--- In , dcndcn13@... wrote:
> The thing that makes my brain churn are things like--and I am not talking
> about Marc here, just wondering in general, "what is the mechanism to
> ensure that the commitments kickstarter paid for get carried out, and who
> pays you back if it doesn't happen?"
AFAIK, there isn't such a mechanism - it's based on trust. There are a few projects that I am aware of that are well past their stated delivery deadlines (e20 being one of them) and all the patrons have received so far from the authors are excuses. IIRC the author actually said that he was working on other freelance projects that were "more important" or "higher priority", completely missing the point that *he had already been funded to complete the kickstarter project" and therefore that should have taken priority over any other projects that came afterwards.
That said, if you don't provide the goods on time then your reputation goes down the pan, so authors are aware of the need to provide what they said they'd supply on time. I've funded a few kickstarters and not had any trouble. I still feel more comfortable funding a kickstarter than putting in a standard pre-order with a publisher (last time I did that, I got burned badly - that was when QLI was supposedly going to publish 1248).
> The thing that makes my brain churn are things like--and I am not talking
> about Marc here, just wondering in general, "what is the mechanism to
> ensure that the commitments kickstarter paid for get carried out, and who
> pays you back if it doesn't happen?"
AFAIK, there isn't such a mechanism - it's based on trust. There are a few projects that I am aware of that are well past their stated delivery deadlines (e20 being one of them) and all the patrons have received so far from the authors are excuses. IIRC the author actually said that he was working on other freelance projects that were "more important" or "higher priority", completely missing the point that *he had already been funded to complete the kickstarter project" and therefore that should have taken priority over any other projects that came afterwards.
That said, if you don't provide the goods on time then your reputation goes down the pan, so authors are aware of the need to provide what they said they'd supply on time. I've funded a few kickstarters and not had any trouble. I still feel more comfortable funding a kickstarter than putting in a standard pre-order with a publisher (last time I did that, I got burned badly - that was when QLI was supposedly going to publish 1248).