Ecto 2 is Dangerously Buggy
I have been a licensed user of Ecto weblogging software since 31 March 2006.1
I’m posting this entry because the developer of Ecto, Adriaan Tijsseling, has chosen to censor me on his developer’s blog.2
If after posting a blog entry (with or without Ecto) you edit the code for a blog entry in a text editor, say BBEdit, and then load that entry into Ecto, Ecto wipes out all advanced tagging, including but not limited to CSS tags, XML markup, and HTML styling. Ecto will not notify you that it has made these changes. So if, for example, you use Ecto to do a minor edit of a blog entry, all of your specialized markup will silently but surely disappear. You did have backup copy of all that markup, right?3
Mr. Tijsseling has chosen to censor me on his blog where such information would be very helpful to both advanced and intermediate users, so I will speak out and warn users here. 
I don't expect you to approve this post. That said:
Like many of your users, I've been following the development of Ecto 3 for quite some time. I look forward to the release of Ecto 3.
Though I don't expect this comment to be approved, I do want to say, Adriaan, that I am puzzled by you or your system's failure to approve several of my previous comments, especially since my last piece of feedback was seconding some of the opinions of others regarding how Ecto 3 might handle non-standard HTML code. My guess is that you didn't like the fact that I complained that Ecto 2 destroys custom HTML and so should not be used by power-users with extensive CSS tweaks, for example. It could be something else or none of the above. I have no way of knowing.
Anyhow, I have been recommending, with reservations, Ecto 3 to blogging friends of mine even though I have a different system in place. I tell them about Ecto's current weaknesses as well as its strengths. I am honest.
However, the sinking feeling I get when I consider you might be harboring developer's resentment against me for pointing out a major flaw in your software is not something you want to let others feel. I will test Ecto 3 when it is out of beta and I will be honest in my assessment. I hope when that time comes I can feel that you aren't choosing to censor me in this venue of your blog.
Anyhow, good luck with the continued coding. I hope when Ecto 3 is released I can review it with the feeling that I am a valued LICENSED user rather than the jilted complainant of dangerously buggy earlier version.
Cheers,
Johnnie Wilcox
aka mistersquid
Comments
#1
Thanks for the warning. I am using Drupal to manage my site and was looking for a Mac OS X client to make it a bit easier. I stumbled upon Ecto but will look a bit harder for another XML-RPC client. Do you have any suggestions? Do you know if the issues have been resolved? Thanks!
Posted by: JJ | December 30, 2007 7:21 AM