Harvard Manila Server Clarification
Based on some off-blog exchanges I’ve had with people regarding the Harvard Manila server situation, I feel the need to clarify a few things here.
What I’ve been describing is mostly a problem with just the server Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society has been running for the last four years to support weblogs using the software Manila. If you are using Manila elsewhere, while it is a good idea to make sure your server is running up-to-date versions and patches and is secure, you probably don’t need to worry about any of the things I’ve reported in this space. As far as I know, nothing is globally happening to Manila on Wednesday, April 11. That’s just the date by which the Harvard server administrators are hoping the people working on the Manila server will have gotten what they need or want off the server so they can begin shutting the server down.
Someone brought to my attention some rumors about Userland Software, the company that makes Manila. I know nothing about the state of that company or the future of the blog platform Manila. I am not aware of any connection between Berkman’s decision to shut off the Manila server and certain rumors.
Manila has some strengths and nice features. I do not mean to speak ill of it or Userland Software in this space. It was not my intention to give anyone the impression that every Manila user either is discontinuing use of or should immediately stop using the platform. I was merely attempting to communicate what is happening with the Harvard Manila server, especially since I have been heavily involved in that community during the last four years and I am one of the organizers of the weekly blog group.
The guidelines about moving from Manila to WordPress are specific to the Harvard server setup. One of the server administrators spent lots of time, energy, and effort on the script(s). He has done a wonderful job. Moving between blog platforms is incredibly complicated. No, the import isn’t 100%, but it’s very good and makes many aspects of the switch much easier. I, unfortunately, cannot provide advice about how to move from a non-Harvard Manila installation to a non-Harvard WordPress weblog.
The backup scripts Kim posted earlier can be adapted to work with Manila installations on other servers and possibly other weblog software. They produce HTML files. While we can use these files to have a copy of our material in a format we can read, blog server administrators might not be able to do much with these backups. If you are planning to make a backup to use as an import, you might want to do some research and/or talk to a server administrator to find out what kinds of files could work for an import.
