This is a nice gesture and all but strictly against the rules, and could get you suspended.
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Hmm, I thought I've seen awareness and charity threads before.
I'm not asking for any quid pro quo - the giveaways are open to all that use the link
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Awareness is something else, and it's not about the giveaways, it's the money asking part.
I still don't know sometimes it can slip by yeah, but that's also due lack of staff, i seen cases 5 years ago when this for sure wouldn't been allowed.
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Quoting the guidelines:
Collecting money, items, or games for giveaways, lotteries, or group access. For example, asking users to donate a few dollars, with the promise of giving away a valuable game once adequate funds have been raised. Or, asking users to personally send you games and items for an event. Or, requiring users to send you annual fees to participate in your Steam group.
I'm not promising anything conditionally - the GAs are already public
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Yeah but i believe they never been clear on the subject, the reasoning being, everyone will know someone that could use money, for an operation, for a safety dog, for a wheelchair, if everyone would make a thread asking money for their close one/friend/family then it's gonna be a bit full isn't it?
You can leave it and let a mod decide when they read it.
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Going by the guideline you posted, it's with the giveaway and not for the giveaway.
It looks like you're not breaking the guideline you posted.
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If I get warning from support, I'll deal with the consequences, but honestly, if there's a chance that this helps Shawn even a bit, I'm willing to take the risk.
I do appreciate the warning though, especially from such a long-time SG member
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No prob and i do wish your friend good luck, beside it being okay or not i don't think this is the best place to ask anyway, many people left over the years so this place isn't so crowded anymore, you are better off asking on bigger channels, try building a twitter network f.e but always better is doing real life funding stuff, in my eyes that works way better, like a x mile run, bake sale etc.
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"If I get warning from support, I'll deal with the consequences, but honestly, if there's a chance that this helps Shawn even a bit, I'm willing to take the risk" You are a good friend.
I T-H-I-N-K that it's allowed, if you are writing in the giveaways themselves, not in the post. Don't take my word for it, though.
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You might be allowed to ask within the giveaway itself, but not on the forums. You'd have to check with a mod though.
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I'm wishing your friend the best of luck but personally, I made a decision against contributing to paying the medical bills of US-Americans.
It makes a lot more sense to donate for people in poor countries, instead of directing money to one of the richest countries on this planet where its people somehow managed to convince themselves that universal healthcare is evil.
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ah yes because those that are suffering from said healthcare being bad are the ones that are directly responsible for it being how it is in the first place and are totally able to fix it on their own
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^^this, as well
for what it's worth, my friend in question did realize, only after he got sick, that "hell, maybe public healthcare would be a good thing after all"
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I know that those who'd actually be among those benefitting most from any kind of health care reform, are also among the most hardcore GOP voters. One of my aunts belongs to these brainwashed people. And she should know way better because she emigrated from Europe.
Yet she keeps voting GOP while also bemoaning her own bills and general situation.
Yes, I also feel sorry for those who are the victims of that system. But it's impossible to tell if someone is a victim or actually contributed to the status quo.
So what remains is that my money is better spent in other parts of the world.
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In a rational, cold-minded way, I completely agree with you - your dollar, euro, zloty, or pound will go way further, save many more lives if you donate to Against Malaria Foundation
Even for Americans - probably donating to political causes fighting for universal healthcare like the Forward Party, would bring more good to more people in the long term.
However, this logic breaks somewhat when you are hit with a tragedy close to home.
I feel I need to help my friend, even if I think that donating to what's most effective accorting to GiveWell is what I should do
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I totally get that and naturally I'd feel the same about helping a friend in such a situation.
But helping complete foreigners in a failed system that the responsible society refuses to fix again and again ... that's not about being 'cold-minded'.
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Polish immigrants ? I see some Polish words, including you.
Just curious.
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Bump. I hope he is able to get at the very least a few thousands. I would love to have donated something to help but I am flat out broke.
Is there any way he could try to get on any services or assistance from the government or is that out of the question? Potentially, even trying to see local places that aren't government but help places? When I got really sick, there were churches that were willing to help me regardless of the fact that I wasn't apart of it.
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We're trying different approaches - asking church foodbank is not a bad idea.
The saddest part for me is that, once he gets the prosthesis, Shawn will be able to get back to life and work, to earning his own funds and taking care of himself.
But here the vicious circle hits - he needs to work to get money, but he needs the prosthesis and rehab to get back to work, and to get the prosthesis he needs the money.
So this is literally to get out of the slump and get the ball rolling.
Best wishes for your own health, I hope you got through whatever hit you
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I feel like this is the sad fact in the U.S. because there's this constant cycle of getting money > spending money on something necessary > being poor > getting money > repeat.
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Would it be possible to reach out to local musicians or people like that to try and throw together a variety concert for him? I'm involved in musical theatre and we did a variety show in aid of a local man who needed an electric wheelchair to get around. They reached out to old and new members and a lot of people signed up to do a song or two. Or a comedy piece etc. He had a condition that meant he was losing the ability to use the regular wheelchair. I believe, between that, and a race night at the local pub, they managed to raise what they needed.
People can be good that way and might be willing to donate some of their time to helping someone in need.
You could try a coffee morning.
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the issue with that is that, as immigrants ourselves, we haven't so far (yes, even after a couple years) integrated that well into local community.
thanks for the idea though!
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Best of luck with the fundraiser.
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Hi Lobuz5,
i suggest removing the funding link from the post and mention the link is in the giveaway. Highlight that message by making it bold or larger.
Great that you, your wife and friends are helping him irl. I wish you all the best! <3
Warmest Regards~
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You're wording is what will get you flagged, and a mod may delete this thread.
I'd suggest simply stating that your starting a train to promote health and well being for your hurt friend. Tell the story of the hard times he's going through, and any prayers his way would be appreciated. Then note if anyone wants to know more, they can click through to your profile.
This will get your point across, while not breaking the rules.
Also check on reddits sub r/randomactsofkindness and others, that may be of further assistance.
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I wish you the best of luck with your friend! I know how much this sucks, because I have family and friends with pretty severe health issues. It makes one feel utterly helpless. ☹️
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it does, it's the "it could all be so much better if we acted sooner" that gets me the most
thanks for you kind words
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Yeah, that's definitely the worst feeling, thinking you could have done so much better only if. That burdens you like a thousand pound weight on your back.
You're certainly welcome.
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Bump!
Sorry to hear about your friend, I hope you succeed in the fundraiser, and quickly!
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In highschool we were shown an educational video about MRSA featuring a character in football gear calling himself the "MRSA Linebacker" which I thought was a weird way to present such a deadly topic.
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My 2 cents since noone mentioned it yet: the reason why we have so many antibiotic-resistant strains these days (and more and more) is all the idiots who swallow antibiotics when it's not needed as if it was candy.
So people, don't take antibiotics unless it's really needed. That's a cheap and easy way to eventually save lives (maybe even your future self's).
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Well here (NL) it's not so quickly prescribed, can you buy it in a store or something in the states?
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I don't know the specifics of each country, but I know there's been a lot of abuse in the past, and even though now many countries are more careful, we're still not quite there yet.
For instance, even if my country is in theory careful (if you just read the official guidelines), the last times I went to doctors for a sore throat, they gave me antibiotics without even testing for bacteria first (note that doctors get these test kits for free - I guess it still costs them time to use them...). I had to do, on my own volition (and out of my own pocket), a test in pharmacy (after trying many pharmacies because due to stupid covid most of them stopped doing strepto tests, covid tests are more profitable). And bingo, both times the test was negative, if I had just blindly followed the medical prescription I would have taken antibiotics twice for nothing...
On that note, a little addendum to my previous remark: when you avoid unnecessary antibiotics, not only you do the community a service, but you also do yourself a service, since obviously you're on the first line for the antibiotic-resistant bacteria you're creating 👀
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Agreed completely - overprescribing, and overuse of antibiotics is the main reason for these resistant strains coming up
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Here (CO) you can buy them without a prescription from any pharmacy, which is absolutely moronic.
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I was going to mention this, many people take them, feel they're fine already and don't finish their prescription, or buy them from a store without one as well, in both cases, if the bacteria survives it can become resistant and pass on it's genes, if it's not a bacterial infection you risk making bacteria under control in your body, resistant if it survives, it's why you have to finish all their prescription regardless of how you feel and should never auto-medicate antibiotics, they should be used as a last resort against an infection (only when it's caused by bacteria).
Another sad part is that studies on new antibiotics are stagnant, precisely because it's a regulated drug that you shouldn't intake often, so, it's not very profitable for pharmaceutical companies.
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it's why you have to finish all their prescription regardless of how you feel
Actually, this part is now a bit debated. From the last stuff I read on Medscape about that, It seems that if you are so well that the infection truly is cured after you stop (ie your body is now able to get rid of it, without requiring new antibiotic treatment), stopping early isn't bad (and is actually even beneficial). Which appears to be common sense.
The only problem is, it's not that easy to figure out if you are truly well enough to stop... Cases where it's probably never a good idea to stop early would be, among other things, slow-growing and/or truly hard to get rid of bacteria such as tuberculosis.
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Makes sense, but yeah, it's really hard to know exactly when is that, as you say.
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The only problem is, it's not that easy to figure out if you are truly well enough to stop...
In general it's told to take whole dose as they already tested it eliminates 100% of bacteria. Sure, some may have better immune system than others, but it's impossible to do profiling before antibiotics are taken. While you'd need to swallow 1mln general E. coli bacteria to get diarrhea, you only need 10-100 enterohemorrhagic E.coli to get really seriously sick. I mean like deadly sick. 100 bacteria cells is nothing.
I am highly against doctors that just give people antibiotics for everything, as it's an easy thing to do. But when someone do get prescribed antibiotics, It's always better to end taking them. We minimize the possibility we will ourself make in our body antibiotic resistant bacteria, we don't pee/poo low doses of antibiotics that rise environmental bacteria resistance (current water treatment plants pretty much never can remove antibiotics from waste water).
Though one of the major reason for antibiotic resistance is stuffing them into husbandry animals, instead of giving them better conditions that would limit possibility of infection. Just stuff thousands of chickens in too small area without ability to get proper immune system and fill them up with antibiotics. It worked for some time, until it stopped.
It's enough for bacteria to be under antibiotic evolution pressure for 11 days to raise resistance 1000x. It may be tempting for people to "I feel better, let's keep antibiotic for next time instead of going to doctor" but really don't...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plVk4NVIUh8
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But when someone do get prescribed antibiotics, It's always better to end taking them
Unfortunately, I couldn't find the article I was thinking of, but the idea to "make sure all bacteria causing the infection were completely eradicated" before stopping the antibiotic is a bit something of the past, and the current trend is to try and find the shortest possible duration that will allow the body to successfully kill off the few remaining ones.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/948754
https://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/418761 (this one's actually 20 years old, shortening antibiotic treatments isn't a new issue)
That being said, it is indeed to the doctors (and researchers) to define the shortest appropriate duration, and
It may be tempting for people to "I feel better, let's keep antibiotic for next time instead of going to doctor" but really don't..
yup, definitely don't take some random leftover antibiotic
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That being said, it is indeed to the doctors (and researchers) to define the shortest appropriate duration, and
This should be reflected in the dosage and length of treatment. Not by "I feel good enough to stop to use it". And I was poking this mentality. Depends on how much pharma companies are motivated though, if finding more optimal dosage with shorter treatment time mean less money for them then only regulation can force them to invest and improve already established treatments. They can't just cut down antibiotic taking time as well, without going through all efficiency tests that prove new dosage is not worse than previous. And that cost a lot.
Antibiotics are not all good, they kill helpful bacteria in the gut + pollute the environment with their native form or some derivatives. So the less we use them the better :D
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Best wishes to your friend.
Oddly enough I'm using a salve against my eczema which is supposed to kill Staphylococcus Aureus.
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I can relate to your story completely. Inappropriate use of antibiotics will lead to more and more resistant strains in the future. A disaster in the making.
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Yes, as DingDong2 mentioned above, and as I have learned here in US, getting unnecessary antibiotics, or improper antibiotics (w/o testing the resistancy first) can do more harm than good
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And it all happens in US, where, while medical care is supposed to be professional
no surprise
all about money here...and its stupid fucked up system
we have the highest infant mortality rate out of any developed country
https://vitalrecord.tamhsc.edu/american-infant-mortality-rates-high/
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It's a terrible thing to happen... I wish him the best of luck!
Bump
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I have an aunt with Drug-resistant TB and one of my uncles died from becoming infected by a very aggressive virus during a check-up in a hospital. All because of the missuses of antibiotics, that made a bacteria that already had treatment and vaccines now immune to those and either insufficient isolation, or bad sterilization from the hospital. It's why many here, fear going to them, even thou their service is free here.
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Hi,
Asking for money via donations or for charities is not allowed site-wide. So you will also need to remove links from the giveaways. In giveaways, it's only allowed to post links to social media. You can do what others did mention - write more of your friend story is on your Steam profile. And then who really wants can open Steam and check it. Not having link asking for money in discussions or giveaways.
Collecting money, items, or games for giveaways, lotteries, or group access. For example, asking users to donate a few dollars, with the promise of giving away a valuable game once adequate funds have been raised. Or, asking users to personally send you games and items for an event. Or, requiring users to send you annual fees to participate in your Steam group.
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As an Ultra Moderator, how is your interpretation of that rule you quoted?
Because this section was already discussed above and it seem that rule is dependend on that "with the promise of giving away a valuable game once adequate funds have been raised" which he isn't.
He is just: Here are giveaways and if you want todo something good, look at this.
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"Collecting money items or games". Rest are just examples of what money could go for, that are SG specific.
Imagine someone claiming they don't ask for money for giveaways, as they only share a link to go fund me, where the goal is to make money for giveaways. We can't write each possible thing like "don't ask for money for games, board games, group access, pet food, new console" etc. You can see that list could go virtually forever.
I said they can still point to their Steam profile for those that want to read more. But not share any links here, or write "go to my Steam to donate there".
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Actually, now that I read it carefully, the full sentence is
Collecting money, items, or games for giveaways, lotteries, or group access.
i.e., "Collecting [stuff] for access to [GAs]"
If the rule must be interpreted as you say, why not just make it clearer by cutting off the second part, so that it becomes
Collecting money, items, or games [end of sentence]
I know, I know, I'm writing like a programmer ^^
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If the rule must be interpreted as you say, why not just make it clearer by cutting off the second part, so that it becomes
Maybe, one day. It always takes ages to change anything in the actual wording of the rules. Last update was nearly 3 years ago, and before that I think close to 7 or 8 years. And took months to prepare.
Like when guideline update was discussed, discord was non-existent except as "TeamSpeak alternative". Now when it grew so much it counts as social media, but is not mentioned in the rules as in place where 3rd party giveaways can take place. Though rules can't also be "reactive" and change in flimsy way. Like law in Poland :hehe: Propose today, force through parliament tomorrow without consulation and have president sign down on 3rd day.
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Thanks for clarifying.
I've removed the link from all GAs.
I think the rule as written is open to interpretation, and as you say might be reworded, but I comply with your interpretation as Moderator
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As a non-mod note.
Staphylococus is really common bacteria and pretty much always harmless. Even when it's on skin and you get cut immune system will eliminate it fine. The problem is with strains that have many mutations that allowes them survive longer in environment, and resistant to many common (and uncommon) antibiotics. Used to be that people could get infected mainly in hospitals due to poor decontamination and general health and safety procedures. But more and more people get infected outside of hospitals, as MRSA spread far and wide.
https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/conditions-and-treatments/general-medical-conditions/mrsa/
MRSA can be stopped from spreading just by washing hands or using the alcohol hand rub when entering and leaving hospital rooms or bed spaces.
I know "COVID is over" but please don't stop to wash your hands and keep COVID habits longer. It helps in more ways than you can imagine. It was bizzare to realize how many people were not washing hands, as shops were empty at the start of pandemic, as no one anticipated that huge spike in need for simple soap.
Also don't buy "antibacterial soap". It's crap that actually rises bacteria antibiotic resistance. Soap is more than enough to kill* bacteria when you wash hands for 15-20s...
Triclosan can be found in many places today. It has been added to many consumer products—including clothing, kitchenware, furniture, and toys—to prevent bacterial contamination. Because of that, people’s long-term exposure to triclosan is higher than previously thought, raising concerns about the potential risks associated with the use of this ingredient over a lifetime.
In addition, laboratory studies have raised the possibility that triclosan contributes to making bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Some data shows this resistance may have a significant impact on the effectiveness of medical treatments, such as antibiotics.
*well it doesn't technically kill bacteria, it mostly makes it easier to remove them from skin
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It was bizzare to realize how many people were not washing hands, as shops were empty at the start of pandemic, as no one anticipated that huge spike in need for simple soap.
Thank you for giving me another reason to keep working from home.
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Lol. I would not survive working from home all the time, I need to be in motion. But I would not mind staying home one or two days per week to save on commute.
(My work was considered essential during hard lockdowns, so I was sometimes only person on the underground in London. It was like I was playing plague computer game simulator)
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Wow, that must have been bizarre - my company kept the office open a bit longer than other in the area, and longer than a huge mall next to it.
So for a couple of weeks I was crossing the completely empty mall in broad daylight.
Unnerving, at the least
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Bump. I've known someone who got both legs amputated cause of too much smoking. It wasn't a bacteria but self-inflicted I guess.
It's great your initiative to spread info and awareness about this, there's just too much harm in there and we shouldn't be so oblivious about these things, specially having the power of internet, word to mouth and so on.
btw it's not just in the US, all over the world you can find people left to die or that they lost their home and finances, even relatives could turn their backs when most needed. Healthcare unfortunately it's taken a business first; sadly we've been thought to be used to this, you can afford it then you have a shot if not then you're on your own. Hopefully and luckily there's also really kind people that want to help out those in need, gives a bit of hope in humanity, not all is lost.
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I hope so as well.
Meanwhile we try to do what we can, provide company, a good meal, assistance in getting to treatments.
Fingers crossed that the other leg is still to be saved
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Hi SGers,
I wanted to share an unfortunately sad story about how bad luck can escalate quickly and painfully.
my wife's friend from work (they were both drivers for a rental car company) had to visit a hospital for some routine procedure.
I can ever remember what it was, but it's of little consequence.
What is of consequence is that he came back with a slight Staphylococcus infection in his foot.
Staph is a very common bacteria, 20% to 30% of people have it somewhere, and it's fine.
As long as you're heathy, have access to real food, you're probably won't even notice it's there.
But you can have bad luck - you can get an antibiotic-resistant strain, you can get it not diagnosed early enough
For my friend Shawn, this small but infected wound festered up and he ended with had his left leg amputated six months ago
Which got him stuck in a wheelchair and dependent on his friends to get him groceries and drive him to the wound clinic.
Because, the other leg has similar infection still.
If not treated properly will, it may lead to another amputation.
And it all happens in US, where, while medical care is supposed to be professional, if often is subpar, especially compared to its cost
(medical bills can, and often are, throwing people into literal bankruptcy)
I've made a small train with this month HB Choice games to help spread the message.
If you'd be so kind to spread the message, you can find more details on my steam profile
Update 1/4/2023:
I woke up to a notification that our fundraiser got a first donation from a kind stranger.
I have no way of knowing if it was inspired by this thread, but if it did, thank you so much!
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