when you donate, you are not the one who personally receives the benefit, right? if you donate a car, you are not also using that car every once in a while.
to me that is the main distinction, who is benefiting from making that monetary contribution
otherwise, it is just an issue of timing, did I pay up front or later after a tried and liked the product
> when you donate, you are not the one who personally receives the benefit, right? if you donate a car, you are not also using that car every once in a while.
If you donate to a church, you often also enjoy the perks that that church offers, paid for by donations.
If you donate to a public radio station, you probably also enjoy listening to that radio station.
I absolutely personally benefit when I donate to a web comic artist and they are able to continue making comics that I enjoy reading via my RSS feed. I don't consider this a purchase.
It depends. Is the author giving away content for free or is it paywalled? There are both types of authors using patreon.
> then it is a purchase regardless of what someone calls it.
I'm comfortable saying that the authors who give it away for free and ask for donations are, in fact, receiving donations.