stonebro: If a project fails, your money is lost. Simple.
uulav: That is horrible news for those who have invested huge sums of money into one that fails.
Not really. People that pledge to kickstarters are fully aware of the uncertainty and the risk. It goes with the territory.
But for example I would not give money to someone I do not know at all. But when someone like Tim Schaffer, Brian Fargo or Chris Avellone asks for pledge, well then pledge I will. Because I trust those people and am pretty sure they would not kill their reputation by not delivering (unless there are unforseen external circumstances like meteor crashing on their building, obviously).