Frequently-Asked Questions regarding the PICLIST Fund ----------------------------------------------------- This FAQ is HUGE... How often are you going to be filling my mailbox with copies of it? Approximately once every two weeks while the Fund is open, then never again. The PICLIST generates 20-50 messages per day, so this FAQ should represent only a very small percentage of the total list traffic. Why do we need the PICLIST Fund? The PICLIST was started in early 1994 by Jory Bell, who's been operating, maintaining, and (occasionally) moderating it since then. If you subscribe to other internet mailing lists, you know that this one is particularly well-run; Jory's managed to make the list a truly valuable resource for all of us, and we all owe him a huge debt of gratitude. Lately, however, a number of issues have arisen: 1. The free MIT list-server that Jory has ben using may go away, necessitating a switch to a commercial server. 2. List-administration and -maintenance requirements have grown along with the PICLIST membership (currently, over 1000 people subscribe to the list), and Jory's old hardware is starting to become overloaded. 3. We'd all like to add new peripheral services to the PICLIST. An FTP site, web page, etc., would all be nice. The Fund exists in order to give list-members a way to donate money to the PICLIST. The Fund will be open for donations for six months, then it'll be closed and all the collected money will be given to Jory. Who's the custodian of the Fund? I am. Why you? Why not? Someone had to do it. I thought the PICLIST was free. Does this mean that we'll now have to pay money for access? NO! Everyone CAN contribute, but no one HAS to. Donations are ABSOLUTELY voluntary; you won't gain any personal privileges if you donate, and you won't lose any if you don't. No one will think any less of you if you choose not to contribute to the Fund, and if you don't contribute, the list (for as long as it's operational) will continue to be available to you for free, as it always has been. Jory has no intention of transforming the PICLIST into a fee-based service; the Fund has been set up for one-time voluntary donations only. What will the money be used for? I don't know yet, and neither does Jory... Until we have an idea of how much money there'll be, it doesn't make much sense to decide how to spend it. If you have any specific suggestions, however, please send them to me in private e-mail (Jory's busy enough already) and I'll pass them along to him. All we know right now is that we want to ensure that the PICLIST can survive without depending on the generosity of any one individual or corporation. If we can also expand the PICLIST to include auxiliary services like a list-member FTP site for distributing code samples, list archives, etc., that'd be great, too. One thing that you CAN be sure of is that ALL of the money will go to Jory... I'm donating the time and effort required to maintain the Fund; NO PORTION of the money is going to me. What if we donate our money and the list disappears anyway? Will there be any refunds? No. So how do we know that Jory won't just take the money and run? We don't. The money in the Fund will be given to Jory WITH NO STRINGS ATTACHED, so there are NO GUARANTEES as to the use to which he'll put it. If this makes you uncomfortable, try to think of your donation as an expression of gratitude for information you've ALREADY received from the list. If you STILL feel uncomfortable, please don't donate. How do we know that YOU won't take the money and run? I guess you don't, really... But keep in mind that I run a business whose success depends largely on my personal reputation. It wouldn't make much sense for me to risk that reputation for a sum of money that I expect will amount to less than what my business generates every couple of weeks. To ensure that contributors can track their donations, I'll be doing the following: 1. Whenever a donation is received, I'll assign a "contribution number" to it and notify the contributor in private e-mail that his donation has been received. 2. Every two weeks, I'll post a summary of the Fund activity. This summary will detail EVERY donation, including the contribution number and (unless you've told me otherwise) each contributor's name. Also, I'll be happy to tell any potential contributor how to get in touch with an officer at the bank where the PICLIST Fund account is located... Just send me private e-mail. How do I donate to the Fund? I've set up an account at a local bank specifically for the PICLIST Fund. The bank doesn't want to receive checks directly, so if you'd like to contribute, please send checks only (I don't want to deal with cash or credit cards) to the following address: The PICLIST Fund c/o Fast Forward Engineering 1984 Casablanca Court Vista, CA 92083-5043 USA IMPORTANT: Checks must be made out to "Andrew Warren and Jory Bell"; BOTH of our signatures will be required in order for any funds to be withdrawn from the account, so this shouldn't make anyone nervous. Please include your e-mail address with your check. If you want your donation to be anonymous (as far as the rest of the list is concerned), please include a note to that effect. Is my donation tax-deductible as a "charitable contribution to a non-profit organization"? No. For income-tax-reporting purposes, Jory will probably report it as "gift income". How much should I donate? The short answer is, "As much as you feel is appropriate." I've given some thought to this, though, and I've come up with some suggestions based on a three-tiered "contributor level": LEVEL: AMOUNT: EXPLANATION: --------------------------------------------------------------- FRIEND $10 If you're a Student, you should be able to (Student) afford $10. This is less than the cost of one audio compact disc or a tank of gasoline, and it's not much more than the quantity-one retail price of a PIC16C84. FRIEND $30 If a Student can afford $10, anyone with a job (Employed) should be able to afford $30. PATRON: $50 A decent programming reference book costs at least this much. If you've received as much useful information from the list as you might reasonably expect to find in the average textbook and want to show your gratitude, this is the way. GOD: $75 Many of us have actually profited financially from the list, either through help that other list-members gave us with our commercial products or through sales of development software and hardware that we've advertised on the list. If you fall into this category, a $75 donation shouldn't significantly affect your balance sheet. Note that contributing at a particular level doesn't actually MEAN anything... Sorry, but you won't receive a commemorative T-shirt or coffee mug even if you donate at the "God" level. I don't live in the USA. Can I contribute with a check drawn on funds other than US dollars? Yes. I have more questions about the Fund. Should I send them to Jory Bell? Probably not. Jory and I are in contact, but he's not involved in the day-to-day running of the Fund. It'd be best to send your questions to me IN PRIVATE E-MAIL. -Andy Andrew Warren - fastfwd@ix.netcom.com Fast Forward Engineering, Vista, California http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/2499