[mangler]

I'm not against money in any way whatsoever, but, really, you don't do this kind of stuff for cash. You just don't. It should have been done already and the money should be flowing in without kickstarter to YC or other means. You build it, and if it's any good the money will swamp you...

[jvrossb]

"You build it, and if it's any good the money will swamp you..."

There are probably thousands of game developers, filmmakers, mobile app creators, artists, etc... who would disagree with you there.

Marketing and promotion is sadly necessary to rise above the noise. Kickstarter is basically a way to do a pre-sale which looks like it's going to work out well for all those involved.

Not to mention that it's a pretty big luxury to be able to afford working on something great and revolutionary for the love of it with no remuneration.

[Permit]

This is not a weekend project, I imagine Chris enjoys eating, shelter and meeting the other basic needs he has. On top of this, it sounds like someone needs to be hired in order to support other languages like Python. If he builds it and it's not good, he's in the red considerably. I find it completely understandable that he might not want to take that risk.

This is not a trivial project and it's clear the market disagrees with you.

[checker659]

I agree with him. I'm happy for Chris that he got funding and all. But I really wished it was first and foremost a work of love and passion than something he's doing for cash.But, you need cash to execute you say? I get that, but still.

[zevyoura]

Are you opposed to Kickstarter in general? If not, what makes this project different?

[mangler]

I am not opposed to anything. Kickstarter included. Kickstarter is inherently against the system and all the classical financial theory as it is known. If you invest in something (even a minuscule amount) you should expect a fraction of the return (small or big). Investors should be rewarded for making the right choice (and punished for making the wrong choice). The only reward for investment is return. This is not about money either - it can be time, effort, or attention.

Kickstarter does not provide enough difference between bad and good choices. You get a t-shirt or nothing. It's an option that nobody would buy in an open market.

This is not necessarily bad. Or good. It's ok. But it is not a market that is in any way fair with respect to capital. And capital does not mean Big Money! Capital means ordinary Joe giving away cash they saved for worse days based on the emotional appeal of something, instead of any rational assessment of its worth.

[law]

You're completely correct. Where I have trouble with the model is that Kickstarter does not do enough to correct the spread of misinformation concerning the precise character of your "pledge." It's not a donation and it's not an investment; both of those terms beget some serious legal issues. Instead, it's a purchase of goods, namely, the "rewards." So why even refer to these purchased goods as "rewards"? To me, a reward is something extra you get for some unrelated action. For example, you wouldn't refer to groceries as a "reward" for the money you gave to the cashier...

Moreover, there's a secondary issue with the confusion of market norms and social norms. Ostensibly, this project spawned from a passion for programming. Now, however, that passion is unclear, because it seems to be about money, given the quasi-ultimatum for python support.

[zevyoura]

I guess I just don't understand your original comment. What is ibdnox (creator of LightTable) doing wrong? It seems like you were accusing him of being a money-grubber but I'm not sure. In the response comment you seem to be saying that Kickstarter project backers are making financially irrational decisions, which is unfair "with respect to capital" (not sure what that means beyond 'is not capitalism'). All I know for sure is that you're asserting that Kickstarter is a different model than the typical capitalist route, but I have no idea what you're trying to express beyond that.

[k33n]

What are you even talking about? He's doing it for cash. Seems to be working out fine to me.