Online community sends $4,000 in 5 hours for a members plight

I'll continue my Reddit campaign / crusade, to enlighten people how absolute free speech can be a wonderful thing. Some here however, prefer to be pampered, nay scared, of what the internet can foster when content is allowed to go forth unleashed.

Summary
A Reddit members mom got fired as a teacher and wasn't in a union and the guy just asked the community what he could do; after some coercion, someone mentioned he should set up a paypal account and within hours, he had received thousands of dollars.

The UGC @ Reddit is truly awe inspiring and is something that should be assimilated on every forum, where mods are a thing of the past and users get to decide what's hot & what's not.

Interesting.. UGC? I assume that stands for something like User generated Control? How does that work exactly? How does this UGC whatever it is remove the need for mods?

How does the policing get don when it needs to be done?

If i understand your thread correctly, this is a case of someone on a forum saying they are in trouble, then loads of nice people offering to help and sending them money yes?

If so, whilst i think it is a great idea in theory, it is one that could be abused in a big way too.

I'm the sort who would happily give to someone who needs it, but now and again i know i would be taken for a ride, and thats a difficult job sorting out the good from the bad.

We had it a while ago here on ATS, a member posted a thread saying talking about the effects the economy was having on him and his family, he was having to move to a shelter with his kids.

ATS members responded with amazing generosity, offers of a place to live and all sorts, i too offered help, and i would have stuck by my offer. The member in question was not requesting help though, just talking about his situation, which admittedly seemed pretty dire. They did not take the help offered, and graciously turned it down.

Then (i think it was Springer), posted a comment about not advocating sending money to people you don't know on the net, or words to that effect, and he was dead right. There are a million people out there who need our help, and a million more who will abuse it.

Please don't get me wrong, i'm not saying this lady in your thread is making a story up to gain money, i'm just saying you have to be carefull.

I think it would be a nightmare of a job for the mods to monitor this, and can imagine the comeback if they ok'd a recipiant of charity who later turned out to be a con artist. ATS would have lawsuits coming out of their backside.

I'm all for giving to charity, but i've recently had many a discussion with friends about this who agree that we'd rather do something where we can physicaly see ourselves where the money goes.

I apologise if i've got this thread totaly wrong, and i wish the lady in question all the best.

CX.

[edit on 19/12/09 by CX]