I was one of the many people who first took serious notice of Kickstarter last year. As more interesting projects began to crop up on the site, I had a hard time not getting drawn in by the promise of cool new products that I could personally help bring to life.

Of course, a big part of Kickstarter is the reward system. You’re welcome to pledge any amount of money you want, but the more you give, the better a reward package you can get. So, when I pledge for a new board game or graphic novel, why not go ahead and kick in enough money to get the finished product and maybe one or two extras?

But when I make that pledge and see the expected delivery date, I know that the accuracy of that date is suspect. Things happen behind the scenes, whether production issues, shipping problems or various other delays. Kickstarter might project delivery in July, but the package can easily slip back to October.

As a backer, I know to be ready for that.

However, one particular project I pledged, a reprint of the board game “Tammany Hall,” has seen a great number of people getting angry because the game is now more than two months late. Again, the late shipping of Kickstarter projects is nothing new, but the problem people have here is with the company behind the project, Pandasaurus Games.

Back in December, the project received an update saying the game was about to ship. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, this turned out not to be the case. For many, this was a sign that the company had lied to them, when it was simply a case of misinformation.

This is a common problem with Kickstarter projects. Backers develop this sense of entitlement. They pledge their money and take it as a personal insult when their reward doesn’t ship on time. They begin to believe they’re being ripped off or scammed.

The problem with this attitude is that Kickstarter, as the site’s creators constantly work to communicate to users, is not a store. You are not pre-ordering a product that has a set release date. You are pledging money to help develop a product that might never come out otherwise.

It’s true more professionals are starting to use Kickstarter, but the site still serves its original purpose of allowing anyone the chance to put their idea out there and see if others want to help make it a reality.

This means many projects are created by people who have never had any experience with the production side of things because they’ve never had the chance.

In turn, there are going to be delays, miscommunications and bumps along the way. If this causes me to get my reward a few months late, I don’t think I need to take it personally.

Are there funded projects that have gone months without an update and left backers nervous? Yes, but when a creator is making weekly updates trying to keep backers informed and a part of the process, they don’t deserve an angry reaction every time something goes wrong.

Instead, backers should do their best to be civil and live up to what their original pledge was—a pledge of support.