06-21-2016, 12:48 AM
(06-18-2016, 08:52 AM)MarkHaysHarris777 Wrote: it may just be me... but the way I view the kick-starter funding thing is that I want to see them succeed. To succeed they need venture capitalists that are willing to take a risk and support a great idea; that's what several of us have done. ... $1.7 million of us...
... the return on investment is a piece of the pie at some point. If you can't afford to be an investor , well, don't invest. If you invest , well, be patient. But it doesn't help the project to ask for a refund (especially if they're already struggling a bit) and it doesn't help to scream at them either; they're people first, technologists and engineers second, and business people last. Sometimes the hardest part of something like this is the business side; they'll get it figured out, and eventually all of this will be behind them, and you'll have your board, and everything will be good.
If you really want to help, keep investing; purchase stuff through the store... tell your friends about the PineA64 and get your community involved in understanding what is going on with these iddy bitty machines (super computers on an index card ! )
Mark is correct on this one.
Anyone using KS need to read their mission statement again. #1 mission: Kickstarter will create tools and resources that help people bring their creative projects to life, and that connect people around creative projects and the creative process.Their mission isn't the selling of the products, but every kickstarter supporter made a pledge. And right now anyone complaining that a KS campaign isn't living up to our expectation of some corporate standard, is not only being disingenuous, but very hypocritical. True kickstarters are cheering the team on, not kicking them when their down. We don't bury our heads in the sand but provide constructive feedback, and keep them informed of areas we expect them to improve in.
Perhaps a dialog like:
As backer #737 I would have been delighted to receive my board in December 2015. I understood if I had selected a 1GB board would be cheaper and I might have already received it, but RPI and other boards were already at 1GB, to release my creative ability I needed a board with 2GB and at the current rate that wouldn't happen for at least another year. I felt if I backed pine64 that it would signal world that the creative community wanted a better sbc platforms at the sub $30 price point. So 1/2 year later I don't have a board, but I feel my main purpose for backing the project has been realized. It is equally important that the boards is delivered in a timely fashion as it is platform that will be used to allow others to "bring their creative projects to life". So I know the Pine64 team is busy delivering or attempting to deliver 100's or 1000's of boards, but do keep us involved in the "creative process". I am sure a fly on the wall could find enough content to post an update at least once a week? I am the group of supporters perhaps knows a better way of communicating shipping status better than email.
Anyway at the rate we are going I fear we will end up destroying the great platform KS can be if we push it to become too commercially orientated.