Kickstarter Introduces Stricter Hardware and Product Design Guidelines

Rob Williams · 09-21-2012, 05:12 PM

In an effort to prevent projects from over-promising and under-delivering (or not delivering at all), Kickstarter has issued some new guidelines that new projects must adhere to. With so many projects lately being labeled as scams or potential scams, it's no wonder that the company has felt it necessary to increase backer security, and I've got to say, some of the new rules should be quite affective.

Read the rest of our post and then discuss it here!

madmat · 09-21-2012, 05:58 PM

what if your project is vaporware?

Yeah, I agree that it should have been mandatory to have a working prototype from the outset.

ET3D · 09-23-2012, 03:34 AM

Thanks for the heads up. As I commented on the Kickstarter item, I think it would have been better to force showing the current state of the project, rather than disallow showing the vision for it. Still, the idea of forcing the creators to think of and discuss the risks is good for everyone, IMO.

madmat · 09-23-2012, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ET3D

Thanks for the heads up. As I commented on the Kickstarter item, I think it would have been better to force showing the current state of the project, rather than disallow showing the vision for it. Still, the idea of forcing the creators to think of and discuss the risks is good for everyone, IMO.

The thing is, you can have a prototype that's nothing like the final design. It's just showing that you have proof of concept rather than just an idea.

It's basically what the patent office needs to start doing. Don't just patent abstract ideas, patent working things.

09-21-2012, 05:12 PM	#1
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	Kickstarter Introduces Stricter Hardware and Product Design Guidelines In an effort to prevent projects from over-promising and under-delivering (or not delivering at all), Kickstarter has issued some new guidelines that new projects must adhere to. With so many projects lately being labeled as scams or potential scams, it's no wonder that the company has felt it necessary to increase backer security, and I've got to say, some of the new rules should be quite affective. Read the rest of our post and then discuss it here! __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

09-21-2012, 05:58 PM	#2
madmat Soup Nazi Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: No soup for you! Posts: 1,636	what if your project is vaporware? Yeah, I agree that it should have been mandatory to have a working prototype from the outset. __________________ M4N82 Deluxe Phenom II 940 Black Edition quad core @ 3.5Ghz 2x1 gig OCZ PC26400 Platinum, 2x1gig GSkill PC26400 EVGA GTX260 Buncha drives, Some other stuff, Even more stuff, If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get a million miles per gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside. --Robert X. Cringely, InfoWorld magazine Sign Me!

09-23-2012, 03:34 AM	#3
ET3D Obliviot Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2	Thanks for the heads up. As I commented on the Kickstarter item, I think it would have been better to force showing the current state of the project, rather than disallow showing the vision for it. Still, the idea of forcing the creators to think of and discuss the risks is good for everyone, IMO.