Donations
Cidu Bill on Feb 8th 2010
The CIDU site has received a number of donations lately — for which I am grateful, but… it also made me realize I’m not really comfortable with the whole donation concept. So I removed the button.
But I’ll be putting it back up in April to make my annual March of Dimes pitch. As I mentioned last year, my older son has retired from the March of Dimes Walkathon after 17 years (he’s working out of state), so my younger son will be taking his place.
Filed in Bill Bickel, March of Dimes | 14 responses so far
Cheryl S. Feb 8th 2010 at 05:39 pm 1
Seriously, you need to consider it payment for services rendered! Time is money, after all. Don’t sell yourself short!
Mark Dalrymple Feb 8th 2010 at 05:48 pm 2
I’ve gotten more entertainment here than I have at many movies. I have no problems with a donation button. (I never noticed it before, otherwise I would have kicked in some bucks)
turquoise cow Feb 8th 2010 at 06:37 pm 3
now i feel guilty for not having donated (since i don’t think ever noticed the button), yet i cannot ease my guilt by giving. Curses!
Arvy Feb 8th 2010 at 07:55 pm 4
Bill, people get a great deal of satisfaction from your site, so it makes sense that they want to give something. Knowing that the site is just one guy (as opposed to a faceless corporate entity) probably also makes people want to give you some support, as they recognize that maintaining the site is a lot of work.
Another piece may be the fear that you’ll get frustrated with the whole thing and just up and quit one day - an event folks may feel they can forestall by trying to make it worthwhile (even if the sum total of donations you receive is barely more than - or maybe even less than - what you pay to have the site hosted).
I’m not clear on why you wouldn’t just leave the button up, put the money aside, and then donate it all to the March of Dimes.
Cidu Bill Feb 8th 2010 at 08:45 pm 5
Arvy, if I ever decide to stop doing this, the donations — which generally total maybe $50 a year — won’t be a deciding factor. Last April, though, the site collected over $200 for March of Dimes, so I’d rather just ask people for money then.
And, you know, the Amazon links are still there if you’re going to be buying something anyway.
The thing is, not only do I enjoy our little CIDU community, but the Internet gives me a whole lot of things for free. If I’m able to add a little something to the mix, that’s a good thing.
Nicole Feb 8th 2010 at 08:57 pm 6
Well, all I can say is that I really appreciate the site, without a doubt one of my favorites. I was happy to donate a little every now and then.
Since you have removed the donate button … then let me say thank you, I really am glad you are here .
drdan Feb 8th 2010 at 09:09 pm 7
I like your site, and am grateful for the time you spend on it, I appriciate your March of Dimes walk with your son, and I m glad your younger son will be stepping in
Cidu Bill Feb 8th 2010 at 09:14 pm 8
Heh. It’s not as if he had any choice: He’s known for the past ten years that he was the heir apparent.
Andrea Feb 8th 2010 at 09:44 pm 9
Thanks, Bill. Your site is great entertainment. Keep up the good work!
Scott E Feb 8th 2010 at 10:34 pm 10
I’ve sort of donated, by buying advertising space for my comic here. But I do think you should leave the donation button up. I wouldn’t feel bad about taking a few dollars to make sure the site stays up if I were you.
Jay Feb 8th 2010 at 11:16 pm 11
I, too, feel bad I didn’t donate before you took the button down. (Where were we while the button was up?) I’ll be sure to help with the March of Dimes.
I buy plenty from Amazon, though; will buying anything from Amazon (if we get there through the link) help out, or does it have to be the specific book linked?
CIDU Bill Feb 8th 2010 at 11:43 pm 12
Jay, as long as you enter Amazon through one of the site’s links (or use the Amazon search box, of course), it counts. And thanks.
Igelino Feb 9th 2010 at 02:13 pm 13
I like your site a lot, Bill.
Thank you for giving us this!!
FeelinOld Feb 10th 2010 at 03:04 am 14
I do appreciate the time put into this site, and know what it takes to keep up a site like this, so kudos to you.
I had a relatively busy site back in early days (Mosaic anyone) and little things like a week off spent at a lake miles from the nearest phone line always seemed to draw the ire of the crowd.