Kofi

[shy_magpie]

God bless the inventor of Ko-fi, my heart aches when I see my friends or the creators getting me through these last few months having trouble but even a $2 Patreon is $24 a year and those add up fast. Three bucks one time with no obligation on either side, just a “I saw the link on the same day I got a great coupon, so it evens out”? A nice way to feel like I'm doing something to not just be the proverbial free rider mooching off this unofficial system.

Look big windfalls like my tax refund I am morally obligated to put towards refilling my rainy day fund or saving up for a laptop before this one croaks, little windfalls I refuse to feel guilty about passing on. With the ability to do so anonymously I can even defeat my anxiety about people wondering why I gave to one person and not another. (really I have to keep it random because if I start trying to weigh need against need I end up getting all weird about whether I have the right to spend anything that isn't strictly necessary and I am not going back there)

The only thing is it uses paypal meaning I get about 3 receipts including one that lists a recipient name that isn't the one on the Ko-fi. Now after the first time I learned the wording so I could toss it into my records folder without looking at it, and its not like I can remember names when I want to, but I worry that people might not realize that even if Ko-fi is discrete, Paypal is handing their legal name out. There are so many reasons why someone might not want to have their legal name out there from dead names to stage names to simple privacy.

I assume it falls under the usual unspoken rule of "I see your paypal name, I am looking away"; but I worry about everything, especially with it being used for the first time by a lot of people, so maybe the moral obligation goes the other way? I should be the one to give them a heads up? Or is that putting them in a bad spot by making them acknowledge that I already saw it?

I suppose I could try to put that concern in a tumblr post and hope it gets seen by people considering/using ko-fi. concerns:

• Is it too close to vague blogging? because I have a rule about that


• I have a small follower count, would it seem too directed at anyone I have donated to, coming across as "I know your dead name" defeating the point of not contacting them directly?


• In the unlikely event it the post does get attention, would it risk advertising a weapon for unsavory types who could use it to get the legal name of anyone who has their ko-fi link posted


• Is it going to make anyone I haven't donated to think I don't judge their need worthy? Like here I can make it clear that its not by prefacing with my hang ups, financial situation, and that I really only do it like twice a month is okay. Tumblr isn't the time or place for stuff that messy/personal for me. Hell just posting directly instead of scheduling is messy for me on Tumblr.

Comments

[stripytights]

The lack of anonymity makes it difficult for donations or even things like charity auctions I find. I've found occasional workarounds but they take a lot of time and often depend on what platform is being used.

It's a really difficult one and regardless of the conclusion you come to, kudos for putting so much thought and consideration into it.

[shy_magpie]

Thank you for saying that! Its hard to tell legitimate concern from my anxiety and over thinking. I wish I could say I made progress but so far the best I've got is the thought that linking an article on PayPal's naming policy with a reminder it goes for everthing using it to process payments (using ko fi as an example) might be abstracted enough to avoid the downsides while still doing some good.

[potofsoup]

hmmmm.... I didn't know ko-fi had that issue, so maybe it's worth a mention? I don't think it's vague-blogging. If you want it to be less as a singular post of "ko-fi issue exposed!" (which it may turn into), maybe present it as a longer post of pros and cons of kofi?

[shy_magpie]

That's useful feedback! If neither of us knew it was a concern than its more likely that others don't know. I'm not familiar enough with Ko fi to do that but I'm thinking maybe a post on PayPal doing that with Ko fi as an example? While I assume it started like most "true name policies" from good intentions, its a bit of a dick move when they're so used by so many companies.

[potofsoup]

Hmmm, yeah. Pointing out that payment services that use paypal will reveal true name is helpful, and maybe a caveat that some people don't mind, and that the majority of fandom is friendly and wouldn't abuse that knowledge except to send surprise postcards, but that it is something to be aware of? Hmm... now I wonder if storenvy does the same.

[shy_magpie]

Ooh that's good too, no reason to be unnecessarily alarming about it!