Yeah except that you only have to step in because he won’t.
If “send” is inaccurate, how’s “require the intervention of”?
I did do exactly this for quite some time, and for exactly that reason. We did talk to Fred about the need to post updates, even when the news was not good. While he understands that intellectually, actually getting him to do it is an entirely different thing. It's not that he's trying to hide anything; he'd just rather work than talk about it. This is why you hear a lot more from me than you do from Fred, despite my limitations.paarfi wrote: ↑Fri Oct 05, 2018 7:18 am
People would be happier with an update now of "I haven't made any progress in the VN yet because of X, Y, and Z, I am really sorry." or whatever rather than having no update for some number more months to finally get an update of "Hey look, I finally got this significant step done!"
This isn't on you and you're well aware of it, but not updating does two things: it puts more pressure on him and we can't see what he's doing. Even if he's working hard and has a game plan going forward, but from here it looks like he isn't doing anything.
Again, the best way to counter this is to post. an. update. Have someone else write it if Fred can't bring himself to do it. Also, I'm tired of hearing how unfair everything is for Fred. I get that he's struggling with life events and those piled up on him all at once, but people have variations on problems like his all the time while juggling regular full time jobs. None of this is unique to him and the man has been a black hole of self pity since the comic was in its infancy.I have stopped doing this recently for several reasons. One of which is that those explanations produce a kind of fatigue. To quote walkingeagle from earlier in this thread: "Fred is in his 50’s, has health issues, parents, blah blah blah.". People have good reason to be unhappy about how the VN work has gone, and it is all too easy (if rather unfair) to view the reasons for that as mere excuses, especially when those reasons keep getting repeated in updates as a seemingly never-ending series of long-term ongoing problems. If y'all are tired of it, imagine how Fred feels.
Okay, that's big news that we needed to know and not just in a forum post.I'm not going to wait until "yay we have the VN done" before posting an update. But I'm also done with posting monthly updates that there has been no progress. When Fred can get back on the VN work (which likely won't be real soon), I will certainly post an update and let everyone know.
I don't think that you apologizing on Fred's behalf helping with any of the frustration we're feeling.Again, the fundamental problem is that the VN work has gone so poorly. I get that, and y'all have every reason to be upset about it. I'm sorry, and so is Fred.
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the kickstarter for the VN come before he had Patreon? And also does it not seem silly to prioritize 4 pages of a comic per month to the tune of less than 2 grand for patreon supporters and not work on a projector that people already spent a combine 300k on?paarfi wrote: ↑Sat Oct 06, 2018 3:53 pmI'm sorry if this wasn't clear. Fred's plan (as he described in his May post) is:
1) Get the comic rolling [with his target of 4 comics per month]
2) Get the store shipping backlog taken care of
3) Get back on the VN
With all the problems he's been having the last few months, he hasn't managed the comic production that he owes the patreon supporters, and he's still not caught up with shipping backlog. Once teh comics are rolling again and the shipping is all done, then he'll have time to work on the VN in a serious way again. He had hoped to be at that point earlier in the year, but it didn't happen because of various life disasters and ongoing time-sinks.
When I said "likely won't be real soon", it was not some big secret revelation that was being hidden and now "Ah ha! The truth is revealed!" It was me seeing that comics are not yet rolling to level that Fred has promised the patreon supporters, and me seeing that the store shipping is not yet fully done. Hence (per Fred's plan), he still has stuff to do before he can get back on the VN work in a serious way.
I understand y'all are angry about this. I know it's not good enough, but he is doing the best he can.
Frankly, Fred takes his time. I'm not saying there isn't a communication issue, there definitely is, and I think they should at least make a "we're alive and working on it still" post every two months (i'd welcome that). I knew that the estimated dates were far too optimistic when I paid into the VN. I also realized something many here seem to have missed:walkingeagle wrote: ↑Fri Oct 05, 2018 12:14 pmEven though the reasons DO get very blah blah blah, having them is so much more preferable than the current situation.
The main reason there is such anger is that y’all have given us nothing at all for over a year officially, and nothing unofficially other than a paragraph in the middle of other paragraphs, easily missed and not much info.
It’s the feeling of being ignored, that 300k was taken and no one cares if we sit here and stew about it for years at a time, that is the biggest problem imo.
Ohhh, my bad. I thought we were talking about a 49 year old man with legal obligations to make what he was backed to make, not a potty-shy three year old.The more you guys get all angry, the less Fred is likely going to want to deal with it.
Apparently the rewards have not been issued that were promised which is something people have the right to be upset about. They also have a right to be upset about the lack of straightforward honesty and communication. As for making the excuse of having a comic and store to run, I know kids and adults alike who can complete a hell of a lot more than he has been. Barely one page a week is not worth the money this man makes. I've worked in a 2 man operation and I know how challenging it can be to work on large projects, but you get them done when you are paid the money, or you give back the money, that is how honest business is conducted.drgnmstr44 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 9:43 pmCame here looking for an update to this but I can see what's happening. A bunch of people who don't seem to understand the risk when backing something on kickstarter or didn't bother actually reading it. I'm a backer too but I kind of figured it was a lost cause because it blew up to be a huge project and at the time comics weren't really being posted regularly. Everyone is yelling about you can't just take 300K and give nothing, but nothing we can do about it. It's a Kickstarter video game which, while I would think it not intentional here, have a bad reputation of falling and failing to deliver.
There is nothing we as backers can do about it to get a product that doesn't exist or our money back. It's just not going to happen. It would be nice to see it complete but I think everyone needs to realize this is a small team doing this game with one artist, who has to also manage a web comic and a store. I've backed many things over the years and have lost some money to other projects too that failed to be completed after being backed. Not really much to do. maybe someday it will get completed, but I'm not holding my breath for it. I still enjoy the web comic and the other things from the store as well as the novels.
Concerned_user wrote: ↑Tue Jan 29, 2019 11:55 amApparently the rewards have not been issued that were promised which is something people have the right to be upset about. They also have a right to be upset about the lack of straightforward honesty and communication. As for making the excuse of having a comic and store to run, I know kids and adults alike who can complete a hell of a lot more than he has been. Barely one page a week is not worth the money this man makes.drgnmstr44 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 9:43 pmCame here looking for an update to this but I can see what's happening. A bunch of people who don't seem to understand the risk when backing something on kickstarter or didn't bother actually reading it. I'm a backer too but I kind of figured it was a lost cause because it blew up to be a huge project and at the time comics weren't really being posted regularly. Everyone is yelling about you can't just take 300K and give nothing, but nothing we can do about it. It's a Kickstarter video game which, while I would think it not intentional here, have a bad reputation of falling and failing to deliver.
There is nothing we as backers can do about it to get a product that doesn't exist or our money back. It's just not going to happen. It would be nice to see it complete but I think everyone needs to realize this is a small team doing this game with one artist, who has to also manage a web comic and a store. I've backed many things over the years and have lost some money to other projects too that failed to be completed after being backed. Not really much to do. maybe someday it will get completed, but I'm not holding my breath for it. I still enjoy the web comic and the other things from the store as well as the novels.
He wants to have his cake and eat it too. Continuing a comic that should have ended long ago for the sake of milking every last dime from the blind followers.
Its fine your cool with the unprofessional way all of this has been handled, but people have a right to more, a lot more and I encourage them to fight for the most basic and sad end to this, and thats a written explanation from the man himself about how and why things went wrong, an apology and an answer that people will not be getting what they are owed. Anything less is an insult to the people who played a large part in giving him the life he lives.
Barely one page a week for a comic is a damn joke, for the money invested by fans.
People understand risk perfectly fine, they just expect people to take the appropriate responsibility for it.
I'm not anyone close to Fred, nor have i ever communicated with him. I'm just a lurking MT reader/VN backer ($35 beta tester tier) from the other side of the globe. I decided to answer you, along with anyone else who shares your sentiments, because i find your numerous posts flogging this dead horse to be annoyingly childish (in my opinion) and vindictive (definitely).walkingeagle wrote: ↑Tue Oct 16, 2018 1:22 pmETA: tell me how I’m wrong without focusing on my tone.
Provided (as I mentioned in another thread) by cost is meant "unbudgeted expenditures" and not "things employees spent their salaries on".
Wut.And taking a personal salary out of backer's money is a no-no in general; especially when he is pushing on with other projects in the interim. Project creators make their personal profit out of the success of that project, not out of the pockets of backers who get nothing.
Bingo!Ace42 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2019 9:35 amWhat part of "when /he/ is pushing on with other projects" and "/project creators/" in that quotation made you think I was referring to employees as opposed to Fred himself?
And, in most investment scenarios comparable to this one, it's hard to imagine the start-up team being comprised of salaried employees rather than either other stake-holders (in which case the same principles apply) or else subcontractors (who are paid for a job of work, not salaried).
Without a breakdown of expenditures, we can't even know for a fact if such a rookie mistake (haemorrhaging investment cash on salaries with no prospect it translates to completed work and thus progress towards milestones) occurred - this is precisely the reason the Kickstarter ToS specify the need for an explanation on failed projects.
If we find that the money invested to the project hasn't gone on the project, but has gone directly into the project creator's pocket (self-salary, personal expenses rather than project expenses), that's pretty much criminal. Backers didn't fund him, they didn't give the money to subsidise the Megatokyo webcomic or brand, they gave the money for this specific project and the rewards promised.
That doesn't matter, which was the whole point of the mom-n-pop corner store analogy. If the sole (or near-sole) owner is acting in their capacity as (corner store) head pizza chef, or (presumably in Fred's case) head artistic director or whathaveyou, they get a salary, same as any other employee. Obviously investors might raise objections regarding the quality and quantity of work produced commensurate with those salaries; I've kept my mouth shut on those issues and will continue to do so as I have no standing in that. But once the salary is paid, the employee spending that salary isn't in and of itself "fraud" or "criminal" or anything of the sort; my remarks on that side of the issue have been independent of my opinions on Fred and his situation and would apply to any (small) business.
The entire point of venture capital investment is to provide capital to cover operating expenses during the initial period when the company is not yet generating revenue. Salary is included in those expenses; paying salaries isn't a "rookie mistake", it is the only way the work necessary to generate any revenue is going to get done in the first place.Without a breakdown of expenditures, we can't even know for a fact if such a rookie mistake (haemorrhaging investment cash on salaries with no prospect it translates to completed work
So the facts and common practice doesn't matter; what matters is an analogy which doesn't apply here?
What sort of head pizza chef starts cooking pizzas, takes pay for cooking pizzas, but doesn't sell any of those pizzas in order to generate profit and thus pay themselves a wage for three years straight?If the sole (or near-sole) owner is acting in their capacity as (corner store) head pizza chef, or (presumably in Fred's case) head artistic director or whathaveyou, they get a salary, same as any other employee.
The entire point of venture capital is certainly not to pay someone's living expenses so they can mooch off investors, irrespective of your backwards ideas of it.The entire point of venture capital investment is to provide capital to cover operating expenses during the initial period when the company is not yet generating revenue.
You mean apart from contracting the work out to freelancers, who then invoice you for the work done instead of receiving a salary? You know, the normal way small limited projects of this specific type are conducted for exactly the reasons that are now apparent?Salary is included in those expenses; paying salaries isn't a "rookie mistake", it is the only way the work necessary to generate any revenue is going to get done in the first place.
So what you're saying is that, in order to prove you wrong, I just have to find anyone on linkedin who takes payment by wage, rather than as salaried work?This is an easy experiment you can do for yourself, without any need to listen to any arguments I might make on the subject. Put up some ads on indeed, linkedin, dice, whatever, for any positions you wish -- graphic designers, programmers, writers, editors, etc. When they show up for the job interview, tell them right away that since of course it would be inappropriate to pay them out of the investor's startup capital, you won't be paying them any salary
Make sure you stipulate explicitly in the contract that you have no intention of paying any of those invoices out of the startup capital or company revenues, but only at such time when you're making "sufficient" profit (where sufficient is presumably defined by you personally). Otherwise your freelancers might consider your behavior "fraudulent".
Why? I wasn't saying that it's inappropriate to pay piece-wages for work done; in fact I implied the exact opposite –
Kickstarter's terms of service state, verbatim:Oh and you might want to give them a heads-up that if (ooh, sorry, "when") their invoices ever get paid, they will be subject to close scrutiny downstream regarding what they spend those earnings on.
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