I didnt know where to put this... selfish or not? (Long Post)

[Christinnnian]

I have really mixed feelings on crowdfunding. I think it's a great resource for someone that's fallen on hard times i.e. death of a loved one, illness of themselves, a loved one or a pet, loss of property to natural disaster, or even someone leaving a domestic abuse situation as a way to help pay for necessities. I can even see the use outside of necessities such as instead of having a donation jar at a wedding for a honeymoon fund, setting up an online donation instead. That being said I see far, far too many gofundme's created for wants like a broken xbox, a new car, new phone etc. Personally I think it's tacky to ask people to give you money for something you don't need, and I would not donate to someone asking for money to buy a snake no matter what their reasoning. But the glory of crowdfunding is that I don't have to donate to anyone's fund, and everyone is free to ask for whatever they choose to.

[Soord]

Soord - how old are you?

No you were not being selfish but you're not acting like an adult either. You are a new member and new to snakes? Why not give it a while and save up some money and slowly dip your feet into the hobby to warm them up... I think there is A LOT more to breeding and learning morphs ect. and you have a lot to learn. I think the very experienced breeders maybe make a little bit of money or if you produce a new morph you might get a big payout but I don't think every breeder is getting rich. Sounds like the both of you didn't really know the subject matter you were arguing about very well.

If someone needs money for a medical purpose I am okay with that or maybe for a sports field trip or girl guides, food... things along those lines but the people who are out there asking people to fund them for new pets, trips, cars....that's super lame in my opinion...get a job!

This is a little more egotistical than i wanted. I am 24 and i have a full time job, pay my own bills, file my own taxes, own my own stock, contribute to a 401k, pay for my own car and insurance, and have a boatload of student debt just like many of us here (sans the student debt maybe). I got my first snake about 2 years ago so i am fairly new and have a lot to learn, I understand that, but i would appreciate if you didnt act like i was a child. I have a plan to get my feet wet, which is why i planned on getting the female now in the first place haha. Females need 2+ years to grow to breeding size and my plan is to give them 3+. I have a couple balls and they will breed the year after next, if i like breeding, great! if i dont? If i get the snakes now I have wonderful pets and two of my favorite morphs (black heads and bananas) as awesome pets.

I guess i dont understand the feet wet thing. Could you explain what you meant a little more?

I also think it would be ridiculous if anyone thinks they will get rich breeding t I dont see a lot of Bugatti's at reptile expos XD I was just saying that breeders can make some semblance of money.

In other news, the person i argued against was an established corn breeder somewhere in the east. Also i could see a medical expense or something but how is a sports field trip or food different? and what is a girl guide?

[Christinnnian]

An example of ultimate classless behavior is someone I'm friends with posting their gofundme link last week saying "help ____ get back on her feet", then yesterday seeing the same person post about the brand new Mercedes her boyfriend got for her.

I'm not saying that's what you're suggesting at all, but it's a classic example of tacky crowdfunding and I agree with some pp's that any solicitation of money is an active act regardless of the reason.

[Soord]

Seems to me that your hypothetical scenario sound more and more like you wanting someones approval.

There is no difference between active and passive, it's still asking for money, someone else's hard earned money.

An opportunity would be for someone to invest in a business, not the case here it would be someone giving you money for YOU to benefit from it.

You can call it whatever you want , an opportunity, something passive......it's still a handout, the difference is by calling it something else it makes you feel better, personally when I accomplish something I like to know that I did it on my own because of my hard work not because of someone else's.....than again I am old school and believe in hard work, not entitlement and free stuffs because I am special

I dont really know whos approval you are talking about?

I guess an example would be a tip jar you set out. You arent asking for anything, it is just there. You probably dont even expect anything, but if people gives you money that is their choice to spend their "hard earned" money. If my gf mentions she wants to go to a ball game sometime, and you surprise her with tickets, is that a scenerio of her being selfish? Im not trying to get anyones approval for anything im just trying to wrap my head around where the line is? What makes that scenerio different? Or taking a friend to a music show spontaneously? Or even buying your child a puppy they have on their xmas list? Where does the line end? (not to get philosophical haha)

Also Begging involves asking imho which is not done in this crowdfunding scenerio, it is just created there. I mentioned nothing about how i would promote it or anything but you can assume that it would be just created, with a link available on my blog that says "donate if you want" or something.

I could argue about the last statement too but i wont in effort to try to keep politics out of it

[CptJack]

Handouts are by nature active. You ask someone to give you money for something without giving anything in return. A gofundme is no different than standing on a street corner with cup and a sign. Not chasing them down the street doesn't make it passive.

Active solicitation with somethin in return is selling or investing if you are offering them more money back.

Totaliy passive requires someone give you money WITHOUT asking.

[Soord]

An example of ultimate classless behavior is someone I'm friends with posting their gofundme link last week saying "help ____ get back on her feet", then yesterday seeing the same person post about the brand new Mercedes her boyfriend got for her.

I'm not saying that's what you're suggesting at all, but it's a classic example of tacky crowdfunding and I agree with some pp's that any solicitation of money is an active act regardless of the reason.

Oh i agree! I totally think that is crap and I absolutely hate that that is something people do. I guess the difference is that she would be using coercion to get a few bucks. Which i think i mentioned I am completely against. That is a scam and that is imho the biggest problem with gofundme.

This scenerio is a little different though, because it would be a person posting saying, "I am working toward getting this snake". There isn't coercion or deceit, there is just a honest goal set out with the option to donate.

I completely understand people being wary about things like that but i dont think an ad saying i am trying to get a snake really ads to that per say.

I am a little against whether it is active because i think if you make it it is active, but that turns to passive if you dont really promote it. That actually might be the confusion in the first place. In my head i was thinking id put like a donate button on my website or something and not really promote it at all, just have it be there. I think a lot of people imagined me pasting over social media ever two days for a few weeks. Thank you for the insight.

[JodanOrNoDan]

I'll tell you a little story about gofundme. My oldest son got very sick. He is on his own but not established enough to handle those kinds of bills. I made a deal with my ex-wife that I would cover half and she would cover half. She decided she was going to get her half by using gofundme (she did not need to do this). When I found out I was mortified. I was raised that things are handled within the family. I immediately called her up and said I would pay for the whole thing and sent a check to my son for the full amount of the hospital bill. She kept the money she got from gofundme anyway and did lord knows what with it. Personally I think that is lower than low. This is the type of thing you are dealing with on gofundme.

[Soord]

Handouts are by nature active. You ask someone to give you money for something without giving anything in return. A gofundme is no different than standing on a street corner with cup and a sign. Not chasing them down the street doesn't make it passive.

Active solicitation with somethin in return is selling or investing if you are offering them more money back.

Totaliy passive requires someone give you money WITHOUT asking.

That is a good point. There is some form of activeness in just setting it up. I guess i was thinking about more in terms of promoting the crowdfund source and that theoretically wouldnt be actively promoting it. I didnt even consider that people would view making it in the first place as an active act.

[Snoopyslim]

This is a little more egotistical than i wanted. I am 24 and i have a full time job, pay my own bills, file my own taxes, own my own stock, contribute to a 401k, pay for my own car and insurance, and have a boatload of student debt just like many of us here (sans the student debt maybe). I got my first snake about 2 years ago so i am fairly new and have a lot to learn, I understand that, but i would appreciate if you didnt act like i was a child. I have a plan to get my feet wet, which is why i planned on getting the female now in the first place haha. Females need 2+ years to grow to breeding size and my plan is to give them 3+. I have a couple balls and they will breed the year after next, if i like breeding, great! if i dont? If i get the snakes now I have wonderful pets and two of my favorite morphs (black heads and bananas) as awesome pets.

I guess i dont understand the feet wet thing. Could you explain what you meant a little more?

I also think it would be ridiculous if anyone thinks they will get rich breeding t I dont see a lot of Bugatti's at reptile expos XD I was just saying that breeders can make some semblance of money.

In other news, the person i argued against was an established corn breeder somewhere in the east. Also i could see a medical expense or something but how is a sports field trip or food different? and what is a girl guide?

Sorry I didn't know your history and from your post I did think you were under the age of 19. Anyways I shouldn't have been high on my horse and it does sounds like you have your own 'plan.' Good luck with your future.

[Soord]

I'll tell you a little story about gofundme. My oldest son got very sick. He is on his own but not established enough to handle those kinds of bills. I made a deal with my ex-wife that I would cover half and she would cover half. She decided she was going to get her half by using gofundme (she did not need to do this). When I found out I was mortified. I was raised that things are handled within the family. I immediately called her up and said I would pay for the whole thing and sent a check to my son for the full amount of the hospital bill. She kept the money she got from gofundme anyway and did lord knows what with it. Personally I think that is lower than low. This is the type of thing you are dealing with on gofundme.

True that. I am wary of gofundmes because at least with kickstarter there are pledge goals, where gfm (for people you dont know) is literally a blind donation for ANYTHING that the person uses the money for. I have never used crowdfunding for myself and dont have an account with any except kickstarter (the tech and some of the comics and other stuff is incredible). Thanks for the insight. I definitely think i have a better idea of what they were thinking, especially since i didnt set up the scenerio at all I just mentioned as a joke that i might have to set one up.

I also hope you guys believe me when i say that i wouldnt do that because i make plenty of money myself, i was just kind of curious about the morals behind it.