AskWoody sponsorships: Meet Rimi

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Continuing a long tradition by both Fred and Woody, AskWoody.com now sponsors disadvantaged kids from around the world, through Save the Children. You
[See the full post at: AskWoody sponsorships: Meet Rimi]

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Elly, Myst, Mr. Natural

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I love the idea, Woody! You’re more than welcome to use my small contribution to help support your philanthropy.

Some 30-odd friends — yes, they’re odd, too — and I have been making Kiva loans to third-world women since 2010. In that time, we’ve turned US$4,770 in deposits into 824 loans, each at US$25, totaling US$20,675 so far. We currently have a portfolio of just under US$2,000. Our plan is to recycle every dollar into future loans.

We’ve — actually, I’ve — focused on third-world women because it’s one quick way to build resilience in those we support while at the same time strengthening families and communities. It not only feels good, it does good!

There are 10 kinds of people:
those who understand binary numbers
and those who don't.

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Elly, Myst, warrenrumak

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Woody, we love your site and your advice. I know many that have donated to you. The problem is we (yes we) donated to you for your site costs and overhead. If I wanted to donate to save the children I can go to that web site and follow their donation instructions from there.

We gave money for the betterment of askwoody.com. If askwoody has so much donations coming in as to divert it to causes overseas then …….. hummmmm

People that donated to askwoody.com wanted that money to be used for the advancement of askwoody, not be siphoned off to another venture.

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Count me in as someone who is happy to see this.  All of us who work in IT and software are enormously privileged…. and it is only right that we try to do little bits here and there to help those who are less fortunate.

I say this to you while displaying my real name and my Plus Membership badge. Your comments, conversely, will be uncompelling to most here because you have not done the same.

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Just want to reply to real name vs anonymous postings…

I can see that you, @warrenrumak, are lucky to be able to use your real name and identity when posting. Although some people may use anonymous posts to say what they wouldn’t when using a ‘real’ name… or to bully or harass others, that isn’t true for everyone, and does not mean that their posts are less credible for it.

I lost the ability to use my ‘real’ name and identity because I left an ex-husband behind, who is abusive, and who’s threats to end my life are quite credible. Not allowing him the opportunity to identify me, and trace me, keeps me safe. Too many people in the world have to cope with this, whether as individuals, or because they live in cultures that seek to control their individual choices. This is one reason privacy for our computing is very, very important. The fact that cell phones and computers seek to strip privacy from everyone makes my world more unsafe… and in the US, more women die at the hands of abusers in their 20s and 30s than from illnesses or accidents. The tech industry, being mostly male, and less likely to be victims of abuse, has tended to ignore or minimize the consequences when evaluating privacy issues for end users.

I really work towards using technology to allow freedom of communication, while respecting privacy… and whether I post as anonymous, to protect my self, or as Elly, also to protect myself, it doesn’t make my postings have less validity. Please don’t try to coerce people to self identify as their ‘real’ identity. There are life-embracing, safety reasons for not doing so.

One of the things I love about AskWoody, is that people can make anonymous posts… and that there are moderators (volunteers) willing to do the extra work to screen out the bullies and spammers, and make it safe for those who need to do so… both to ask questions, to get help, and to provide help. I will acknowledge that there is a cultural bias of ignoring or dismissing such needs… and we tend to be blind to our own culture and how it is viewed by others… but having had to negotiate my own way through those blinders and misconceptions, I feel the need to protect those who might potentially be in that position from being further isolated and stigmatized.

Anonymous posters are welcomed here! (but it would be nice if they chose an identity of some kind, at least temporarily, to make multiple anonymous responses in a thread less confusing).

Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter

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Myst, satrow, woody

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Your point is taken.

However, I shall continue to take an extremely dim view towards people who post anonymously while also claiming to be a paid user, and while also claiming to be representing the views of others.  These are tactics used by abusers and trouble-makers, not by the well-meaning.

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Elly

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I’m not telling you not to use discretion in your evaluation of posts… but prior to our current integration with Windows Secrets, (and still, I think) anonymous donations could be made to the site. Here, is is possible that someone has been anonymous (I lurked around anonymously, here, for years) and finds the site information valuable, and want to financially support it, without ever showing a ‘real identity. Woody always asked Patrons if they wanted to be identified, and respected their decisions… but I understand that is a cultural difference between AskWoody, and Window Secrets, and probably other tech sites. I’m grateful that I was allowed to be anonymous, and seek to give back what I have learned and benefited from… its part of being a community… the give and take… No one says you ever have to answer or respond to an anonymous post, especially given how you interpret them… but I always give them the benefit of the doubt, in hopes that those who are simply reading through the site, can utilize and benefit from the information, just like I did.

As someone who has bounced from able to/from dis- abled to/from dis-abled unemployed yet not qualifying for benefits, I sort of side with someone that sees their hard-won money, that was thoughtfully donated to keep something they value going, being sent in another direction… good intentions, aside (and as much as I love Woody!).

Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter

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Thank you very much ELLY for your kind posting and story. For those that do not like anonymous posts, this is why we like Woody. I have posted here for a long time as anonymous. I have helped people here too.

For anyone who knows about Firefox, Brendon Eich donated to a cause that he felt was worthy. It was a legal cause… People who were against that platform were angry and made a publicly recorded contribution be known to all years later. This caused him to lose his job.

Anyone posting as anonymous and is not causing trouble or malice, could have a good reason for not joining or signing in to be a part of a forum.

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Elly

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@warrenrumak-

I want to apologize for having responded with less than civility. I triggered, going into a rant, because the anonymity issue is so personal for me (as my post clearly revealed). For you, and anyone else interested, I’ve posted a more decorous review of anonymous posting here at AskWoody. Thank you for not responding in kind to my too pointed post. You are a gentleman, and behaved admirably, and I hope you forgive me.

Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter

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I genuinely appreciate your observations.

Keep in mind that Fred and I have been publicly helping poor kids for decades now. It’s in our blood. Fred’s always had the Langalist kids. I started the Tibetan Children’s Fund, and was president of the Rotary Club in Phuket after the tsunami — we helped hundreds of orphans.

I’ve seen Bangladesh (although I’ve never been to Barisal). I know that many, many people there need help. I know that every single one of us here has far more than any of those kids.

If we can do a little good, then I say go for it.

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geekdom, Myst, Elly

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Awesome Woody! I am proud to be a part of your venture PC wise and kid wise, you’re the best

MacOS iPadOS and sometimes SOS

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woody, Lars220

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For the record:

I absolutely do not mind at all this sponsoring by Woody’s/Windows Secrets of children being born from very poor parents in places where most people’s lives are way tougher than for most of us here, and where they are often orphaned or abandoned amidst the wreckage of internecine wars, or displaced from their homelands by these, or by famines, and living in crowded and often precarious conditions in refugee camps. Particularly when the money is channeled through this old and deservedly prestigious international charity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Save_the_Children

Excellent idea!

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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woody, Lars220, Myst

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