FCKeditor for Movable Type

FCKeditor is a very popular server-side posting editor for Movable Type.

The official website has a demo where you can test it out. If you like it, you can download it, unzip it, upload it to your server, test it, and then make the parameter settings necessary to integrate it with Movable Type and make it the default posting editor (link above), i.e. use it as the default posting editor. The general nature of the approach used is discussed here. There is also an official Wiki site that provides documentation.

Note the "image insert and upload" functionality is not straightforward to get working and was the subject of a recent thread. I'm still trying to get it working.

Blog Clients

Blog posting editors can operate from the client-side in a browser like Firefox or Internet Explorer or from the server-side in the default posting editors that come with blogging software like Blogger, Movable Type, Wordpress, or Nucleus or with add-on editors like FCKeditor (please excuse the name which supposedly comes from the initials of the author).

Client-side editors have the advantage of a more seamless interface. You don't have to modify server-side software. The Metaweblog API is used to make postings to the weblog. The Metaweblog API in turn uses XML-RPC. The modifications [1,2,3]typically require some knowledge of computer programming, backups in case you need to restore the old system, and reapplication of the modifications after upgrades, which all complicate things. There's a well-written criticism of the Metweblog API basically arguing that there are more natural ways to do it like HTTP GET and POST or SOAP, that there are security issues, and also that more functionality like settings, search, and blogroll maintenance should be be included in the interface.

WYSIWYG editors for composing blog entries are important if you want to insert photos, illustrations, or diagrams. If you have a multi-blog scenario with many contributing bloggers, some are probably using Microsoft Word or Open Office, so you'll need to cut and paste from these documents. The normal server-side, html-based, post editors are not very convenient for cutting and pasting from other formats.

Blog clients are necessary if post editing is at all sophisticated like this. Unfortunately, finding the right fit can often be difficult and much of the software is commercial which is to be expected perhaps, since time and attention to producing high-quality software tuned to the specific needs of users takes time and money.

The Wikipedia policy of not allowing commercial links that you can see on the page linked to is a little unrealistic and doesn't reflect reality.

Blogging: The Basic Posting Formats

Intro to Blogging Rhetoric 101.

Here are the seven basic blog posting formats:

1. Link-only (few words, a bookmark like del-icio-us)
2. Link blurb (2 lines-few paragraphs, maybe an extract)
3. Brief remark (1-3 short paragraphs)
4. List
5. Short article (under 500-700 words)
6. Long article (700+ words)
7. Series postings (500-1000 words each)

"Some formats work best for commentary or explanation, others for alerts and references, etc."

The "brief remark" is "a blog posting that generally is just 1-3 short paragraphs long. It can contain virtually any kind of content: an observation on current events, an idea, an event announcement, a question for readers, an anecdote, a joke, a description, etc."