Voice of Kiki

Why YOU should Defend the Nifty!

    Hi all! Welcome to my first rant posting. Today's rant was inspired by last night's chat with the uber-talented Pete Abrams. It was highly informative and, of course, highly hysterical. On top of the ability to chat one-on-one with the creator of my favorite addiction, I was also afforded the ability to share time and bond with my fellow Defenders of the Nifty. This proved to be almost as exciting as the Pete chat… almost.

    For those who haven't heard of the Defenders of the Nifty, I will give a short explanation. We defend the nifty. Too short? In that case, in semi-short, Defenders of the Nifty (or DotNs) are people who contribute a minimum of $25 (U.S.) a year to help pay Pete's expenses. For anyone who doesn't already know, Pete works full time on Sluggy. It is his only job. Not only does he have to take care of his family, but actually running the site takes money. It takes money to afford the server space (which is probably massive since it holds the entire daily run of the comic, Sluggy's merchandise store, Pete's email [of which he receives several hundred each day], Trillian's email, ShirtGuy Tom's email, the DotN-only site [more on that later], the kitchen sink, and Pete only knows what else), as well as the money you usually have to pay to reserve a domain name for each year. Let's just suffice it to say that even if Pete had another job, it still takes lots of money to simply post Sluggy everyday. Despite all this, Pete works hard to keep Sluggy pop-up free, and completely free-of-charge to everyone. Isn't he a super-nifty guy?

    Defenders have decided to contribute, in some small way, to Sluggy to ensure that the comic can continue, and so Pete doesn't have to get a real job. Since Pete is such a nifty guy, he's decided to give EVEN MORE content to the DotNs. We get our own password-protected site with lots of extra stuff. We are able to change the look of the page to fit our own taste. (I'm currently using the Scifi skin that Pete designed.) There are a couple of Wallpapers you can use for your desktop. We get our own message boards and, like I said at the beginning of the rant, we get to occasionally chat with Pete. There's tons of other perks, but I don't want to spoil it all. Besides, the perks aren't the point.

    The true joy of membership is being able to give back to a guy who brings laughter and joy to thousands of people every day. This is the true reason to be a DotN. You have the warm, fuzzy feeling you get from knowing that you are supporting a community of wonderful people. You are taking your place in a continuing cycle of people who help pay for the site so that the less fortunate do not have to. If you have a job, is it too much to ask you to donate $25 a year to help this poor underprivileged third-world child…. oops wrong rant… I mean this wonderfully nifty comic? It's only $25 a year people. That's less than a cup of Starbucks coffee. Granted, donating to Sluggy isn't exactly funding the cure for cancer (although Pete DID mention that he'd like his daughter to go to medical school, so that may help). However, if laughter is the best medicine, then I proudly nominate Pete Abrams for a Nobel Prize.

    I, Voice of Kiki, am a Defender of the Nifty… and darn proud of it.

This site is in no way affiliated with Pete Abrams or Sluggy Freelance. All official Sluggy artwork or text is copyright Pete Abrams. All original content is copyright Voice of Kiki and may not be copied without permission. All other content is the property of its respective owner. This is a not-for-profit fan site.