?Kickstarter Problem?!? Amtgard Foam Sword Fighting Project!

[Joell]

Maybe I am just not doing the correct thing on Kickstarter, or I just have a Kickstarter employee who doesn't know about Burning Man.

This Nicole employee keeps telling me that to have, or start a Kickstarter project I need to give away prizes, gifts, and bonuses to anyone who helps my project... Here is everything that was said between Kickstarter and myself along with my project. Please help me out if I am in the wrong, or what is going on here...


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Joell
Category
Games

Funding Goal
$1,000

Project Description
BURNING MAN!!! I want to bring more foam weapon fighting to Burning Man! Amtgard is the nation wide foam fighting game I play. I will stake down and place buckets of foam swords all around Burning Man for the citizens of BRC to use and enjoy. There will be at a few posts near center camp, 3:00 and 9:00 Key Holes, The Man, Terminal City, and The Thunder Dome! I will check on, replace, and fix the broken swords throughout the event.

I will do this project even if I do not raise the money. Please do not let that stop you from helping me. If you would like to be gifted a sword after Saturday please come see / message me at Camp Apockalyptica in Terminal City. Ask for Joell or that BDSM Rope Guy. NiceGuyJoell@Gmail.Com 317-250-7570

Project Rewards
This is Burning Man... I do it for the enjoyment of all!
This will be the 4th year I bring out swords. This year I am just doing it on a larger scale.

Links
http://www.amtgardinc.com/
http://www.facebook.com/JoellPalmer






Kickstarter Staff
Hi there,

A series of creative and engaging backer rewards is essential. Your rewards should reflect the personality of both you and your project -- and they should offer something tangible to your supporters. Having a few reasonably priced rewards will help incorporate everybody who is interested in what you are doing, even those only able to contribute $5-$20. Every buck counts! Check out our Kickstarter School entry on creating rewards: http://www.kickstarter.com/help/school/creating_rewards.

It'd be great to get some more fleshed-out thoughts on how you'll reward backers. Take a look at popular projects for inspiration! http://www.kickstarter.com/discover

Best,
Nicole


Joell
This is for the Burning Man Festival held in Nevada. It is bad form at the Burning Man Festival to give bonus perks, or what not for people directly giving you money. There is no reward other than that the project is out among the many on the Playa being shared with all of the people of Burning Man.
Thanks
Joell


Kickstarter Staff
Hi Joell,

Thank you for taking the time to share your idea. Unfortunately, this isn't the right fit for Kickstarter. We receive many project proposals daily and review them all with great care and appreciation. We see a wide variety of inspiring ideas, and while we value each one's uniqueness and creativity, Kickstarter is not the right platform for all of them. We wish you the best of luck as you continue to pursue your endeavor.

Best,
Nicole


Joell
Hello,

What is the problem with this project being on Kickstarter? Is it because it is for Burning Man or what? Do you understand how Burning Man works? If not can my project get transferred to another person who works for Kickstarter who understand how Burning Man works?

I will be bringing out over 200 of these ($40 Swords http://www.edhellen.com/mm5/merchant.mvc...) out to Burning Man. I know that I will not be coming home with all 200. I know I will be repairing a large amount of them. I am positive that quite a few will grow legs and walk away.

If it is a question about myself and actually going through with this project, if you want more of a knowledge that I actually do this type of stuff just Google "Joell Palmer Amtgard Gencon" I have ran large events for Origins, and Gencon "Largest Gaming Convention in the World" for the past 8 years.

Thank You
Joell Palmer


Kickstarter Staff
Hi Joell,

Please take a look around our site to get a sense of how Kickstarter works - you'll see that rewards are a fundamental and required part of running a Kickstarter project. There is a high number of interesting and successful Burning Man projects on Kickstarter, and they all offer compelling rewards at different levels. Also keep in mind that it takes at least a couple weeks to raise funds and have them transferred to you, so unless this is for next year, it probably will be too late.

Best,
Nicole


Joell
This is from the official website for Burning Man. It might help you understand Burning Man a little better. http://www.burningman.com/participate/s ... funds.html

""Also, please be mindful of commodifying the Burning Man experience (e.g. VIP access to your Mutant Vehicle, private party events, etc.) when you're coming up with reward ideas. Burners will be the first to let you know when you're veering into this territory, and it may backfire on you if it seems too much like you're trading special access for donations, or otherwise "selling off" pieces of the Burning Man experience.""

Burning Man is a gifting economy.

I read up on how Kickstarter funds work.
Can you transfer my project to another member of Kickstarter so I can get their opinion on my project?

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Any help is appreciated. Am I just talking to the wrong person on Kickstarters side? I know I will not get paid if the project gets funded till later. I will be on the Playa even if I get zero funding.

Thanks for the Help
Joell
Apockalyptica in Terminal City 3:15 A!
Bringing Soviet DOOM Since 08!

[graidawg]

hahahaha dude i love your idea but its like watching an englishman trying to have an intelligent conversation with a bottle of coca cola.

hi can you help me with this?

*sound of can being opened*

look its a great idea, i think it would work really well


*fizz gurgle gurgle*

are youeven listening


*bubbles pop as the gas escapes from a previously sealed community*


oh well fuck your day


glug glug


In my opinion you need to think bigger instead of random battles have le grande melee, a tournament, jousting and fusticuffs ( maybe not the fisticuffs) look at black rock cities next top assasin for ideas have structure (in theory) mass murder and teams issue prizes and for sponsors give them the joy of a title and a small cheap reward, if someone gives $45 put there name on a sword or something.


i would love to work with you on this next year the celtic lunatic berserker in me yearns for pointless violence and drinking with my opponents after pm me or something

[alkalinenerd]

I love your idea. I have friends who do Amtgard in Wavehaven and the Iron Mountains. I even attended one of their big wars on Mount Madonna in California one year. It was pretty intense and has a nerdy, yet burny community vibe. That being said i've seen plenty of projects on kickstarter for BM and they do offer something for contributors. It can likely be as simple as making a few special higher quality swords for the higher donations, or some sort of VIP get together for one tier. I'm not sure if theres a requirement on how many tiers, but something like: a 10 donation gets you xxx, a 25 donation gets you xx, and a 50 donation gets you x. I understand you're trying to keep with the principals of BRC, but this is just how kickstarter works.

Goodluck

Edit: Just reminded me of 2007 where someone gave away 10,000 lightsabers for the biggest Jedi battle ever. His deal was you could show up Thursday and get a lightsaber for no work, or show up anytime earlier in the week and build your own saber out of his spare parts. I still have mine and the idea was really cool. Also the battle was of epic proportions.

[theCryptofishist]

Kickstarter seems to be non-aural pbs on the web. I'd suggest looking at some of the other projects that are on kickstarter (or were, at this point) this year. Mr. Jellyfish offered pictures of Georgy-Boy and a remote to stack the game in your favor, for instance. I think Beau-le-phant is offering art car rides. dadara is not on kickstarter (non-us) but he offered copies of his money for his fundraising.

It's somebody's business model, and in some ways it seems to work. You could get tee-shirts made. Or special memorial sword-knots. (I"m spitballing here.) Or sword badges. or patches. or a map to really good barbeque joins in Kansas City. Whatever works for you.

and I thought berserkers were scandinavian, not celtic...

[Nothing]

I was not allowed to use Kickstarter because I am a foreigner and they were very non-communicative in even telling me why I couldn't use them. So I wnet with Kickstarter. Yes, I know the Burning Man community seems to be totally into Kickstarter but Indiegogo is much more friendly and helpful and have nothing against foreigners, And I just went over 5000 dollar with my Indiegogo campaign, less than 1000 to go and 7 days left. So it can work even if you probably have to put in more effort than on Kickstarter. Hopefully next year the BM community will embrace Indiegogo more. They are cool!

[dadara]

I was not allowed to use Kickstarter because I am a foreigner and they were very non-communicative in even telling me why I couldn't use them. So I wnet with Kickstarter. Yes, I know the Burning Man community seems to be totally into Kickstarter but Indiegogo is much more friendly and helpful and have nothing against foreigners, And I just went over 5000 dollar with my Indiegogo campaign, less than 1000 to go and 7 days left. So it can work even if you probably have to put in more effort than on Kickstarter. Hopefully next year the BM community will embrace Indiegogo more. They are cool!

Okay so to clarify this. This is Dadara and I am using a friends computer with whom I am staying in San Francisco. I wanted to make a new post for that last stretch of my Indiegogo campaign and then saw the words 'Kickstarter Problem' and immediately my Kickstarter frustration of a few weeks ago started boiling again, but then I realized I had automatically logged in under his name. so it has Nothing to do with Nothing. This was about the Exchanghibition Bank. Okay so now I AM going to post about my INDIEGOGO fundraiser. And PLEASE do not ask me why I did not use Kickstarter

[Ugly Dougly]

Tons of boffers on the playa. What matter the Kickstarter? Bring your armoury and let loose the dogs of war!

[graidawg]

celts are berserkers ...... dont make me angry you wouldnt like me when i'm angry! (im bringing my own sword)

[Joell]

Hey! Thanks everyone for the kind words. I hope this project is awesome this year. I will step it up and do some better fundraising websites for next year.

If you would like to help me...
When ever you are near the sword depots ((Center Camp, The Man, 3:00 and 9:00 Key Holes, Thunder Dome, and Terminal City)) please make sure if they are not being used, the swords are stacked inside of the buckets. I would hate for a 3 ft foam sword to roll all the way across the playa because they are not in the buckets. Tho, it would be fun moop to chase after. Har Har! If you know that a sword is broken, can you peel the tape back, take the cover off, and tie the cover to the sword handle of the sword. OR if you want to be really awesome bring the broken sword to Camp Apockalyptica in Terminal City 3:15 A. This goes without saying, but please try to make sure people do not steal my art projects... If you would like a sword (and you are awesome) you are more than welcome to swing by Terminal City on Sunday and chit chat with me.

Thanks everyone!
Joell

[reyesdtrojanman]

Wow that a great ideas you got there Joell. Hoping you got great comrades to help you this year.

[BAS]

Do all of the fundraising sites require that you make a video? I don't know a d--- thing about making videos...

(I suppose that first I should settle on one project idea before worrying about a video, but I still would like to know.)