Brave taking cryptocurrency donations “for me” without my consent

1. russdpale ◴[21 Dec 18 20:01 UTC] No.18736109[source]▶

I don't totally understand what his problem is. He doesn't want to take money that people are trying to give him? What is the problem here exactly? If he doesn't want it, why not just donate it or something?

It's not like the browser is setting up a crowd funding page for you.. it just lets you know you can pay your favorite content creators how you want instead of a huge unfair chunk going to google.

And for the record, and of you are free to send me money in any which way you can, I even accept trained pigeon courier!

replies(3): >>18736169 #>>18736345 #>>18741953 #

2. magissima ◴[21 Dec 18 20:08 UTC] No.18736169[source]▶

>>18736109 (TP) #

The problem isn't that people are trying to give him money, it's that Brave is asking people for that money on his behalf, trying to give it to him, and then not returning it when he turns it down.

3. detaro ◴[21 Dec 18 20:29 UTC] No.18736345[source]▶

>>18736109 (TP) #

> It's not like the browser is setting up a crowd funding page for you

Isn't it pretty much like this? How many people would use some other way of giving a creator money if they knew that the creator isn't actually signed up for Brave's thing and they're creating additional work for them, or that the money might even be distributed to others at some point?

EDIT: some screenshots: https://twitter.com/ummjackson/status/1076221401353207808 - zero indication that's not going directly to the creator

4. ubernostrum ◴[22 Dec 18 19:04 UTC] No.18741953[source]▶

>>18736109 (TP) #

It's not like the browser is setting up a crowd funding page for you.

That is precisely what the browser is doing.

This can have harmful consequences for the people they do it to. If someone's on a means-tested disability benefit, for example, and makes youtube videos to blow off steam, what happens when the benefits agency discovers that they have a funding option through Brave? A funding option that they didn't know about, didn't ask for, and didn't get paid out of (because the tokens get quickly flushed into the "growth pool" when uncollected)? Is Brave ready to be responsible for them losing their support mechanism?

If they start collecting on behalf of an open-source project that already has a nonprofit foundation for fundraising, what happens when a tax audit turns up this undisclosed funding stream that the project didn't know about and didn't ask for? Oops, there goes your nonprofit status! Is Brave ready to be responsible for that?

About every six months someone comes up with this "brilliant" "new" idea to crypto-fundraise on behalf of other people without telling them. And we have the same thread where people point out the same problems. And then like clockwork someone does it again. My hope is that one of these times, the people behind it get so utterly and completely financially ruined that it finally puts an end to the cycle. Maybe Brave will be the one to finally face that.