In my opinion it is brilliant, because the site holds a mirror up to yourself. When you read the message, you were actually willing to spend $50 for a some virtual sh*t (compared to wiping out slavery).

That's the best position to get someone in to give a few bucks for something good. Even if it's not the full amount of $50.

Except that the website is so obviously a big joke from the start, that the people who “try” to sign up aren't taking it seriously.

(Also if you think that $50 can wipe out slavery you're incredibly naïve. At least the return on investment when you spend that $50 on “virtual crap” is more clear. That's why people will continue to spend more money on “virtual crap” rather than charities, however undeniably noble their intentions are.)

I think you underestimate two things: - hipster web people who will sign up for anything without thinking - $50 which are a small lottery win for a 3rd world family

I am sponsoring an eight year old boy from Kamrabad Uchcha Vidyalaya (East India) for 20 euros monthly. That includes school material (for the whole class), health insurance (for his whole family) and nutrition support (again for the whole family). And no, I've never seen him personally.

But my sister did when she was a volunteering doctor for one year in his area. I really don't want to argue with you, but I believe that it is less naïve to at least try to help with $50 than not to try it at all.

Now let's back those awesome 3d glasses on kickstarter...!

Mylan Engel wrote a fantastic paper (albeit about childhood starvation) about how we are in fact morally obligated to donate to relief funds based on (in his words) beliefs we already hold. I highly recommend it. "Hunger, Duty and Ecology: On What We Owe Starving Human Beings"

I closed the tab, after reading four lines and thinking, wow someone went this far to make a joke out of it?

Came to HN to find my answer. I guess that may work given that app.net users will eventually know what's up.

Twitter actually played a notable part in taking down several repressive regimes over the past year or two. I no longer trust Twitter to be reasonably available to the oppressed in a year or two, given their crackdown on third-party clients (like mobile clients). App.net is intending to be a platform for everything, and "everything" includes "bringing communication and openness to purge corruption out of the darkest corners of the world".

Yes, "everything" also includes "taking hipster photos of my meals and sharing them with my hipster friends", and that's closer to why I actually signed up, but the implicit claim that $50 towards a project as ambitious as App.net does _nothing_ to solve the world's social ills is very questionable.

I don't think people in 3rd world countries will be able to afford app.net accounts for $50.