Hacker News Reader

Comment by jncfhnb | Hacker News Reader

So if I give ten dollars to a guy begging for money that’s not a donation because he didn’t register as a non profit?

Yes. It's a gift, not a donation. You can't write off $10 to the homeless. In the giver's mind it's a donation but not technically afaik.

And why are you asserting the technical tax framework is relevant here?

The concept of 'gift' is inherent in the meaning of donation and has been understood that way for centuries: https://www.etymonline.com/word/donate#etymonline_v_31787

Do you similarly hold that Nix v. Hedden decided whether we can refer to a tomatos as fruit or vegetable? Words can have different specific meaning in different specific contexts.

Even within the legal context of one country, you may for example be "a resident" by immigration law while "not a resident" by tax law, or vice-versa.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nix_v._Hedden

It’s a gift in your scenario.

It is a gift under a technical tax framework. It is a donation under the normal human beings talking to each other framework.

In typical normal human speak, a gift and donation are effectively equivalent, but differ by the recipient. A donation is given to an organization, a gift is given to an individual.

If you give to a single individual on the street, it would typically be considered a gift. If you gave to a collective on the street, then it would typical be considered a donation.

Of course, humans are at their best when not normal. If you want to call giving to an individual a donation, go nuts. Hell, if you want to call it the moon, even better.

Sampling 5 online dictionaries I am not seeing this nuance. Although sure, we can agree that a donation is a gift. In my opinion the actual nuance is that a donation is a gift driven by charitable intentions. A gift has broader connotations, like romance or celebration. A donation probably implies the gift is not driven by a personal connection to the receiver.

Donation usually implies that it's given to a cause or to a charity. That just isn't what Patreon is. It's people marketing and selling content on the internet.

But saying "donation" brings up feels for people. That's exactly why you see people in here adamant that they've been "donating" to their fave indie artists! It makes them feel philanthropic.

Those same feels are why Tim Sweeney used the word "donation". It makes you think a 30% cut is being taken from non-profit pediatric hospitals for the poor - Sheriff of Nottingham style. It's hyperbole.

Patreon doesn't say the word "donate" anywhere on their website. The closest they come is saying how to "pledge support" for your favorite creators by subscribing for a month and canceling.

Donating to small indie artists is philanthropic and should warrant “feels”.

Patreon does not use the word donate, but they do consider contributions to by “donations” even under recommended tax policy if the artist happens to be a non profit, not that we need to consider taxes to be relevant to feels.

https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/207099326-Is-m....

Reply on news.ycombinator.com