Hi Dave,
Just a thought: Would you also take donations, as in "here's $20, put that towards just about anything"? Say, maybe through PayPal? Dave the Blab Rabbit
Well, it's tricky. The sad thing is, this whole thing got messy because it's just logistically difficult to do all of this. We glossed over the details because it was messy, and we got raked over the coals for it.
Everyone wants to help, but it's actually quite difficult for us to make it all happen. We want to be awesome and do the right thing and help people pool their money to get games for troops for ZigCon (and pitch in ourselves) but it's just... Well, what can I say... we don't take PayPal, for starters, so... you could... put in an order and tell us, "For ZigguratCon: adjust this order to be for whatever makes the most sense for the best mix of games." But what a hassle for you! I can only apologize for our lack of capability to make this work - since it _seems_ so simple, it feels like a failing on our part, but really we're doing the best we can, and it ain't that bad.
Someone just now offered to donate their Rabbit points -- what a neat and generous idea! But... once again, a logistical nightmare. The whole Rabbit points thing has been a hack, lo, these many years, and one of its deficiencies is that while we can give someone points with impunity, we can't just take them away for no reason without using an actual order, or invoking programmers.
Financially, we have no qualms about giving people a discount for this cause. Yes, of course we need cash, but we could totally do a 20% discount -- but it means me having to whip out a calculator and figure out what the cost should be for every line item on every order and change it by hand (!) so we are loathe to officially announce that that is the plan (as of now, it's still not the plan, unless we hear an awful lot of people calling for it).
Yes we know our shopping cart and order processing software ought to be able to do this more simply, but it's a kludgy mess, and we're working on remedying that situation, but we're not there yet (and when we get there, yes, we'll end up being able to take PayPay, too, for what it's worth). Yes, we want to help, but we are busy, and we have to take practical considerations into account.
So it's sad, but we find ourselves wishing we had never entertained this idea, what with all this brouhaha. Between getting flack for trying to help, and wanting to accommodate those who are trying to help us make it work, the whole thing has really blown up in our faces.
But yes. As far as I am concerned - and I am the one processing orders, so I feel I can say this - you can do a virtual donation of whatever amount you like by putting in an order, and adding some version of the text I suggested above. In other words, do the whole thing where you put the ZigguratCon address as the ship-to, and feel free to write a message to the troops --> and mention in the special instructions that the specific product you chose is flexible, and can be switched out for whatever is most appropriate, for the same value.
Thinking about it now, I suppose it would also work to donate Rabbit points by putting in a ZigguratCon order for some low value item, like a flower or something (so that you get charged shipping) and then using your Rabbit points to eliminate shipping. This will enable the points to actually be subtracted from your Rabbit account. Once again, yes, it's a bit of a hassle for you, but that's actually the easiest way. If anyone would like to do it, we'll make it work.
We appreciate everyone's generous offers, because we DO think it is an awesome idea to send them games for their Con in the middle of a war zone. They deserve that for what they're going through.
Thanks for everyone's support in this effort. -Alison