WordPress MU

Hello all. I am currently in the process of researching a way to do something very similar to what it sounds WPMU does, but I wanted to make sure its the right tool for the job.

I read the "is it right for me" thread and so far so good;

To address the points in that post; I have a dedicated box with a wordpress blog already running (has been for a year or two), as well as my forum and am a software engineer for IBM. I have detailed knowledge of WP and just created my own theme from the ground up. I'm a professional PHP programmer so the language isn't an issue.. I believe I have the required skills, the time, the interest and resources to make this thing happen. I'm reading through the WPMU codex now, but I thought I would ask this anyway, you folks know more about this than I do so I'll defer to your knowledge..

I run the Fan Films Forum over at http://www.fanfilmsforum.com/

I am already considering adding blog.fanfilmsforum.com.. With that I want to give any user who wants it their own blog to post on, and control. This includes what it looks like and how it behaves (So more than just a category on the main blog with authors I think.) Basically, any user who wants a blog, can have it and it would likely live at blog.fanfilmsforum.com/{user blog name}/.

I'd also like to make it so that the "main" blog at blog.fanfilmsforum.com will have a blog roll of the various user blogs as well as have content from those blogs. So if someone on their blog writes something keen, it can be either linked or included on the front page of the main blog as a post.

Now I have other features, but let me stop there.

Is giving users their own blog via MU the best way to do what I have suggested so far, or would I be better served just giving them a category within a single blog?

The only hard part that I foresee is making WP tie in nicely with the Invision Power Board user system. But its all php and mysql which is what I do so it should be cake.. just take some time..

I posted more details here:
http://info.rsow.com/a-look-to-the-future/

Any input would be welcome. I'm still in the research phase at this point. Thanks.

Yep. Many sites have been set up just like that.

Using MU over WP *does* give them more control and a perception of more freedom to write what they like, while still giving that community feel.

I'd hit MU in that situation.

Seems like you have the skills, hardware, and patience to make it through.