I've now implemented Movable Type solutions for several clients, primarily as Intranets. As with any Intranet, there are a large number of users who are only casually acquainted with the user interface and for whom a simple interface with good usability is the key to a successful experience. Unfortunately, MT is really not designed to be used casually by disinterested users, so some modifications are often needed to help those less sophisticated.

I've made some small but important hacks to the "Add Entry" bookmarklet pop-up screen, which have helped users at my client sites better get through the posting process without frustration or error.

The "Post to MT Weblog" screen is really designed for a blog administrator or a power user who has bothered spending time learning the MT interface and knows what is meant by "Trackback" and "Allow Pings."

In my experience every new user who sees the screen makes the same mistake; they forget to "Select a weblog for this post" from the drop-down menu, and then are confused when nothing appears in the "Primary Category" screen. This is an annoying problem, especially since virtually all corporate clients I've worked with roll out only a single blog for their installation.

The second issue I come across time and again is the "Where is my posting?" problem. This occurs because in many of my custom installations I have used the Categories system to determine which posts appear on which pages. Thus, the Category field has become a de facto required field, even though MT does not require that each post have a category assigned.