Kuro5hin founder Rusty Foster's appeal for funds has been a roaring success, he told us today.

Rusty has appealed not to save Kuro5hin, well not directly, but something a far, far worse: wage slavery.

With text ad revenue shriveling, he appealed for readers who value the site to help raise next year's budget, and ensure it gets his full time devotion. The alternative would be a sell-out, or getting a full-time job.

And we wouldn't wish that on anyone .

"We're officially over $34K right now, and with 'check's in the mail' income, I think we're probably over the target," he told us today. Aah… never count on checks in the mail until you're sure they haven't bounced.

"Whenever I or K5 have been in trouble, people have been incredibly supportive, but this has to be some kind of record. Now I have $35,000 worth of expectation and trust to live up to, which is a huge terrifying thing.

"I'm going to be getting the company books in order, talking to the lawyers, and probably filling out paperwork for a solid month. But what should come out of it is, finally, Kuro5hin made flesh.

"Watching the site grow and organize and build itself has been amazing, and I can't wait to see how it crosses the gap from bits online to people acting in the world. I hope that we can
demonstrate an alternative model of how internet communities could seize their own destiny and become self-governing, rather than relying solely on the good will of some individual or company.

"It's been a hell of a week."

The Kuro5hin appeal is still only half-way to meeting its $70,000 target, so there's some way to go. In launching the appeal, Rusty noted that K5 "had 341,018 unique visitors last month. If every one of them kicked in a single dollar, not monthly or annually but one time, we'd be set for approximately the next four years." Let's hope he gets there. ®

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Not pronounced "Kew-ro-five-hin"