Flash of insight: Why am I still using drupal?
After outsourcing comment processing to Disqus due to the lack of the Akismet module, fighting a buggy alpha version of the Views module for Drupal 6.0 to implement a front page that doesn’t use those damn teasers, and installing yet another security update using an update process that can best be described as a pain in the ass, I’ve finally asked myself why I use Drupal for what is basically textbook blogging.
The answer? Well, once upon a time, back in 2005, I had an HTML site that I’d painstakingly built, and I shopped around content management systems trying to find one flexible enough to let me reconstruct that look and feel in a theme. I looked far and wide, at WordPress, DotNetNuke, PHPNuke, MovableType, and just about every other CMS and blogging platform one can imagine. The only one with the flexibility I thought I needed was Drupal. I spent days getting my head around it’s ridiculously expansive surface area, cooked up a theme, and that was that.
Problem is, Drupal 6.0 is out and it feels like a step back. None of the modules I need work, and the system is unimaginably complicated, which is probably why lots of high-profile sites with unique requirements use it. However, apocryph.org is neither high profile nor possessing of unique requirements, and I’m now willing to accept a site redesign if it means I can use a blogging platform that Just Works.
Which brings me to the next problem: how in the hell am I going to get years of posts out of Drupal and into something else? Obviously the answer will involve me writing data migration code, which sucks and makes it less likely I’ll get around to it.
Still, I’m getting really tired of slogging through the Drupal mud.
March 16th, 2008 - 21:05
I assume Drupal 6 has something essential for you and it is missing from Drupal 5.
Fortunately for me,I can use D5 until the modules I need are ported to D6.
see http://groups.drupal.org/node/5036
Most Drupalistas I know are in my situation.
March 17th, 2008 - 01:49
Truth be told, the only reason I upgraded to Drupal 6 (besides a general need to run the latest stuff) was the much-vaunted performance improvements in 6.0. However, once upgraded I didn’t want to go through the hassle of downgrading again, or restoring a backup and losing whatever posts I’ve written since the upgrade.
This incident has just served to concentrate my attention on the ‘why drupal?’ question. There’s I need that Drupal but WordPress doesn’t; I got into it because of the extremely flexible content model but after three years I find I only use it as a blogging platform, so there’s little reason to continue to lug around all of Drupal’s surface area when a purpose-built blogging tool will suit my needs better.
March 17th, 2008 - 13:13
I’ve just started using Drupal 6. After years of searching for a CMS that worked worth a crap and didn’t take 6 weeks just to learn how to post content to it, Drupal seems to be the one. I’ll admit that there are some things that feel ‘quirky’ about it, but I was able to install it, and publish almost everything I needed in about 15 minutes. I’ve been using Joomla for the last year or so, and Drupal just buries it for ease of use and simplicity. Even the default themes look nice in Drupal; and that’s very unusual.
March 17th, 2008 - 15:48
I don’t disagree. Drupal is a powerful CMS that’s basically usable out of the box and has alot of power for those who take the time to grok it.
However, my requirements for a blogging platform are much better met by a dedicated blogging platform. If Drupal is a Swiss Army Knife, its blogging support is the built-in toenail clipper. It works OK, but a dedicated toenail clipper does a much better job on my toenails, even if it isn’t particularly helpful when I need to open a bottle or scale a fish.
July 23rd, 2008 - 10:56
Joomla! all the way :p