I've been checking the SixApart blog regularly to see if they have made any more decisions regarding their pricing. I hope whatever pricing structure they use encourages users to adjust their needs according to the parametres of the tool instead of the other way around.

Example, if I was just getting into blogging now and downloaded the personal edition, chances are I'd make sure not go beyond the 3 blog 1 author limit. It's less likely that I would have experimented with sites like this or this, which are incidentally where I really cut my teeth on what this software can do. I would have fit my needs to the limits of the tool instead of using the tool to figure out my own needs.

Lots of people have mentioned that they've set up blogs for other people - I have too - one was the diary of a friend of mine posted with the CPA in Iraq. It eventually came down due to security concerns but it was fascinating while it was online. I doubt he would have had the time or the inclination to set it up if I hadn't offered. And if that blog (which was the fourth I had) had meant that my costs went from $0 to $69 I can pretty much guarantee that it would have never existed. Ditto for this one which was my fifth blog. Interestingly it gets more traffic than the other four combined.

My fear is that low author/blog limits will dissuade people from experimenting. There should be lots of leeway in the pricing structure to encourage people to create or experiment with blogs that have unusual uses, like temporary project blogs with lots of authors, blogs for friends (within reason), multi-author 'zines, discussion boards, information sharing tools. Unfortunately these projects usually only happen once a person has experience with a personal blog and are often (at the beginning at least) side projects. As a result, I think people are less likely to pay a lot extra for them which is too bad since they are often the most innovative blogs out there.

Let me reiterate, I am willing to pay/donate to MT. But the pricing difference between having 3 blogs and having 4 (or having 1 author versus having 2) should be (a lot) less than $99.95.