What is SpaceFN and why you should give it a try
The SpaceFN concept - setting up your space key as a layer switch when held - is probably one of the most useful tweaks in the keyboard hobby. Let me explain how it works. My SpaceFN article on kbd.news made some rounds recently - quite surprisingly given the age of this concept. This piece you're reading is a condensed version of the full post. If you're left with unanswered questions, you'll most likely find the info you're looking for in the original write-up. On my imaginary top list of the most useful keyboard features, tweaks and hacks, SpaceFN would deserve a podium finish for sure. But what makes it so special? In short: SpaceFN is easy to implement, easy to learn, costs nothing, can be used with any keyboard, and can improve your productivity instantly. I will list its benefits below, but can state right at this point that the SpaceFN concept, setting up your space key as a layer switch when held, is clearly one of the most useful tweaks in the keyboard hobby....
Apr 30, 2024
The MK community has brought MD a very significant amount of money, without a doubt. The Input Club alone, with the Ergodox and other inventions on here really made this a successful endeavor for MD, and attacking them in this way is just plain pathetic.
Is it too late for me to cancel my Godspeed order? I'd imagine it's too late for cancelling Nautilus, but if MD doesn't speak up and do the right thing, I'll be doing what I can to cancel. I'm sure MD will get some nice, serious competition, as now GB vendors will be in demand. I feel bad for Mito, Oblotzky, OLKB and other awesome community members who will lose out on customers this way, but this is bad business, and I hope they are able to rally to help IC and prevent this from happening to them in the near future.
Assuming things are as they now appear to be: Shame on you, Massdrop. Shame on you.
Sincerely,
Someone who likely would have spent a lot more money here.
Time to start dyesubbing my own caps..!
Thank you!
The keyboard community wasn't always a "big hit" for Massdrop, or even one of the biggest communities. We were a huge risk. Years ago there were only small individuals/groups running group buys and PMK had a few group buys in their store. The community was FAR smaller than it is now. For example, 1976 originally ran on the PMK store and barely hit the 100 buyers needed to be produced. My set Jukebox was the first SA set to ever run on MD, and it was just under 250 total kits sold (base kit+all over kits. It was a small buy!). MD really helped provide an option for the community to run buys through that had more accountability and was safer than some community buys, that had/have always had issues here and there. MD fronted the risk of the buy and provided a very safe platform to buy from (getting a refund from MD is not hard if there are issues, they often provide refunds when community buys never would).
The reason why the IC club stuff did so well on MD was greatly in part due to all the little buys they took risks on and made very little on the previous years. It took quite a while for MD to become what it is today for Mech Keys, and it was a lot of hard work. I watched it happen.
In this case MD acted like a parent company. They invested piles of money to prototype and create a product. They handled shipping logistics. They handled packaging. They did a whole lot that would have been extremely hard for IC to do on their own, and at the very least much quicker than they could have on their own had they just used Kickstarter from the start.
To me, from a business perspective, I can't understand the confusion here. It seems like common sense that MD would own the products they invested in. This is just how business works. It's a shame people can't see this and are so quick to call "foul" just because they are a "big company." The only "foul" I'd call here is for bringing this out in public, when it should have been handled behind closed doors through friendly talks like adults. This isn't "the communities" business. The community didn't have anything to do with this part of things.
When I say the MK community brought MD a lot of money, I don't mean that we just walked in and gave it to them. There were risks, to be sure, but where we are today, we've benefited MD financially quite a bit, right? In turn, they helped a lot of makers and buyers get things that wouldn't have been likely to happen.
To be fair here, IC isn't something that I have any feelings about. I think they are doing good things, and having MD fund there projects makes sense. It also makes sense that MD should have exclusive rights. I don't approve of this drama either, but I think what is happening is wrong on MD's part. I also think IC is being pretty petty/immature, but in the end, it's a lose-lose.
The confusion here is pretty obvious to a lot of us. There are two stories, and obviously, each party is only responding in a way that sheds positive light on them. I agree, this could have all been taken care of quietly, but that didn't happen. At this point, both parties had to inform their customers of potential changes. IC's kickstarter needs new switches, and that needed to at least be clarified. Again though, everything has been done poorly.
There is a big difference in something being legally possible/doable, and making a morally poor choice and exploiting those potential loopholes. That is what people aren't sure about. Sure, it was within MD's right, seemingly, but does that mean it is 'right'?