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Jeff
Owner
Nov 16, 2014, 12:24 AM
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Going forward, the general policy will be that it's a no-no for users to ask the community for money, including on behalf of charities. Posts that do this will be killed. Two reasons for this policy: 1) We don't have time to check for fraud. This has happened before on this site--some of the regulars around here might remember the TGreene incident. 2) Users participate in this community to chat with like-minded folks about climbing, not to get spammed by someone asking for money. This doesn't mean RockClimbing.com doesn't support charities. On the contrary, there are two or three climbing-oriented charities that benefit pretty much everyone who climbs--such as the Access Fund--and I plan to use this site to support them. But I won't let them ask for donations, it'll be through giving them more visibility by promoting their content, writing an article interviewing someone on their team, mentioning a crag-cleanup day where folks can volunteer, etc. The money conversations can happen on their websites, not RockClimbing.com. Similarly, crowd-funded guidebooks or projects to open new crags are beneficial to us as climbers, and I'm happy to give exposure to these projects through author interviews, volunteer days, etc as long as it doesn't involve soliciting donations. For questions or requests about this policy, PM me or email support@rockclimbing.com. Again, all posts soliciting donations will be killed without warning.
(This post was edited by Jeff on Nov 16, 2014, 12:29 AM)
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Jeff
Owner
Nov 16, 2014, 3:45 AM
Post #2 of 8
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Also, did want to mention that this policy was *not* triggered by any specific user or post... so if you recently posted a money request, please don't feel singled out--that's not the intent here. There's just been a number of posts asking for money lately, particularly from users who merely signed up to solicit funds. After discussing with the moderators, I decided to just make a blanket ban on asking for money.
(This post was edited by Jeff on Nov 16, 2014, 3:45 AM)
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sungam
Nov 16, 2014, 6:07 PM
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Registered: Jun 24, 2004
Posts: 26804
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But scamming RCers out of allegedly desperately needing money is a long standing tradition that dates back for almost 10 years!
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happiegrrrl
Nov 17, 2014, 3:50 PM
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Registered: Mar 25, 2004
Posts: 4660
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I understand the intent, but would have preferred a case by case basis, and to allow people the opportunity to make stupid decisions(like sending money to a "climber" who is being held for ranson in Zimbabwe or similar....). On Supertopo, there have been numerous times when crowdsource accounts were set up to help others in the community, legitimately. There has ALWAYS been some who demand proof the request is legit, and/or exactly what the funds would be used for, but for the most part people were able to use their common sense to decide if they wanted to help or trolled(like when the 15 year old who had "just discovered climbing" wanted funds to buy a rack so they could climb in Yosemite, Red Rocks, and so on...). I know recently here of a few who crowdsourced for help with travel to comps, and think thus was great they were able to do that. If ONLY I could climb hard enough or be dedicated enough to make it to comp level! But I am happy to support those who can/are. And the TGreene incident - yeah, that was pretty unfortunate, especially as it came from a member who had been part of the site for some time. But - when one gives, they ought to do so with no strings attached, and to be ripped off as we were in that situation - well, it didn't bother me. I had good intentions with my donation, and believe the universe finds a way to balance things out. Anyway - it is your decision, Jeff, to make policy as you see fit.
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granite_grrl
Nov 17, 2014, 7:34 PM
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Registered: Oct 25, 2002
Posts: 15084
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Aw Jeff, you make it sound so dirty! But I understand your decision. Part of the reason why I'm going the Ice World Cup is to make people more aware about comp climbing and because I feel it's important to the progression of climbing in North America. I started a separate post on the subject and hope for some decent participation. Happie - thanks for the support. But Jeff is right, some people do these kind of crowd funding things for profit. I can guarantee that wasn't the case for me and Nathan, we know that comp climbing is super expensive and expect to pay for most of it out of pocket. But the cost sure hurts and I don't feel bad about asking the climbing community for support.
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Jeff
Owner
Nov 17, 2014, 9:46 PM
Post #6 of 8
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Hey you both have great points, and I don't have a great answer. Especially because I think a healthy community supports its members. That said, I'm still going to stick with the blanket ban that users aren't allowed to ask for money on this site. I was annoyed by the hit-and-run asks for money--yeah, it's pretty obvious what's spam and what isn't, but after a while spam gets old. I also don't want to deal with the line of who's a regular and who's a n00b... However, as I alluded to in my post, I want to use this site in ways that don't involve soliciting funds to support projects that help the climbing community. For example, granite_grrl, if you're interested, what about a quick Q&A with camhead that we feature on the front page that highlights how the Ice world cup will increase visibility of comp climbing and includes a link to your website where folks who are interested can go to learn more...? My gut says putting just a little more friction in the system by requiring folks to contact me rather than just posting straight to the forum will also help filter out the spam a bit.
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dingus
Dec 1, 2014, 3:44 PM
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Registered: Dec 16, 2002
Posts: 17398
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No offense but you're good with policy statements and not so good on delivering change to this site. When are you going to get off your ass and change something around here? Huh? DMT
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Jeff
Owner
Dec 1, 2014, 8:11 PM
Post #8 of 8
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There's a lot happening behind the scenes. Nothing more to report at this time.
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