Forum:Pay attention to me and I'll donate to Haiti

Pay attention to me and I'll help Haiti
I'm going to donate a dollar to Haiti for every subscriber I have at the end of the month up to 100, and another 50 cents after that for the next 100. I plan on making a video showing the check (covering my account number), the check in the envelope, and the envelope being mailed. So: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61L0bt-CROw  --Mustex (talk) 20:31, 3 February 2010 (UTC)
 * I am allergic to emotional blackmail. People are dying while you play look-at-me games. Send the fucking money. Totnesmartin (talk) 20:34, 3 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Matthew 6:2. 21:01, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

I've already donated money in other contexts, specifically to organizations around my campus. This is just extra.--Mustex (talk) 21:04, 3 February 2010 (UTC)
 * This is a little messed up.-- 21:06, 3 February 2010 (UTC)
 * What Martin and ListenerX said. Shut up, send the what, $150, get a tax receipt, and be smug to yourself. TheoryOfPractice (talk) 21:10, 3 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Come on now, lets us not assume bad faith here. A little misguided perhaps but lets not go off all half cocked. Acei9 21:13, 3 February 2010 (UTC)
 * There're are tons of people on facebook who do the same thing with groups. The difference being, at least I'm going to give some level of visual confirmation that I did what I say I'm going to do.  And, like I said, I've already donated some money, and plan on donating more independently of this.--Mustex (talk) 21:12, 3 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Tons of wrongs do not make a right. 21:14, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Ok, I've spent the last few hours thinking this over, and I have both a defense and a concession. First off, I don't see how this is any different than Celebrity Jeopardy, where the producers give money to charities only under the condition that celebrities agree to appear on their shows. However, I will concede that I should at least set a minimum donation before starting any such thing, so I think I'm going to make an annotation stating that my donation will be at least $50, even if the subscriber count never reaches 50.--Mustex (talk) 00:21, 4 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Fucking disgusting. Conditional donations aren't donations they're you paying in exchange for something which is a purchase. Nobody thinks you're generous you're being machiavellian if anything. 78.46.87.98 (talk) 00:54, 4 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Amazing how you managed to completely ignore my entire argument in favor of bashing me. How is it different from Celebrity Jeopardy?  And did I ever claim I wasn't paying in exchange for something?  If no one made conditional donations I'm fairly certain alot of charities would go broke.  You'd have no matching gifts, no "percentage of the proceeds go to," and no companies doing ads bragging about how much they helped, no websites that help feed the hungry and save the rainforest when you click on a button and view some ads, and thus corporations wouldn't have any reason to donate to anything at all.  If you didn't notice I even admit in the video that I'm being an attention whore.  But know what separates me from all the groups I just mentioned?  I'm not making a cent off of this.  Now, if you honestly think that charities would be better off refusing money that isn't donated with entirely pure intentions, say so, but if you think that all donations are a good thing, then stop attacking me for offering to help people.  And why don't you log in and let me know who's bashing, instead of being anonymous.--Mustex (talk) 01:25, 4 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Mustex, a word of advice: when you're in a hole, stop digging or else the Living Jello (or whatever the fuck it's called) will permaban your ass! Kneel before the Lidded Jungle! Kneel! 01:32, 4 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Ok, maybe I was a bit rude in that last post, but I still really don't see what's wrong with conditional donations. Especially considering that I ran this by Human last night on his talk page, asking if I should post this in the Saloon Bar, and he told me to run with it.  If anyone doesn't like this, fine, don't subscribe to my channel.  But, I think the hostility being directed at me right now seems a bit excessive.--Mustex (talk) 01:36, 4 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Your defense is that tv shows do it? Some tv shows force their contestants to eat bugs so I guess we should force the hatians to eat bugs too.
 * The difference is that tv shows are designed to make money. They make far more money by having the celebrity on the show even when they donate. See just like you they do it to benefit themselves not others. As for being anonymous do you expect me to create an account just because you demand it? I would have thought that an ip address is a lot less anonymous than a pseudonym and I refuse to hide behind a pseudonym just because you tried to turn a tragedy into something that can benefit you and then got all pissed because people are letting you know how pathetic it is. 78.46.87.98 (talk) 01:47, 4 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Now now, let us all calm down. Mustex had good intention implemented poorly so lets not ride him too much. Acei9 01:49, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

(EC)'''Easy fellas. Increase the peace, silence the violence!''' I think Mustex's heart was in the right place, his head just didn't follow, and he didn't think nor expect such a negative community reaction. 01:52, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

Ok, I know I'm probably not going to convince anyone at this point, but I think I can still make a few clarifications. First off, my point on the tv show thing was not that they were right or wrong, but simply that they don't get bashed when they do it. I'm not claiming that I'm the exemplar of all morality, and I freely admit don't deserve alot of praise for making conditional donations. As for the anonymous person, I'm sorry, I didn't realize people without accounts read this page, so I was under the impression someone with a pre-existing account was posting anonymously. (btw, either way now that the video's up I'm doing this, because otherwise I'd render my original offer dishonest).--Mustex (talk) 02:07, 4 February 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm surprised your thing generated so much animosity, especially considering it took the benefit concert to shake loose some of my cash. 02:19, 4 February 2010 (UTC)


 * This debate encapsulates a lot of what has been wrong with RW in recent months. Mustex's original post could have been phrased better, but there's not much difference between what he's doing and what this kid did on a sponsored bike ride. Sure, Mustex ends up with more subscribers... but they're all going to leave again after the cheque is sent so where's the harm?
 * Instead of rationally talking about the idea, we've had a stream of invective. And you wonder why so many people went on wikibreaks recently? –SuspectedReplicant retire me 02:38, 4 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Lol, yeah, just for the record I know there's a chance I'll lose a fair number, but I hope at least a few try some of my other videos, and decide to stay on. Regardless, now that I've thought about it, I decided it was a better idea to set a minimum donation, which is why I've now anotated the video to say I'm donating at least $50, no matter what.--Mustex (talk) 02:46, 4 February 2010 (UTC)
 * It was a little lame. But I'm not sure this shows anything "wrong" with RW.  Just a little nonsense.-- 02:51, 4 February 2010 (UTC)
 * What SR said. This is precisely the stuff that's been pissing me off for months now. Seems that things didn't really change over the last few days. That Lyora what-the-fuck-ever thing has already seemed to have died on its arse and people are already back to holier-than-thou dicking with people over nothing. 18:52, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

Alright Mustex
What does your project gain by doing it the way you've set it up, as opposed to just writing a cheque for $150 aqnd mailing it off to MSF or the Red Cross or something? Are you thinking that you're going to raise awareness about the situation or encourage people to learn and read about some of the long-term structural problems that make Haiti's recovery a thorny issue? Are you hoping that people will, after commenting on the blog or whatever it is, that they'll be encouraged to start a similar stunt? As you've explained it, I fail to see a "value added" by incorporating this intermediate step between you and the donation...TheoryOfPractice (talk) 03:09, 4 February 2010 (UTC)


 * There IS no added value! I already addressed that in the section above. Yes, Mustex gains something from it (if a few 5-minute followers on YouTube counts as a gain), but Haiti also gains. Why do people do sponsored bike rides? Or sit in tubs of baked beans? Or jump out of planes? It could have been announced better but give the guy a break! –SuspectedReplicant retire me 03:21, 4 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Thank you. I had a post written out that said pretty much the same thing, and failed to be posted because of the edit conflict.  But, I think you said it far better than I could have.--Mustex (talk) 03:22, 4 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Hold on now, let's not be too hasty. The idea of Mustex sitting in a tub of baked beans has merit. --Kels (talk) 03:25, 4 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I'm not doing any fundraisers that reduce the amount of food in this world. Prices are too high for a big chunk of the third world as is.--Mustex (talk) 03:37, 4 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Okay... you were doing well but that just sounds like a "I'm not going to hurt the cute puppy" line. –SuspectedReplicant retire me 03:44, 4 February 2010 (UTC)


 * It's bad that I DON'T want to do anything that might drive up food prices in the third world? (such as doing something that would waste alot of food, and thus reduce supply)--Mustex (talk) 03:53, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

But what happens if I already subscribe? Does money still get donated? 03:47, 4 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Yes, I stated in the video that I'll donate a dollar for every subscriber who subscribes to my channel at the end of the month, regardless of whether they subscribed before or after I made the video.--Mustex (talk) 03:57, 4 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Seems like a good idea. I think it's the results, not the intent that counts. You have my sub anyway under the name of Scepticalpreacher. -- 12:02, 4 February 2010 (UTC)