I was originally not going to answer this, but kiba posted his request https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5654008 and to my astonishment, it worked: through Paypal I have currently received $293.01 in 7 donations, through Bitcoin, 1.62btc ($189) in 4 donations.
I have replied to the Paypal donators (but not the Bitcoiners, since they're unreachable) thanking them but I would also like to thank them publicly here: I get very little feedback on my writing aside from little numbers ticking upwards in Google Analytics, and am often plagued by doubts - are my writings any good? Are they usually confined in a ghetto? Are people going away laughing at my ignorance and amateurism? Will they contribute meaningfully to anything at all or just represent an indulgent waste of time and intellectual masturbation? So to see a few comments raise almost overnight ~$500 moves me.
For the reasons I've said in the past. To which I can add personal safety: my Silk Road page is a bit questionable legally, and we all know that there are ways to exploit knowledge of one's True Name and address (even if, as far as I know, I have no enemies willing to resort to, say, 'swatting' me) - one group of stalkers called up a college they thought I worked at to see if they could get me fired or otherwise ruin my day.
I admire your prolific output, even if I don't agree with a lot of your conclusions (historical and political, that is, because your math/stat is too complicated for me to understand). I have to say, you have sparked a lot of discussion amongst me and my friends recently. The importance of argument from argument instead of from authority is made even more clear when the writer, by virtue of his (her?) anonymity, has no authority to fall back on, which makes his arguments even more critical. But it doesn't matter: some of the most accomplished people in history were amateurs. All that is required is a love of the subject, and you seem to love your subjects. Keep up the good work. BTC coming your way.
> I admire your prolific output, even if I don't agree with a lot of your conclusions (historical and political, that is, because your math/stat is too complicated for me to understand). I have to say, you have sparked a lot of discussion amongst me and my friends recently.
Hm, intriguing - I don't write about politics very much, I wonder what it could be... My little thing about the American Revolution, perhaps.
Thanks for the articles gwern, some bitcoin coming your way. But a suggestion, could you add your bitcoin address by the Paypal donate button on your site? I found it a little hard to find.
I have replied to the Paypal donators (but not the Bitcoiners, since they're unreachable) thanking them but I would also like to thank them publicly here: I get very little feedback on my writing aside from little numbers ticking upwards in Google Analytics, and am often plagued by doubts - are my writings any good? Are they usually confined in a ghetto? Are people going away laughing at my ignorance and amateurism? Will they contribute meaningfully to anything at all or just represent an indulgent waste of time and intellectual masturbation? So to see a few comments raise almost overnight ~$500 moves me.
> What's your day job?
Various things; as I say on http://www.gwern.net/Links#personal I sometimes write for people.
> Does your site make a significant amount of money?
No. I sometimes get donations, but not very much; they are all recorded in http://www.gwern.net/About#popularity if you're curious about specifics.
I recently added Google AdSense and Amazon affiliate linking because money was tight. These don't make very much either. Specifically:
- Google AdSense: $241 lifetime total (over 269k pageviews) - Amazon Affiliate: $59 total or ~$0.8 a day: http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/85192141/2013-05-04-total...
> Why do you choose relative anonymity?
For the reasons I've said in the past. To which I can add personal safety: my Silk Road page is a bit questionable legally, and we all know that there are ways to exploit knowledge of one's True Name and address (even if, as far as I know, I have no enemies willing to resort to, say, 'swatting' me) - one group of stalkers called up a college they thought I worked at to see if they could get me fired or otherwise ruin my day.