how safe is it to donate?

[maul1515]

I read about oink and a lot of people were worried that authorities could trace the donations back to the donors so how safe is it to donate on some of these trackers? How do the people taking the donations remain aynonomous? You have to use real information to sign up for paypa1.

Good night to all.

[sert]

I dont think its a risk for you to donate. Most possibly they will go after the recipient.

[tiolewis]

how safe ? i think ... 99 %

[TheFoX]

It's one hundred percent safe, because you are donation, and receiving nothing in return.

In fact, the only time you might find yourself in hot water is if you made a compulsory donation to access illegal material, via a dump box, or any other restricted method (Scene Access).

You have to remember that donating on OiNK was purely voluntary, and you did not receive anything that could be construed as illegitimate.

Even on sites that promote donations using a gimmick, such as Pay2Leech, or upload credits, these are not assigned to illegitimate material. In fact, what you spend you credit on does not matter. You could download the latest Linux distro.

The only time a monetary crime is committed is when you wittingly part with cash for something you know to be illegal. Paying a donation so that you can post in the VIP forums, or have a yellow star next to your name, is not yet a hanging offence, although the RIAA is trying to criminalize the yellow star.



Your should also remember that association is not adequate proof of activity. There were many members of OiNK who did not do much, if any, file sharing. They were there simply because of the community. Being a member of a community does not automatically make you a criminal. Only the act of crime makes you a criminal.

[maul1515]

Thanks TheFoX for answering my question so thoroughly. It makes me feel less paranoid when donating especially to smaller sites. A very stickyable answer. Happy Holidays to all.

[ersatzp]

While TheFoX is correct in that the case wouldn't hold up in a court of law you could still be charged. Whatever org may decide to bring litigation so that'll you'll settle out of court or just to cause you hassle and money for defense. Of course it's unlikely that they will ever go after donors.

[maul1515]

I knew there had to be a catch. I guess there is always a risk in whatever is done over the net. Thanks for the reply.

[Bucktoof]

I've donated to several different sites. No problems, and thanks for the tips TheFox - it puts it into context and he explains it very well.

[lostdemon]

Very safe to donate
Many sites need our donations to keep them running.
Blackcats is one that I would most definately not want to lose.

[Stevis]

I try to donate to every site I join, even if I can only make the minimum donation at the time.