I literally could not care less about your opinion / suggestions on how or where I express my opinion on this, but to clarify, I didn't tell anyone how they should spend their money. I said I found this absurd -which I do- and that (in not so many words) I would think less of him if he accepted, which I also do. Both parties are free to care as much or little about that as they like.

I see no reason at all why those observations would need to be made in private though. In fact, out in the open seems like exactly the place where any conversation about staff taking donations from users should take place.

I fully agree with you, but this is a different situation. Its not people giving money for favors, it's not corruption. It's a whip around. The only difference is Dan is "famous". His financial situation should be all that matters. If he is comfortable with it, I can only assume he has no way of replacing these things himself. He has the good luck of having a community who has taken to him very well and have decided to support him (edit - also, if you look at the donors its not just GB. alot of his buddies at IGN etc are donating). That is his only crime.

It's very easy to say he shouldn't take it, but having been in a similar situation to Dan I would have LOVED to have the same level of support around me. Thankfully, I eventually did get support, but it was touch and go. It does not feel wrong to me at all. What happens then? If it doesnt feel right to you, dont donate. If it does and you want to, do. I think its a fairly black and white situation but apparently his character MUST be called into question for accepting the kind help of strangers.

I agree with you there. While I think you are off base, I respect that you are upholding your principles.

I understand where you're coming from. But the gift, in this case, isn't a bribe, and Ryckert didn't solicit it. There isn't a conflict of interest if Dan accepts a goodwill gift from the audience. It's not like Activision stepped in and wrote him a $2000 check. And it's not like Ryckert stepped forward, hat in hand, asking for forum posters to pay for a new Xbox. I don't think it sets any harmful precedent.

Arguably it wouldn't matter if they were aware of those things. You can see from this thread though -and just generally being around the forum- that many users here genuinely believe they are friends with the staff. The staff are as aware of the nature of that relationship as I am. I think that's a harmless enough misunderstanding to tolerate right up until the point that direct financial contributions are being made to and accepted by staff. At that point you aren't so much tolerating it as cultivating and, arguably, exploiting it. And actually, I do think that is a shitty precedent to set.

Personally, I think if you want to accept financial help from friends after something like this then that's great; if you go accept financial help from people who desperately want to be your friend, believe they are your friend, but never will be your friend, then it starts to look a little questionable.

That's just my two cents. Which I'm also not going to donate.

Can someone give me money so I can make a nice down payment on a new house? Let's band together and get me a new fucking house! Who's with me!?

I want a sick house guys!

So, your main problem seems to be (please correct me if I am wrong) that because people on the forums believe themselves to be friends with the staff, they should not help Dan out and help him recover his losses from the break in. You are worried that this sets a precedent of people donating financially to the staff because of things that happen to them. Also you are assuming that the donators (paraphrasing) "desperately want to be his friend, believe they are his friend, but never will be his friend".

As I said earlier, I respect your stance and upholding your principles, but this is sounding more and more like a personal issue you have. I do not think I am Dan's friend. I do not think the vast majority of people who donated think they are Dan's friend. I don't know the man. However, I know of him. And what I see, I like. That's why I chose to help him. I, personally, think he deserves the help. And, I do not think there is anything wrong with accepting that help. We may be strangers, but we are both human beings living on the same planet. And, I am not unfamiliar with shitty things happening in life. So, I empathize and donated some money. People are free to not donate money, indeed if they feel weird about it they definitely should not, but as I have said before, I think belittling the actions of those who did is not at all a very nice thing to do.

EDIT - to clarify, by belittling, I mean implying we are all friend-hungry and looking for attention from Dan, rather than just giving because it's a nice thing to do.

Well said. The donors' hearts are in the right place, but this is definitely problematic. That said, I'm not sure this fund raising would have happened if someone stole jewelry or cash or other valuables. The stolen items are at least directly related to Dan's contribution to the site (but are not 100% necessary for him to do his job,) so I'm not sure he's crossing a line by accepting donations to return him to video gaming status quo and enable him to have the full range of experiences that go into his contributions to the site and community. If he accepted donations to replace a prized sneaker or stamp collection, however, that would be gross and exploitative.

im thinking about donating. You guys think its safe? I think he will get replacements from his friends regardless of our donations. torn

If he gets replacements, everything donated will go to charity, so I think you are indeed safe.

EDIT - if it is legitimacy you are worried about, read the first page or so, the guy who set it up has posted and provided what proof he feels is necessary. I trust him, but if you don't then I would advise against it :)

@splodge:

thanks man. Love your avatar! still got my credit card out waving it around as if I am about to make a choice

@mac122: Thanks, it's not me but a picture of my hero. Some random dude from a Russian dating website. A reminder that fortune favors the bold.

spot on.

you must have a real axe to grind with the mailbag posts then- people routinely gift the staff items that WELL exceed the typical $10 we're seeing on indiegogo. $10 doesn't even cover postage.

ultimately i think you're doing a lot of armchair psychology, friend. i threw $10 at dan because he was robbed, not because i expect him to call me on friday nights. i mean fuck- $10 is a coffee and a sandwich at starbucks- not a bloodoath that binds dan's fate to mine.

You must really lose your shit when they accept weird food items from fans without making it clear that it doesn't mean they're now friends. Get over yourself. There are perks of being a public figure but there are way more things that suck about it. It all balances out.

I will give money directly to the man that made Mario Party Party a thing.

I ain't care what you think.

Awesome! Dans Insurance came through. He is going to donate everything to charity, and it is still about 350 bucks off. Huzzah!

Beautiful. Seems like Dan got some stuff figured out and won't need the money after all. Promises to donate it to a couple of fantastic charities if it goes through. This community is awesome.

Excellent, I will go and donate. Hopefully it still meets the goal.

Big respect for @danryckert for donating money that he could've just taken for himself. Something shitty has become a positive.

If only the crackheads who stole his shit knew that they were making a difference in the world. Thanks, crackheads! (not really.)

Hey duders,

The campaign has been updated after Dan Ryckert's insurance went through. If we gather the last $340 then all of the money will be donated to Child's Play and the Wounded Warrior Project.

The details are on the campaign page.

Thanks to all who donated! Just a little more and we can do something awesome for charity. If not, at least we know there is a great group of people willing to put their money forward. If the campaign fails all money will be returned to those who donated.

Glad to hear that Dan's stuff went through and he'll be getting covered! I hope we hit the goal and this money sees its way to a charity now. We're pretty close!

Is anyone else still intersted in seeing this Indie go go suceed, I mean sure @danryckert has insurance covering his stuff but seeing that money go to charity would be nice. If it fails I will donate directly how much I pledged orignally.

It's only like $250 off

Well done everyone!

Cool, man. If it's the exact amount needed, I'm guessing someone made a last minute donation to make up the difference needed. So that's neat.