Is it okay to beg for money on Mastodon?
-
So there definitely are scams: the ‘my mum in Gaza has diabetes’ was well known. I think tho the concept of ‘legitimate’ is deeply problematic in itself. Ie someone from W Africa asks for help but pretends to be from somewhere more currently in the news and in vogue. Is that really an issue? Well - I don’t want to give cash to someone with 100 staff running a scheme. But generally I don’t really care: ask for help? I’ll try to help.
-
@Robo105 @randahl I understand. And I’m aware of the scam world - I deal with it professionally in fact.
We have to not cut ourselves off tho from the appalling suffering of the many out there. And in reality for those who are worried there are so many routes thru here: like #GazaVerified
That wasn’t what we saw on this thread tho: we saw a load of privileged people defending their privilege. We’re better when we make ourselves vulnerable
-
-
@JimmyB @randahl for the record, I think the people of Gaza are in such a dire situation they can't afford to sit all day composing DMs to individuals on a minuscule social network, while scammers will send individual DMs exactly because they get responses (money) — and BTW if you ever respond they'll move convo to Whatsapp or some other network where they can't be quickly blocked
@assaf @randahl “For the record”??? For the record…you are wrong and on this thread we have the founder of #GazaVerified which you - in you grotesque arrogance - are choosing to ignore.
Like all tech-dude-bros the fact you’ve thought it means it’s true even when you have no evidence whatsoever. And people who know - really know - are telling you - you. are. wrong.
Your lies hurt desperate people. Please stop
-
@randahl I think it's fine, the same way that if I pass a panhandler in a public area I don't object even if I don't contribute. I've mostly only seen this from folks I'm familiar with or boosts from people I'm familiar with. It might be culturally specific, because in the United States life is really precarious to a degree not seen in other western countries, so it is very typical for people to set up ad hoc fundraising for life events that would simply not occur in other developed countries.
@samvarma I think you are right. Denmark certainly has a lot less fundraising. The fact alone that we all pay for free healthcare for everybody, ensures that people do not have to ask for help to, say, get a cancer treatment.
-
@samvarma I think you are right. Denmark certainly has a lot less fundraising. The fact alone that we all pay for free healthcare for everybody, ensures that people do not have to ask for help to, say, get a cancer treatment.
@randahl I say this as a UK citizen who went to university in Europe by the way, and who has family in Austria. So I have seen firsthand and experienced the contrast.
Secondly I feel like I didn't really address the point of your original post: randoms tagging you in fundraising requests. One of the replies mentioned just muting/blocking and I think I'd probably go down that road. If it can be shown that the acct is a professional nuisance then it would seem instance admin should be looped in.
-
Is it okay to beg for money on Mastodon?
Every week I see accounts asking for money, often tagging me or others directly.
I support recognized aid organisations, but these direct requests make me concerned, because as a Mastodon user I have no way of verifying if the requests are legitimate, or some nefarious person is pretending to be a person in need.
So my question is, should Mastodon servers have a policy about begging, and if so, what should the policy be?
@randahl I understand your concern whether the account is actually real. But just as we have no laws against begging in public spaces, I don't believe we should have a policy in a virtual space. Some will give; most won't.
-
@randahl @aral @Sarahw @Kathmandu @lydiaschoch so I do both. And thru the whole chat here - apart from tech dude bro fella who is indistinguishable from a Zionist propaganda bot - I am just so aware that I’m sitting on my sofa, sipping a pretty nice burgundy. That I can afford to help a little bit is insanely privileged.
The key for me is, those who can, should give and give till it hurts. It’s very good for them.
-
@assaf @randahl “For the record”??? For the record…you are wrong and on this thread we have the founder of #GazaVerified which you - in you grotesque arrogance - are choosing to ignore.
Like all tech-dude-bros the fact you’ve thought it means it’s true even when you have no evidence whatsoever. And people who know - really know - are telling you - you. are. wrong.
Your lies hurt desperate people. Please stop
@JimmyB I share your frustration with the situation in Gaza. It is 100 percent flat out horrible.
But you will not change anyone’s point of view by calling people names and accusing others of being Zionist, because they have a different point of view than you.
I happen to agree with many things you have said. But I strongly disagree with the way you communicate.
It is in kindness we find dialogue and enrich each other’s perspectives.
-
@randahl I understand your concern whether the account is actually real. But just as we have no laws against begging in public spaces, I don't believe we should have a policy in a virtual space. Some will give; most won't.
Not taking a position on this yet but noting that we know the people begging in public are people that are there and not bots.
-
Not taking a position on this yet but noting that we know the people begging in public are people that are there and not bots.
Only in the interest of truth, I should state that several countries have laws against begging.
I am not saying this as an argument for rules on Mastodon. I am simply stating the facts.
-
Only in the interest of truth, I should state that several countries have laws against begging.
I am not saying this as an argument for rules on Mastodon. I am simply stating the facts.
@randahl @the5thColumnist After I wrote that I did wonder if it was accurate.
-
@JimmyB I share your frustration with the situation in Gaza. It is 100 percent flat out horrible.
But you will not change anyone’s point of view by calling people names and accusing others of being Zionist, because they have a different point of view than you.
I happen to agree with many things you have said. But I strongly disagree with the way you communicate.
It is in kindness we find dialogue and enrich each other’s perspectives.
@randahl @JimmyB i don’t know much about https://gaza-verified.org/ but they warn of scammers and link to people who post on timeline - i warn of scammers who post DMs, so at least on that i agree with them
-
@JimmyB I share your frustration with the situation in Gaza. It is 100 percent flat out horrible.
But you will not change anyone’s point of view by calling people names and accusing others of being Zionist, because they have a different point of view than you.
I happen to agree with many things you have said. But I strongly disagree with the way you communicate.
It is in kindness we find dialogue and enrich each other’s perspectives.
@assaf @randahl so Randahl - I used to believe this too. But I am now convinced that tone trolling only serves to help fascism. And tech dude bros spreading Zionist lies about starving Gazans definitely qualifies as fascism. So I don’t do the ‘let’s all be nice’ any more because that is leading is directly over the cliff. Sorry - but no. You cannot persuade tech dude bros. They already know. Debate is useless. Worse than useless. Confrontation is -sadly - essential
-
@randahl @JimmyB i don’t know much about https://gaza-verified.org/ but they warn of scammers and link to people who post on timeline - i warn of scammers who post DMs, so at least on that i agree with them
-
@assaf @randahl so Randahl - I used to believe this too. But I am now convinced that tone trolling only serves to help fascism. And tech dude bros spreading Zionist lies about starving Gazans definitely qualifies as fascism. So I don’t do the ‘let’s all be nice’ any more because that is leading is directly over the cliff. Sorry - but no. You cannot persuade tech dude bros. They already know. Debate is useless. Worse than useless. Confrontation is -sadly - essential
Here’s the reality… https://mastodon.social/@israajamal/116053480667353152
These are the people you are tone trolling against.
-
@JimmyB I share your frustration with the situation in Gaza. It is 100 percent flat out horrible.
But you will not change anyone’s point of view by calling people names and accusing others of being Zionist, because they have a different point of view than you.
I happen to agree with many things you have said. But I strongly disagree with the way you communicate.
It is in kindness we find dialogue and enrich each other’s perspectives.
@randahl @assaf coming back to your post Randahl, it’s quite offensive: I am not trying to change that US based posters mind. I’m making sure that his evil post doesn’t sit unopposed. I’m not accusing him of being Zionist. And definitely not because he disagrees with me: don’t be so lazy! Please - if you want to engage then engage with the point actually being made which is that this CA based tech dude bro’s post is indistinguishable from Zionist prop. Which. It. Is.
-
@aral Now, since we agree that identification is essentail to human aid, can we also agree that tag spamming is not a proper use of Mastodon?
Because when I see, say, an African account creating dozens of money request posts each day, tagging as many users as they can fit into each post, I feel they are using Mastodon in a way which is not helpful.
Like everyone else, I have a finite limit to how many people I can support, and this limit is not raised through spam.
2/2
Mr. Randahl jerkwad. While you are so worried that people involved in humanitarian aid are "civil" to you and your ego, people are starving, getting killed, and being tortured in prison. You are awful.
And yes, I have a background in humanitarian aid, so I know of what I speak. You lack the sensitivity to understand suffering.
-
@randahl Hey Randahl,
It’s 2026, not Dickensian England; we call it mutual aid, not begging.
If we’re talking about Gazans, they are currently facing genocide at the hands of Israel with the full support of countries like the USA, Germany, and the UK and the complicity of almost the entirety of the so-called civilised West. International organisations like the UN are deliberately being prevented from functioning by Israel and US.
If you want a list of people we’ve verified via video calls that you can help during this ongoing genocide by settler colonialists, please see:
https://gaza-verified.org/donate/
I would strongly urge you to take the context into consideration. Ask yourself what you would do if you couldn’t feed your family, if you couldn’t afford to treat your sick children, if the institutions that were supposed to be helping were shackled, and if you were actively being hounded off of every other online space by corporations complicit in the genocide being perpetrated against you.
If people are being forced to ask for help, it’s not their failing but the failing of the system that is forcing them to do so.
@aral
There is no shame in asking for money on social media. Lord knows, most of us are one setback away from penury. Giving money to people who need it is an necessary charitable act.But please don’t call it “mutual aid.” Mutual aid is mutual. Mutual aid is people working to take care of each other collectively. Mutual aid is building power and changing our circumstances together.
-
@randahl Hey Randahl,
It’s 2026, not Dickensian England; we call it mutual aid, not begging.
If we’re talking about Gazans, they are currently facing genocide at the hands of Israel with the full support of countries like the USA, Germany, and the UK and the complicity of almost the entirety of the so-called civilised West. International organisations like the UN are deliberately being prevented from functioning by Israel and US.
If you want a list of people we’ve verified via video calls that you can help during this ongoing genocide by settler colonialists, please see:
https://gaza-verified.org/donate/
I would strongly urge you to take the context into consideration. Ask yourself what you would do if you couldn’t feed your family, if you couldn’t afford to treat your sick children, if the institutions that were supposed to be helping were shackled, and if you were actively being hounded off of every other online space by corporations complicit in the genocide being perpetrated against you.
If people are being forced to ask for help, it’s not their failing but the failing of the system that is forcing them to do so.
But please don’t call it “mutual aid.” Mutual aid is mutual. Mutual aid is people working to take care of each other collectively. Mutual aid is building power and changing our circumstances together.
Charity is transactional, not mutual. It is someone with power (money) giving to someone without and not otherwise changing anything.
