickly. Just watch out for the security issues and plugins breaking with WordPress updates though.

You can check vulnerabilities here…
http://www.securityfocus.com/cgi-bin/swsearch/swish.cgi?query=Wordpress&metaname=alldoc&sort=swishlastmodified&sbm=bid&start=60

]]> By: Christopher Murray http://iconnectdots.com/2007/12/why-i-now-think.html/comment-page-1#comment-330 Christopher Murray Mon, 10 Dec 2007 21:51:57 +0000 http://iconnectdots.com.s11974.gridserver.com/2007/12/why-ive-become-a-wordpress-fanboy.html#comment-330 Steve, I completely agree with everything you say. I am totally given over to WP. In fact, I use it to create client sites where they can own and manage their own content. This is huge and new for so many people. But I have to add that one of the reasons I really love WP is all the plugins available. I have All-in-One SEO for tagging, Flickr Photo Gallery for beautiful integration of photos albums, NextGen Gallery which provides support for lightbox-like portfolios, among many others. This is a complete content management system. I also want to offer my sincere condolences on the loss of your friend Marc. He sounds like an amazing guy, and he truly was much too young to leave us. Steve, I completely agree with everything you say. I am totally given over to WP. In fact, I use it to create client sites where they can own and manage their own content. This is huge and new for so many people. But I have to add that one of the reasons I really love WP is all the plugins available. I have All-in-One SEO for tagging, Flickr Photo Gallery for beautiful integration of photos albums, NextGen Gallery which provides support for lightbox-like portfolios, among many others. This is a complete content management system.

I also want to offer my sincere condolences on the loss of your friend Marc. He sounds like an amazing guy, and he truly was much too young to leave us.

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