Why are these "fees" considered "donations"?

[Sephiroth]

Hey ExpertsOnline, been looking around here, and I'm interested in this bot. But the problem I have is you require "donations" to use it or certain VIP features.

The full definition of donation as described by Merriam-Webster is this:

:  the act or an instance of donating: as
a :  the making of a gift especially to a charity or public institution
b :  a free contribution :  gift

However, I don't agree with this, because "donations" are not "required" in any way, shape or form. These costs are actually "Fees".

: an amount of money that must be paid
: an amount that is paid for work done by a doctor, lawyer, etc.

Are you doing this to evade taxes? What is the purpose of calling it "Donations" instead of "fees"?

[JordanMillward_1]

Because the money goes straight into supporting the bot and paying for the costs involved in the bot, they are not for profit, or for Expert's work on the bot. It is a gift to help with the costs involved, and in turn, Experts rewards the donations with additional functionalities.

Given all the money goes back into the bot anyway, it wouldn't result in any taxable profits, so no tax is avoided, even if they were considered fees.

In addition, since Experts is in Singapore, the tax laws applying to him are almost certainly different to those you might be thinking of in relation to your allegation.

[Sephiroth]

I still consider them as fees instead of donations because they are required at this point. Donations are never required and should never be required.

I understand the funding goes into the development of it, but the termination is used incorrectly.

[ExpertsOnline]

You are right - these are fees.

However, I have kept these "fees" as low as possible to ensure this is affordable and beneficial to as many people as possible.
If I could offer it for free, I would. However, I simply do not have the financing to be able to support it at that level.

The reason it is termed as "donations" currently is so that people who wish to support the development of this project and have the means to do so, can choose to donate amounts higher that the minimum required levels. This is only while core development is under way. Once the final version is released, there would be proper "purchase" modes to "pay" for the services.

As for taxes, these "donations" are using the "payment" mode in PayPal and net surplus "revenue after expenses" will be disclosed in the Tax Jurisdiction of Singapore.

Regards,
Experts

[Sephiroth]

Makes sense, so I'm guessing the end product will be something you must purchase to use? This is something I have been wondering for some time since I've heard of this bot.

[ExpertsOnline]

Given the infrastructure costs, it will most likely not be a free to use solution.

While I can't go into specifics at this point, I will say I want to make this application as inclusive as possible.
There are still a few technical infrastructure hurdles I need to overcome, before I have full clarity over how things will shape up.

That being said, the most likely release structure I am thinking around, would include three features:

• Basic features for a fairly low cost, with premium features purchasable on demand. Pick and choose what you need for your stream, or get it all if thats what you are looking for!
• Ability to scale with the stream. A structure that is fairly low cost for smaller streams. However as your streams grow and consume more resources, your "plan" scales to keep up with your growth.
• Referral benefits. If your stream brings people to the DeepBot eco-system, you will get credits to subsidise your stream costs.

Happy to hear feedback, as this is still very fluid and still some time away.