The crowdfunding site Kickstarter updated its policies for hardware and product design categories today in a manner that will absolutely cost the firm money, but relieves a bunch of the tension that's been rising over the last year with million-dollar-plus fundraising for items that see substantial delays in delivery.

Kickstarter won't allow drawings or simulations for products and electronics. Only the current state of a prototype can be pictured or shown in action (if there is any action) in video. Further, project creators can't sell multiples of an item, except if it's a set of disparate things. This will change things in a big way that should be good for Kickstarter and creators both. (All project impresarios will also have to fill out a "risks and challenges" section about what could go wrong and why someone is competent to fulfill the project. I encouraged this already to anyone asking me how to plan a project; I'm glad it's codified.)

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