Obviously a lot of you guys don't like Mr. Ford and he doesn't sound like a decent person, but why is this on HN? I fail to see how this relates to tech or entrepreneurship.
They are "guide"lines.
If someone doesn't believe this story belongs on HN and politely gives valid reasons, I see no problem.
Also, it's important to recognize that the fundraisers have lost contact with those in custody of the video. It's likely that we may never see that video and, rather than contributing to original intent of the fundraiser, the donations will instead go to fund Gawker's arbitrarily chosen charity. Crowdfunding's double-edged sword strikes again.
As far as using the donations as a tax write off, I don't think I understand your question. Are you asking if Gawker could take the money they received from crowdfunding, turn around and donate it to a registered charity and then claim a deduction??
I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that it's here because a large majority of HN users voted it here... because they found it to be of interest... Just guessing...