As some (or most) of you have noticed, I've added one of those little paypal donation gizmos to the side of the page.

As to why, that's a somewhat more difficult question. As everybody who has read this site for any length of time has probably figured out, I'm not much for autobiographical details, and actually spent rather a lot of time and effort defending that stance. I still believe in the concept and necessity of pseudonymity. That being said, it probably isn't an enormous admission to say that I'm not exactly wealthy, and that I have other activities that (by necessity) drain away both time and energy that I could be using on the site. Like most bloggers, this is fundamentally a hobby. Unlike most bloggers, I tend to spend rather a lot of time writing lengthy posts (cue the groans of agreement), so it's not really something I can do "on the sly" in between or during other activities.

(Yes, this is part of the reason why I don't futz around with my template much.)

Plus, I'm a liberal, not a socialist. I have no problem at all with the prospect of "selling out", nor any beef with those that do. I rather like the idea of people having patrons; that's one of the reasons I make a point of saying that the problem with Scaife et al isn't that they exist, but that nobody has stepped up on the other side of the field and said "if he can do it, I can do it". I've always considered the online donation idea a brilliant one, so am not particular averse to benefiting from it.

Hence the button. Feel free to donate, or not, but rest assured that it would be appreciated and noted. Those who are actually generous enough to donate a significant amount (Significant amount being defined as one that will provoke a whistle and perhaps some surprised profanity; not as much as you'd think) and leave their names will be recognized on the site (I'll put a "Donors" thing below the Bloglist).

And yes, I'll consider changing the template if enough paying customers ask me for it.

Edit: Nevermind. I'll have to change account types first. Should be back up in a day or two.