I have to admit, Meghann looks very cute. Already donated my $20. =)

What exactly is Ben playing with?

I fully agree with more pictures of cats.

Is that a rounded 0%? I mean, if you round to the nearest percentage, 0% of the federal bailout went for bonuses.

Whoa, just checked out the link. I always read Consumerist although never commented much, and I had no idea you went not-for-profit. So, you're no longer owned by Gawker media but still linked into the different site through profiles? I will need to read through your "we'll tell ya" link.

My head, it spins.

Also, I will make sure to donate next week when I am certain I'll have a job :-)

@pecan 3.14159265: It looks like some kinda badge on one of those extenders that connect to your belt clip. i used to do that alllllll the time when i had one. lol.

@audemars: err, just connect to your belt. ignore the word "clip."

@Zclyh3: Agreed. Consumerist would do well to make this a regular feature.

@pecan 3.14159265: Looks like an RFID badge, used commonly as security cards in buildings. It's on a retractable cord. I do that with mine all the time. :)

Yes, that's Ben's ID card. And he's already been reported to security for abusing it. ;)

I do have one concern...there was no security when I went to make my donation. Is there a form of SSL on that site?

Well this sucks. I filled out the form, I clicked continue and I get a page load error. Has my donation gone through? If I fill it out again will I get double charged?

@pecan 3.14159265: Call me an outlier, but after this morning's adorable mouse in a motorcar, I would also support more pictures of mice.

@davere: Alright, I tried again, this time I got to a page where I was asked to confirm my donation so my first attempt didn't work, this second one did.

I can't watch videos at work :-( I also have no speakers and didn't bring my headphones today.

For future fundraising efforts, can you please consider close-captioning your videos and/or providing a transcript?

I know it's kind of lame, but content exclusively through videos makes me feel left out.

@davere: Thanks for your donation! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly.

Marc Perton
Executive Editor
Consumer Media LLC
info@consumermediallc.org

@Its_Miller_Time: Consumerist does not have SSL, but the donation site does. You should see "https" in the URL, and the standard "lock" icon displayed by your browser. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Marc Perton
Executive Editor
Consumer Media LLC
info@consumermediallc.org

@floraposte: I think that was a hamster.

@Marc Perton: How do we know this isn't a phising attempt? I think I read on The Consumerist about people contacting you for payment information..... :)

@oneandone: How about lolcat subtitles?

@Zclyh3: Meghann could sell yesterday's newspaper today.

I'm afraid I agree with the "needs more kats" crowd. So here's some of me and my zoo:





And for the "Dog" people, a picture of me with the Seeing Eye Puppy I helped raise for awhile:

@Penny Plastic: I've always wondered that too! I knew that the Consumerist had been sold, but I've always wondered why our Gawker profiles still work on this site. Not complaining at all, obviously, just curious...

@Zclyh3: Cute, indeed.

@PETAKillsKittens_GitEmSteveDave:

The picture with the cat in the pants and dog is very cute!

@pecan 3.14159265: Here, I'll help you out:

Meghann: OH HAI BEN, SRY 2 INTERRUPT BUT TEH DATA HAS COME IN. WE NED 2 POST MOAR PICTUREZ OV KATS.

Ben: I KNOE. I HAS TEH CHART

@Zclyh3: The picture of the cat is cute, but the cat himself is a pain.

@pecan 3.14159265: He's pulling a Dexter St. Jock, trolling for unhappy women on vacation without their boyfriends.

@floraposte: In my pictures below, there is a picture of a mouse. Of course, in the photo is also my cat, Angel. And let's just say two minutes later, there was only one...

@Con Seannery '09: Illegal in 1 Giz: So only about $2.8 billion? Yeah, I guess that isn't much. I mean, it would hardly put a dent in my car payment.

@Marc Perton: So Meg slapped his hand? :D

What is the current business relationship between Consumerist and Gawker Media? Will any donations get into Gawker coffers?

@Zclyh3: Imagine what would happen if there was a video of Meg with a cat! *hint hint*

@Marc Perton:

Marc, thanks for the prompt response. My work broswer did not show up with the "https" or the "lock" icon, but my home browser did.

Thanks again!

I donated $25 thursday but if theres gonna keep being funny videos from time to time I may just make in a weekly thing to donate.

I'll just have to stop giving the homeless guy up at 7-11 $25 every friday so he can get some vodka.

I don't think he's really homeless anyways

@PersonalBest: Without being able to see the backend code, I can only speculate, but here are my educated guesses:

1) Consumer Reports negotiated a deal where Consumerist would still be using Gawker Media's database and blogging engine to handle comments etc until such a time as they could develop their own solutions.

2) Gawker sold of the name and the hosting, but since storage is so cheap nowadays, doesn't really care about cutting off Consumerist's database access.

3) Gawker is smart and knows a lot of people found their other blogs through consumerist, and knows it's good marketing for people to be able to see their franchises. They won't take any action to cut them off until Consumerist migrates on their own.

4) The owners of Gawker are relatively non-savvy, just hopping on the "net 2.0" bandwagon, and aren't really sure what a PHP, mySQL, SOAP, AJAX, or DHTML are, and wouldn't even know that they use it if you told them, and thus don't even realize that consumerist is using their databases still.

I'm guessing it's some compination of one and three or two and three.

@davere: If you get double-charged, you know you can trust the Consumerist to be on the case. Even if it's on their own case. Rawr.

@PETAKillsKittens_GitEmSteveDave: You mean he's a pain if he's still in the pants when you try to put them on, right?

@jyindc: Gawker Media supplies our software and hosting. Consumerist is wholly owned by Consumer Media LLC and all donations will go to funding Consumerist's ongoing operations.

Marc Perton
Executive Editor
Consumer Media LLC

@jyindc: I can't attest to it as an expert, but from what I have gathered from the many posts:
Gawker gives Consumerist 1 year technical support and also they have interchangeable comment accounts.

As for the money, at the donation page, the follwing is posted:

(P.S. Donations are tax deductible for U.S. taxpayers. Your donation will go to Consumer Media LLC, the not-for-profit Delaware Limited Liability Corporation that publishes The Consumerist. Donations will be used solely to fund the operations of The Consumerist. More information about Consumer Media LLC is available here. You can find the Annual Report and tax statements of Consumers Union, the parent company of Consumer Media LLC, here. For additional information, please send an email to info@consumermediallc.org.)

@floraposte: Hamster.

Long live Consumerist! I donated. But please no more cats.

YESSSS.. more cats!

Gladly donated. The tips and information on here have helped me reclaim money from companies who violated posted policies.

= cost of donation - $15
= money companies gave me back - $100+
= Having The Consumerist publish a story I sent in plus a personal phone call with Cingular public relations - Priceless

Meg with a cat?

So what you're saying is you want to see Meg's -- oh, I get it.

@calquist: It would blow my mind man. That would be too much cuteness in one video.

The Consumerist is one of those few things that when the chance to donate showed itself, I had no hesitation. Great site guys, it always makes my day.

@LadySiren: Sadly, that HAS happened. But no, except when asleep that cat is an enormous pain. He knows how to opens cabinets. So his sister makes him open cabinets, and she leaps into them. W/o him, she's a princess.

@ChChChacos: What? No cats? Disemvowel!

@PETAKillsKittens_GitEmSteveDave: I knew it! You're a cat! Who is the guy in the pictures with you???