Well I came across a conundrum and wanted to see what the Escapist community thought of it. Well I'm a fan of this one webcomic, Erfworld [http://www.erfworld.com/book-1-archive/?px=%2F001.jpg], and like many webcomics it gives its fans a chance to donate. The amount is rather modest, $3 a month and you get a fancy forum title. As an added bonus the money will be turned into store credit so that when they start selling their book you can count the money you gave in when buying it - penny for penny. I don't actually care about the book but I thought about just donating monthly because I liked the webcomic, like a patron.
I currently don't have a set income so I don't have money that I'm not using and don't have the luxury of setting a little bit aside now and then, otherwise I would. However, then the utilitarian in me popped up and said, "If you have $3 to throw away why not just forward it to charity or save for it - feed a child and all that good stuff?" This is indeed a valid point, and one could make the argument that donating to charity should make you as happy as donating to something like a webcomic. Sure $3 dollars a month isn't much but it adds up and every bit helps. As long as you make sure that the charity site is real and not a scam you would be donating to the greater good.
Now in order to drive my point home I will define the three choices on the poll: Patronage, Charity, & Both or none at all. When making these choices assume that the amount of money you might have available is more than $3.
Patronage:
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors. If you think of webcomic creators as artists, and ineed some do amazing work, then you would fit the bill as a patron because you are helping them along in their work in the hopes of seeing more of it. This form of patronage can also apply to supporting other websites such as wiki's which you frequent or even helping an organization you may support or are affiliated with.
Charity:
In modern usage, the practice of charity means the giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver. The more modern outlook on charity also implies that one not expect to get anything save altruistic gains from said action, otherwise its not charity. This is what separates its from patronage, as with that arangement you are expecting the person or group you are helping to come through for you in some way, shape or form. There are plenty of charities that offer bonuses for donating to them and plenty of webcomics that support charity - either case shall be considered patronage because you are getting something out of it besides altruistic gains and based on the presumption that charity focused donations tend to produce more outright good.
Both or none at all:
Some might settle for splitting the money they have on the side and giving one portion to charity and the rest for their own blatant use, including patronage. If what one has doesn't suffice for both sources then he can choose not to donate to either. This choice also applies if you wouldn't donate anyways for varying reasons.
What do you guys think?
I currently don't have a set income so I don't have money that I'm not using and don't have the luxury of setting a little bit aside now and then, otherwise I would. However, then the utilitarian in me popped up and said, "If you have $3 to throw away why not just forward it to charity or save for it - feed a child and all that good stuff?" This is indeed a valid point, and one could make the argument that donating to charity should make you as happy as donating to something like a webcomic. Sure $3 dollars a month isn't much but it adds up and every bit helps. As long as you make sure that the charity site is real and not a scam you would be donating to the greater good.
Now in order to drive my point home I will define the three choices on the poll: Patronage, Charity, & Both or none at all. When making these choices assume that the amount of money you might have available is more than $3.
Patronage:
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors. If you think of webcomic creators as artists, and ineed some do amazing work, then you would fit the bill as a patron because you are helping them along in their work in the hopes of seeing more of it. This form of patronage can also apply to supporting other websites such as wiki's which you frequent or even helping an organization you may support or are affiliated with.
Charity:
In modern usage, the practice of charity means the giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver. The more modern outlook on charity also implies that one not expect to get anything save altruistic gains from said action, otherwise its not charity. This is what separates its from patronage, as with that arangement you are expecting the person or group you are helping to come through for you in some way, shape or form. There are plenty of charities that offer bonuses for donating to them and plenty of webcomics that support charity - either case shall be considered patronage because you are getting something out of it besides altruistic gains and based on the presumption that charity focused donations tend to produce more outright good.
Both or none at all:
Some might settle for splitting the money they have on the side and giving one portion to charity and the rest for their own blatant use, including patronage. If what one has doesn't suffice for both sources then he can choose not to donate to either. This choice also applies if you wouldn't donate anyways for varying reasons.
What do you guys think?
