Post B3DaRtI3NmbsAXK2qm by aral@mastodon.ar.al
(DIR) More posts by aral@mastodon.ar.al
(DIR) Post #B3CmJ18xoqf6DAe7H6 by randahl@mastodon.social
2026-02-10T20:13:21Z
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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?
(DIR) Post #B3CmJ2F1jn6dcGUTMe by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2026-02-11T07:46:29Z
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@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.
(DIR) Post #B3CnWn4T2MXCZgfrVo by jwcph@helvede.net
2026-02-11T08:00:07Z
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@aral @randahl Also, the other main demographic I see appealing for mutual aid are trans and/or neurodivergent and/or cronically ill people who are either actively marginalized where they live & therefore cut off from "regular" aid sources, or have fallen through some sort of crack, also cutting them off from other, more readily available forms of support. In many such cases, just asking for aid requires more courage than you or I will ever know. Like Aral says, context matters.
(DIR) Post #B3D8ljXgXMuJ0mJ6um by randahl@mastodon.social
2026-02-11T11:58:07Z
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@aralDear Mr. BalkanThank you for reminding me that we should take an interest in the context of others.And thank you for informing me there is a genocide in Gaza. As the producer of the film “Genocide in Gaza”, this is a profound surprise to me.And especially thank you for informing me that it is 2026 — something someone of lesser cognitive ability than yourself could easily overlook.I agree that an unprejudiced approach to global dialogue is of the utmost importance.1/2
(DIR) Post #B3DPQL2o7ixaAiFSGe by randahl@mastodon.social
2026-02-11T12:06:21Z
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@aral Since we agree that context is important, allow me to share a bit about my context.As a political commentator, it is important for me to be precise; and in my context, the term begging (or panhandling) is a very precise legal terms which define a specific action that is illegal in some jurisdictions, while legal in others.I respect that in your context, this term is not preferred because it may not express the empathy we both desire, but now you know my motivation for using it.2/2
(DIR) Post #B3DPQM6OBtQ3S6vpUO by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2026-02-11T15:04:51Z
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@randahl Legal doesn’t mean moral or ethical. Slavery was legal. Calling it “begging” immediately conjures up negative associations. It is not a neutral term. If you’re truly an ally to Palestinians (and I have no reason to doubt that you are) please reflect on what impact calling for servers to implement rules against “begging” will have on the Gazans here who rely on donations to exist.It was hard enough to find acceptance on the fediverse for our friends and families in Gaza and the last thing we need is further impediments to being able to help them.For anyone reading this, if you want to reach out and offer mutual aid to people who are surviving genocide, please see https://gaza-verified.org/donate where you can help families directly via their fundraisers.
(DIR) Post #B3DQ8DxDqUGMvLYupc by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2026-02-11T15:12:45Z
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@randahl (And please, call me Aral, Mr. Balkan is my dad.)
(DIR) Post #B3DU8mAr15WGs6SOWW by randahl@mastodon.social
2026-02-11T15:57:33Z
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@aral I fully respect and appreciate your Gaza Verified initiative, Aral. I really do. And had your first post been worded positively, informing me that you have actually solved one of the problems I have identified, I would have applauded that.But subjectively, the way I read your post was more along the lines of you writing, "Hey arsehole, wake up!", and that is why I replied to you the way I did.You and I do not know each other, but you seem interesting and I hope I get to know you.1/2
(DIR) Post #B3DZ5Z8NXeU7KaaUwS by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2026-02-11T16:53:07Z
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@randahl Indeed + ditto. I’m sorry if my tone was grating. I’m especially protective of the folks in Gaza.
(DIR) Post #B3DZXOF5d9olevziOO by randahl@mastodon.social
2026-02-11T16:01:46Z
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@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
(DIR) Post #B3DZXP3magMqC9iCPI by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2026-02-11T16:58:05Z
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@randahl Yes, it’s a huge issue and one that I’m trying to communicate to the folks in Gaza Verified also. (It’s against our rules and the rules of nearly every instance and it’s not in the long-term interests of anyone.) I recently wrote a lengthy message to send to everyone on Gaza Verified to remind them of this again (the very few who engage in it are also harming everyone else who isn’t) but I also want to make sure I’m not preaching etiquette to people facing literal genocide. So I’m going to read over it again when I have more time but, yes, we must address the issue because, at best, people are going to mute/block (even I’ve muted some accounts because I can’t manage the number of messages) and, at worst, report the accounts and get them suspended, etc.Going forward, I also feel we might have to remove the verification of the one or two accounts that are most engaged in this after repeated warnings.And this is also why we created the list at https://gaza-verified.org/donate – so that there would be a fair ordering and a place everyone could promote.
(DIR) Post #B3DaAYt5zAUfy7Nwq8 by randahl@mastodon.social
2026-02-11T17:05:10Z
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@aral great! Glad to hear this challenge is on your radar.When I get the time, I need to read some more about your verification process.
(DIR) Post #B3DaN42RzdT63YirWC by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2026-02-11T17:07:27Z
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@randahl PS. On the identification issue: we don’t identify the people we’re verifying, we only verify that:1. They’re Gazan (with the help of our Gazan volunteers who can tell based on dialect)2. They’re either in Gaza (we ask them to show us around outside and they are either in a Hollywood film set or Gaza) or, if not, that they are upfront about being displaced elsewhere.We don’t (and don’t want to) verify identification and we don’t (and can’t) verify any claims made beyond that. The verification simply verifies that there is a human being in need at the other end of the account.
(DIR) Post #B3DaRtI3NmbsAXK2qm by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2026-02-11T17:08:04Z
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@randahl (Just outlined it in a separate reply.) :)
(DIR) Post #B3E34wuYePybPSkGYK by beckett@triangletoot.party
2026-02-11T22:29:02Z
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@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
(DIR) Post #B3E39FDuVbVdMVqTeC by beckett@triangletoot.party
2026-02-11T22:29:15Z
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@aral 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. @randahl
(DIR) Post #B3EZeXjKwoYwGpVrlI by tomjennings@tldr.nettime.org
2026-02-12T04:34:45Z
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@krig Right. And that you might be occasionally fooled isn't reason to not help people. Helping zero people in an attempt to never get scammed isnt actually helpful. @jwcph @aral @randahl
(DIR) Post #B3EhWbhr51L7v1Xxaq by jwcph@helvede.net
2026-02-12T06:02:57Z
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@tomjennings @krig @aral @randahl Plus, it easily gets you mired in the conundrum of what constitutes a scam. Like, do you mean straight-up criminals pretending to be suffering people in a different country, or do you also include people *you* deem, from behind your screen, to not be as much in need as they claim to be? Should they just get a "real" job? Does it include your judgement of the quality of whatever they're doing with the money?Suddenly it's all about your ideals & not about helping.
(DIR) Post #B3EwWLRf2NRSnXIyLQ by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2026-02-12T08:50:13Z
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@beckett @randahl I think you’re confusing mutual aid with quid pro quo.
(DIR) Post #B3EwazFuxrAnQW1f1c by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2026-02-12T08:50:52Z
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@beckett @randahl https://mastodon.ar.al/@aral/116056798865720394
(DIR) Post #B3Ex4SzpT8TA3yYcjo by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2026-02-12T08:56:33Z
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@beckett @randahl (Mutual aid is us helping each other, yes. But if some of us are in privileged positions – especially because the countries we happened to be born into or live in are the ones putting the people who need help into the position of needing help – then it is normal that we help until we can change the system so that such help would not be necessary. So, yes, it is mutual aid if you’re not thinking in the immediate term or expect those who cannot contribute in return at this point in time to do so. “Charity” is just part of an unequal and unjust system. It’s the way those who benefit from it cleanse their consciences. And worse, if you think about how “charity” works – especially at an institutional level – to benefit those with power.)
(DIR) Post #B3FT4CaveAFHjApPUm by beckett@triangletoot.party
2026-02-12T14:54:58Z
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@aral Mutual Aid is very different than just giving money, even with a sense of generosity. It derogates the very spirit of Mutual Aid. I understand not wanting to use the term "begging" because of the very negative implications of that word, and the power dynamic. But "Mutual Aid" is not an appropriate substitute. "Charity" is what you mean. @randahl
(DIR) Post #B3FjOpHv5sbGn7nEpc by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2026-02-12T17:58:04Z
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@beckett @randahl I said what I mean. If you leave your ivory tower sometime you might see that there’s a genocide in progress and maybe realise how crass you sound right now.