Variance Hammer is supported, ad-free, by the generous support of our backers on Patreon. If you enjoy the content of the site, and would like to show your support, please consider joining them.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Why Patreon?: Variance Hammer was originally supported using Google AdSense, the usual advertising network you see on websites. To be frank, it wasn’t worth the hassle – advertisement supported websites are a tough game to be in these days. Just look at your favorite major hobby news site, and see how many ads they have up. In the end, it wasn’t worth decrease in the reader experience. Patreon allows for an ad-free experience, interaction between creators and patrons, and all other sorts of handy things.
What Does My Patronage Support?: The proceeds from our Patreon campaign go to support server fees, defraying the cost of buying the occasional item I wouldn’t otherwise bother with because it’s worth reviewing, etc. By and large, Variance Hammer loses money (no one should get into hobby blogging with the intent of making money) but our patrons help a great deal.
Why Per-month instead of Per-post Support?: This was a hard one to decide. Patreon has two different models – you can support a creator by donating per-work, or as a flat monthly donation regardless of productivity. I ended up going with the monthly version because it felt…simpler. For example, I broke the Eldar codex review into eight parts for readability – but does that really mean it should be worth $8 (assuming $1/post)? Is a post that requires hours of coding the same as a soapbox rant? As laid out in a post, both are popular, though possibly with different people. A monthly support framework is just…easier.