It seems like my last post may have been TOO over-dramatic... The Humble Brony Bundle isn't giving up, and neither should you!
Spread the word far and wide that we're still going, still taking donations, and will still contribute to Humble Indie Bundle V until the very last minute! We can do it, guys!
Indeed, too early to give up. I just donated to the Brony cause for the first time.
ReplyDeleteThat's the spirit! Thank you!!
DeleteSo what are you doing with the excess money? I'm sure you're still getting the odd donation and even if they've stopped now, there's no way that you raised exactly $6,050.
ReplyDeleteI think it's rather disgusting that you're using the humble bundle as advertising space, anyway. It has harmed my perception of the pony fanbase that they're willing to hijack a cause like that, with many people apparently donating just to "beat Notch".
I meant to say that while you claim that "leftover" contributions are saved, one must question how you decide what defines those funds. You told Notch via twitter that the coffers were dry but that should have resulted in you actually clearing the account rather than treating the donations as a slush fund.
DeleteThere is zero accountability here. We have no idea if you're using all the funds you're receiving or if you actually do donate the entirety of the funds in the subsequent bundle.
I also take issue with your suggestion for people who have already bought the bundle:
>Then you've already done good, but if you are able to give a small donation to the Humble Brony Bundle to help the cause it would be greatly appreciated!
The "cause"? Your "cause" is apparently a public relations campaign for a fanbase by attaching your name to the Humble Indie Bundle using other people's money. I personally think it's insulting that you hope to improve people's opinions regarding MLP fans by manipulating a charity drive.
Yes, you are quite right in saying that there is zero accountability. Cupcakes Nom here could just spend half the money on hookers and blow and we would never know. It really just depends on trust. It's no different from, say, Kickstarter in that regard.
DeleteThe reasons for donating to the Humble Bundles or to the Humble Brony Bundle are manifold, but regardless of the reasons, it is still money that is going to Indie developers and to charity.
The "cause" of the Humble Brony Bundle is collecting money to give to the Humble Bundle. Of course, you could do a similar donation drive under any title. So, why does this one include the word "brony"?
It's quite simple: Behind the word "brony" stands a huge fanbase. By applying that word to a donation drive, you get the attention of that entire fanbase, resulting in more money being given to Indie developers and charity.
Staying near the top of the donation list and by, in some way, competing more or less directly with someone as well-known as Notch, the exposure of the Humble Brony Bundle is increased resulting in more people becoming interested in the drive. When these people then donate and see the Humble Brony Bundle beat Notch, they can say "I made this happen." which increases the chance of them donating again resulting, again, in more money being given to Indie developers and charity.
Improving people's opinions of the brony fanbase is a side effect, not the main goal.
Also, you are using the phrase "manipulating a charity drive" very loosely. There is absolutely no manipulation going on here.
You're making it sound far more altruistic than the FAQs do. The "Good Publicity" section seems to care more about being visible on the list for PR reasons than helping charity.
Delete>100% of all Humble Brony Bundle proceeds will get bronies good press!
Also, this is what I mean by manipulating the charity drive:
>With all of our pledges combined we can make one big payment to the Humble Indie Bundle and get on the Top Contributors list.
This, combined with the emphasis on good publicity is using the Humble Indie bundle for their own purposes.
I do see your point, but the good press is a consequence of being on the Top Contributors list. It's debatable how much it really helps, but there is no sense in denying it.
DeleteSo, the "100% of all Humble Brony Bundle proceeds will get bronies good press!" is a correct observation.
You could argue that the good publicity is a goal. I can't speak for this donation drive's creator here (and for that matter, neither can you), but I can say with some certainty that it is not the MAIN goal.
The way I see it, that paragraph about good publicity is merely an attempt to get those people to donate who aren't be swayed by the other arguments.
As I said before, it IS a correct observation and if mentioning that observation is likely to get more people to donate money to Indie devs and charity, then I see no harm in mentioning it.
The "good publicity" would occur whether it was mentioned in the FAQ or not.
Blarpzor: You realize the official @humble guys are OK with this, right? They tweet about the "battle" between @notch and @HumbleBrony bundle often. It's all in good fun.
DeleteFrom Jeffrey Rosen himself: "The incredible @HumbleBrony initiative is starting to catch up to @Notch! http://www.humblebundle.com/#stats"
Cupcakes Nom isn't attaching his name to much of anything, Bronys aren't "hijacking" the Humble Bundle anymore than @bundleinabox and a few others (this is totally ok!), and seriously, I doubt anyone is cashing out here.
Hey, Blarpzor, I've thought about this a bit more and I just realised how our views differ.
DeleteI agree that good publicity is probably a goal, but it's only a goal insofar as it serves the underlying cause which is more money for charity and indie devs.
You, on the other hand, seem to think that getting people to donate to charity and indie devs is only insofar a goal as it serves the underlying cause of good publicity.
Both are, in my opinion, legitimate interpretations of the FAQ. It's quite difficult to ascertain which one is more probable.
The reason I believe the former is because it makes sense to devote more website space to the main goal than to a side goal (or a means to an end or whatever you want to call it).
The FAQ devotes much more space to the points about helping Indie developers, charity and the Humble guys than to the point about good publicity.
Thus, I believe that the point about good press is just a side goal insofar as it serves the main goal.
I suppose I'll come clean: yes, the "100% of money donated gets bronies good PR" WAS me trying to manipulate bronies who are on the fence about donating money to do so.
DeleteThe primary reason I even started this campaign is because I hoped thousands of dollars would go to Child's Play, and whatever other outstanding charities were at work on that particular Bundle. I was willing to be a little cheesy and a little manipulative to get people to help them out. If anyone is insulted by that I do apologize, but I hope they understand it was for what I consider a very, very good cause.
The same thing goes for trying to "beat notch." Instigating friendly competition for charity is awesome. I'm sorry if you don't agree, but I think a lot of people do!
And yes, I agree, there is zero accountability. I was telling the truth when I said there was ~$2 in the account, having emptied all donations but those $2 onto the Humble Bundle because those $2 made it a less "round" of a number. But... you have no way to know if that is true. All I have in that regard is a small, decent reputation in the fandom, and that's good enough for some. I respect the opinion of those that is not good enough for.
Generally on all "numbered" Bundles there won't be any excess. I intend to empty the account down to $0.00 like I did last time.
Blarpzor this bundle is not over yet. I don't know why he is saying that notch won when we have 11 days left. The numbers Humble Bundle posts that has been donated matches up about correctly with the amount donated (give time for slow updating). Also we have already seen what he does with the left over cash in the bundle, he saves it to dump into the next bundle. I assume if the bundles were to ever stop he would donate what ever is left directly to someplace like Child's Play.
ReplyDeleteJust donated hope we can keep up beating notch. I know it will be tough being in between seasons.
If for some reason the Humble Brony Bundle ever stops taking donations all leftover funds would go to the next Humble Indie Bundle, even if it wasn't enough to reach the top ten. Doing anything else with the money would be completely disingenuous and while Child's Play is the main reason I started this effort I would feel awful to those people who intended to support indie gaming but had their contribution steered away from the Bundles.
DeleteManipulating people into giving to charity? *GASP* the horror!
ReplyDeleteThough I wonder if Cupcakes NOM gets huge tax breaks from this...
Doesn't matter, still donating.