Is it okay to beg for money on Mastodon?

Bodhipaksa

@randahl "Requests for financial assistance" is one way I might put it. Often people in the Fediverse call it mutual aid: so "mutual aid requests" would be another way to put it.

Jonas 🇩🇰 🇬🇱

@randahl Good question. I have the same experience and noticed the same picture of starving kids in different profiles. Could be a potential problem for Mastodon if people finds it unsafe to be here. Just my opinion.

Dario Zanette

@randahl

@devol interesting question (from other istances).

Mx. Luna Corbden 🐸

@Jonasdahl @randahl I skimmed the replies and I don't see that anyone mentioned this.

For Gaza in particular, there is a website for verifying the asker is really from Gaza. It's something like Gaza Verified. After being vetted, the asker puts a link in their bio that confirms.

There are however scammers claiming to be verified when they aren't, and I think some even use a fake domain name. So it's good to hunt down what the real site is before relying on this method. Should be able to search Fedi for info — they have an account.

Edit: This seems to be the real one. I'll dig a like deeper to be sure: https://mastodon.ar.al/@gazaverified

Edit: Yes, I'm confident that's legit.

There has been further discussion of this issue (specifically wrt Gaza and whether askers are scams) if you search "gaza verified" on Mastodon.

Nomdeb

@randahl I do not respond to direct requests from unknown people, however dear to my heart their cause or circumstances may be. I may respond to people I know (or have been following for a while) either for themselves, or who personally know a person and share details. Like you, I donate to recognized aid organizations only, otherwise.

Bill Jorth

@randahl I ignore the requests. I don't have a way to carefully evaluate the requests and I don't havce the time.

Only Ohm

@randahl

Incidentally, @aral, do you want to weigh in on this? It seems like your bailiwick.

Parade du Grotesque 💀

@randahl

It's called 'mutual aid' and it is something accepted on Mastodon.

It's based on the idea that you may be able to help today, but also that you may need help yourself tomorrow.

Martin Seeger

@randahl As long as it doesn’t drown out other content, I would not introduce rules.

Robin Barton

@randahl I agree that a policy is needed because I get the same thing and I suspect scams are part of this

Em & future cats 🇺🇦🐈🏳️‍🌈

@randahl I get these messages too, I do feel bad that I can’t tell if they’re legitimate or not. However, I have come to the realization that if it is legitimate they will ask the whole family of mastodon for help with a hashtag, or be a part of an organization as you said. I do think that having this kind of resource is a good thing, but we should treat “direct messages” as potential scams. Obviously, if you know this person irl, then you can always verify that you wanna help and how to do it.

Randahl Fink

@bodhipaksa I appreciate the suggestion. I was actually editing the post right now, but I ended up cancelling the edit, because I am not sure readers will understand precisely what I mean using your term.

I need to reflect on this.

Stewart

@randahl I mute them... which can be time consuming. There's far too many for me to afford supporting these individuals and as you said, it's hard to validate whether they are genuine.

LillaVee

@randahl

1. Republicans run fake Palestinian accounts begging for humanitarian donations.

2. People with kind hearts fall for it.

3. The 2011 NDAA’s indefinite detention clause (which has been renewed every year) is used to incarcerate and enslave or kill them without trial for “funding terrorists.”

4. Republicans reach orgasm masturbating to their cruelty and get money for it.

Lydia Schoch

@randahl I mute or block accounts who do that because I don’t have extra funds to share, some of them ask far too often (IMO), and I have no way to verify their claims even if I had something to give them.

I don’t have an opinion on what Mastodon servers should do about this issue other than that they should be very clear about whether or not it’s allowed.

Other than that, I mind my own business. It’s hard to know what’s really happening in other folk’s lives.

Lydia Schoch

@randahl It’s strange that they’re tagging you directly, though. I think that’s way too much pressure.

ティージェーグレェ

I boost "mutual aid" toots when I see them.

Despite having over $12,000 USD in debt and being homeless? I don't beg.

Many years ago I set up a GoFundMe when things were even more dire; it did not reach anywhere near its goal to get me out of debt then either, but some folks were generous. An old coworker/boss kicked down $1000 which was immensely helpful even though GoFundMe and the check cashing place combined probably devoured > 10% of that.

Another colleague donated $10,000 to me once, via PayPal, years ago in hopes it would avoid alleviate my debts and it really did! For a time at least. Though, the rigamarole I had to go through with PayPal to actually get access to those funds was extensive.

I've pretty much given up on asking for financial help online.

If I had a capitalistic entrepreneurial spirit? I would probably already be running some sort of business selling Thneeds like most people engaged in business? I don't. So I keep applying to jobs and grants and hoping, maybe someday (hasn't happened yet in 50 years as a human incarnated on Earth) I will find this mythical "livable wage" job with no more than a 40 hour work week that so many in unions supposedly fought and died for before my time.

I also don't beg on the street (most places where I am in California, that is illegal, though it happens all the time anyway. I am never looking to put myself in more legal jeopardy, things are tenuous enough as it is.).

I think it would be totally reasonable for an ActivityPub/Mastodon/etc. instance provider to make a policy against such things too I guess?

Problematically, I don't think banning begging is really the solution though.

Banning the ultra rich via taxation and redistributing their funds into housing, frugivore food forests and other self-sustaining mutually beneficial programs OTOH? Might do wonders!

Dunno how to effect that level of change though. Doubtlessly, muting or changing federation policies with bits and bytes and such is a lot easier, if less effective.

CC: @randahl@mastodon.social

Leeloo

@randahl
You're asking your question as if Mastodon was a centralized social network with one policy.

billy joe bowers 🗽

@randahl

I mute them. There is absolutely no way for me to know if they're legit, and it's obvious many of them aren't.

It's not even like giving money to random people on the street, these could be organized criminals.

Randahl Fink

@lydiaschoch they are hoping I will boost their posts, but obviously I would never boost monetary requests from something I cannot vouch for.

Ever.