OK, reading through another thread, I realized I have used a term that is generally used in one sense, though others are applicable. The term is: invest.
Oftentimes, we hear invest used in reference to investing in a company. Purchasing a share in the company so that you can receive financial benefit from it. Usually, shareholders have some measure of control over how the company is then run.
When I say that I feel like this is an investment, this is not what I mean.
What I mean is that I spend a fair amount of time here, I suck up my share of bandwidth. And I have been doing that on the generosity of others. On one level, I have always been conscious of that. And it is easy to keep saying, “I’ll be a Community Supporter next month.” It took the unfortunate occurrence of getting it right down to the line before the site is shut down for me to get off my butt and do it.
It is surprising how little time it took me to make that decision. I saw Morrus’ announcement, noticed that it has single digit views, opened it up, did some work, read it and just sat there for a few seconds thinking “But, I was going to become a supporter, what happened?” It took me a few moments to realize that I cared enough to stop sitting on the bench. By the time I returned to the main thread, there was already a thread posted asking how we could help. The rest just keeps getting better. But, back to my point.
I expect that Morrus will have enough cash flow for the site to sleep easy. I expect that he will be able to treat this as a hobby and have fun. I do not expect him to tell us everything that he is going to do with the money.
When I say I want to invest in EN World, I am trying to say that I want to do whatever I can to help avoid getting to this point again in the future. I want to help out. I would like to offer ideas so that other people can take them apart and try to find any value in them. I use these boards a lot and I feel like I can give back to the community a little more than I do already. Invest is probably not the correct word to use. Especially since it is emotionally charged in economic terms. For my word choice, I apologize for any misunderstanding. But, for my intent, I really do want to know if there is any way that I can help in the future.
Thanks for hearing me out!