342
Backers
$26,658
pledged of $25,000 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on November 22, 2009.
Pledge $25 or more
You'll be listed as one of the benefactors of my sabbatical page, and shown as a patron. You will also be added (if you wish) to an e-mail list that will be notified each Friday of project updates, and links to new material I've brought online, at least 2 days before I otherwise announce it.
Pledge $50 or more
You'll be listed as one of the benefactors of my sabbatical page, and shown as a patron. You'll also get a compilation of the main TEXTFILES.COM site as well a collection of subsites provided as downloadable links to ISOs.
Pledge $100 or more
You'll be listed as one of the benefactors of my sabbatical page, and shown as a patron. You'll also get a compilation of the main TEXTFILES.COM site as well a collection of subsites,on 3 DVD-ROMs (estimated) packaged and autographed, as well as links to ISOs of same.
Pledge $625 or more
Everything offered previously, plus I will come to your location for an evening, play footage/episodes from the BBS Documentary or Get Lamp, and discuss with your group about whatever related subjects you'd like to. Must be reasonable driving distance for a day trip, so I can avoid flight/hotel costs. Presentation length would be variable, probably in the range of 2-3 hours. You'd also get 3 copies of the BBS documentary at the end. You will also get a copy of GET LAMP sent to you. Message me for questions or details.
Pledge $750 or more
You're listed as a patron, and get sent a hard drive with all of the textfiles.com properties, in either EXT3 or NTFS format. This is roughly a terabyte of content, all yours. I'll gladly autograph it or pose with it if that's your thing. You'll also get a copy of the BBS Documentary and a future copy of GET LAMP when it comes out.
Project By
Connected as Jason Scott (1029 friends)
Jason Scott runs TEXTFILES.COM, a collection of historical computer documents and files related to the bulletin board system era of online life. Over the years, he has moved into digital preservation, radical archiving, and public speaking on the hilarity and tragedy of the world of data. He attended Emerson College as a Film Major and then waited 10 years to begin work on a film about Bulletin Board Systems called "BBS: The Documentary". Finishing this, he turned his attention to a film about Text Adventures and Interactive Fiction called "GET LAMP". He is very, very talkative.
HOO-rah!!
Jason, congrats on the Archive.org position. Your success keeps the rest of us optimistic that someday we'll all be able to make careers doing our hobbies!
I was thinking aloud about fundraising for a year's worth of living expenses (about $10k more than yours) and an acquaintance sent me to your project. I'd love to ask you more questions about your success if that's ok!
Jason, glad to have been part of this. I've been following you since before the BBS doc, and I am eager to see Get Lamp. Is your scottathon available for download anywhere, or only streaming?
Glad to contribute to your effort and looking forward to GET LAMP.
It is so worth every penny to help you continue your art unhindered, my friend. Way to go!
re: moot that's awesome... now how about releasing that 4chan archive?
Threw $25 your way. I loved the BBS documentary and I can't wait for GET LAMP. I hope this can evolve into a full time gig, I'd love to see more projects in the future.
The user who donated the exact amount to push me to 100% was moot of 4chan.
Alkivar: When I made my pledge, the counter said 25,050, so I guess it was the guy before me (Paul Conroy).
Jason does Kickstarter tell you which user pushed you over your goal?
WE HAVE WINRAR!!!
Congrats, Jason!
YAY! :)
Congrats - thats the power of the internet right there :)
Congratulations!!!
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
Just pledged a tiny amount, but look forward to learning about your area of expertise. Found you through Sockington & Co and figured anybody with such a fabulous sense of humor and kitty smarts must be able accomplish something great in their real field. Good luck!
I really enjoyed the BBS documentary and i look forward to your new project.
People who are contributing to the $750+ level of the fundraiser are being sent hard drives with TEXTFILES.COM on them as a courtesy to save them time of downloading the equally available files through an internet connection. They are not being sold hard drives of textfiles.com, nor are the people who are being sent DVD-ROMs or the people downloading ISOs being sold either of those items.
Folks who want TEXTFILES.COM material are able to acquire it in a large variant spectrum of media, including a torrent: http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4315677/Textfiles.com_Archive_July_2008
Your work with HOE, PuD and whatever else your work under the handle of "AIDS" appears available in this and many other locations online. Being unhappy that it's on a mailed magnetized disk versus a TCP/IP packet seems unusual, to say the least.
Dear Jason,
Can you speak to the authors' rights and copyrights you will be violating on the hard drives that you're sending out to your patrons? Does this seem like an even remotely ethical situation for you to be in-- after establishing your reputation on the honorable collection of other people's work, you're now selling copies of this work in exchange for your independent solvency? How does this in any way honor the implicit social contract of textfiles.com with the various authors it has hosted for well over ten years?
I am sending you email to formally request that we discuss this issue and asking you, as a man of honor who has done the BBS world an enormous good, to hold off before you distribute unauthorized copies of my work and the work of thousands of others.
many thanks,
Jarett
9% left!!! GO Jason!
I'm glad to support your project. I've gotten a lot of use out of textfiles.com over the years, and as a fellow historian, I think what you are doing to preserve computer and internet history is admirable.
You're worth every penny, and it's a no-brainer to do this.
ROCK ON! Let's hit this thing, so close!
I'd never heard of you, but threw a meager $40 your way as an encouragement to finish "Get Lamp". It sounds cool. I hope to be able to buy a copy.
Good luck!
omg can't waiiiit
I just doubled my pledge... lets hit this goal early!
throwing in my 10 bucks
International account (btw. hi from Slovenia :) gone thru without a hitch!
You go, Jason!
I upped my pledge.
The telethon sounds like a great idea and i'll be tuning in for sure. You do a lot of great work and are an inspiration to me and others. Hope to see you reach your goal.
You've done enough that it seems as though these things really should be your day job by now. I don't know how that would actually happen for you, but I'm happy to throw your way what little I can so you can make it happen for at least a little while.
I'm really happy to support you because all this history has such emotional resonance for me. Also I'm fascinated by this project funding model. Hope it spreads.
Glad to hear you got it working Grant!
It was my pleasure to jump through the inevitable hoops. The cause is well worth the effort. Now, get back at it kiddo …
Thanks for taking the extra time to figure out how to do it, Grant. On one hand, it's annoying how the internationals have to jump through a few hoops, but on the other hand, we're talking money here, and hoops always end up being jumped through.
To Trevor: I figured it out. I couldn’t use my existing Amazon.com account login and simply add the Amazon Payments profile to it. Once I created a new account using a different email address (but the same Canadian billing address), it worked. Thanks.
To Grant: I have a Canadian address and Amazon Payments worked just fine -- the issue is with -receiving- payments, not sending them. Give it a shot and it should work.
Would love to pledge and help you out, Jason … but Amazon Payments doesn’t work for Canadian addresses. I’ll see if I can do an end run around this little obstacle and get you more support.
I'm in. Let's see what happens when Jason gets some real time!
Go, Jason, Go! I got your back.
Very cool. Keep up the great work!
You're on your way! I'm sure you'll meet your goal. Now if only Sockington and/or Penny knew about this...Looking forward to you completing your projects!
I love your work, you've always been there for everybody, I am proud to pledge to this project!
You've been a source of guidance and inspiration for me for almost twenty (!) years. Keep up the good work. I hope you meet your goal!
I wish I could support more. I really hope this goes through for you Jason. Really looking forward to GET LAMP and the Infocom doc's that you've got scanned. Good luck!
You're doing some amazing work, providing depth and quality in a field which is almost entirely relegated to the occasional write up in Wired, etc. Can't wait to see the result of this sabbatical should it be successful.