Also Adrian hit it right on the head. There is nothing custom about self-hosting. Using wordpress means you’re practically using the same system as you would under wordpress.com, a very popular free-hosting

As for other compelling reasons, well, here’s 31 of them :)

By being on a blogging service, there’s standardization. On custom solutions as a reader/commenter, sometimes it’s rather hard to find content or use it. There’s also having to get used to the subtle quirks of each individual systems due to the lack of standardization.

I would hardly call self hosting a “custom” solution. Both myself and Db0 are using the standard installation of WordPress. It is a standardized system, used in the majority of self hosted blogs. The only custom things about it are the themes, but these are easily installable.

Commenting on a custom solution requires an account there, to which you have to sign in. Yes, the comments can be anonymous, but they can be that way on blogging services as well. Yes, the comments can be without CAPTCHA, but they can be that way on blogging services as well.

I don’t quite see your point here. My blog does not enforce user registration, and anyone can simply type in their details to post. The benefit of registering is that you do not need to type your details in every time, but then again, most browsers store details for forms anyway. Anyway, on Blogger you have to create and account and sign in to post, so what is the difference?

I would say that the main reason a lot of people are against self hosting is the cost. I’ve been considering offering cheap (or free) hosting to a limited number of people to try and combat this problem. How much would you be willing to pay a month for a hosted blog? Would $2 a month be too much?

I’ve done some simple calculations, and I believe that if I had a few people hosting for $2 a month, it would pay for itself. These people would then have the benefits of a personal server instead of a shared hosting account, and would have direct access to myself for troubleshooting and advice.

Compared to the $6 hosting at Dreamhost, this might be more attractive to people. Any feedback?

I have mine on Google’s Blogger. Being a web developer, I know having a custom setup on a server would allow more control over it, but I don’t find there to be much of an incentive to move. Yes, complete control over it is a benefit, but you can get much of it on a blog service as well.

I find there are several reasons not to move to a self-hosted solution, though. If I’m mistaken in these or if I’m not seeing all the benefits, do let me know. By being on a blogging service, there’s standardization. On custom solutions as a reader/commenter, sometimes it’s rather hard to find content or use it. There’s also having to get used to the subtle quirks of each individual systems due to the lack of standardization.

The commenting system is another one. I agree with db0 that Blogger’s commenting system is lacking — going with even a LiveJournal implementation would make large improvements. This is a downside to blogging services. The solutions for it, such as Intense Debate comments, only compound the issues as a user may need to sign in to the third party to comment (I installed it briefly but didn’t like that aspect).

That brings me to another issue. I know db0 has used it as a reason against blogging services, but I see it as one against self-hosting solutions: authentication. Many use Blogger’s service, so commenting on another one is quite easy. Commenting on a custom solution requires an account there, to which you have to sign in. Yes, the comments can be anonymous, but they can be that way on blogging services as well. Yes, the comments can be without CAPTCHA, but they can be that way on blogging services as well.

I’m just not seeing the major benefits in it that would warrant such a large push to get others to do it. Then again, I’m fasting with the Muslims today and this may just be a result of dehydration, as I found out you aren’t even allowed to drink water.

If you know people who are worth it and want to switch, by all means tell them to step forward.

I know that self-hosting might not fit everyone, but this is why I’m simply extending invitations. I’m not forcing anyone.

Ultimately, I suspect that the problem is that BB simply has a different mentality toward computery stuff than you and I and db0 do. The result of this is that he is evidently one of those people for whom free blogging works just fine.

Therefore, my humble suggestion to db0 for his further efforts with this project is that he target people who are having some specific problem with free blogging that self-hosted blogging would fix. Self-hosting isn’t automatically better for everyone just because we think it’s better for all of us. ;)