[uptown]

Because lending money is always about trust and managing risk.

In the context of potentially offering to float cash to a stranger - and getting a vague response about the exact situation requiring urgent cash - I'd like to know whether the person is trustworthy. Finding a mug shot that potentially resembles the cartoon version of the person requesting the cash from their website ( [link redacted] ) I see no harm in asking whether the person in the mug shot with the same name and potentially similar physical attributes was the same person.

[wtracy]

Except that he never asked anyone to lend him money. He asked for someone to hire him on a contract basis.

[uptown]

Totally accurate. But he also replied to my question about why he needed the money in the context of the money being a loan rather than for work performed, so I continued the discussion.

Personally, I'd trust somebody with $300 before I'd trust them with my codebase.

[e1ven]

I feel that asking in private may have been understandable, but posting it publicly was over the line.

[etjossem]

Let's say you're applying for an incredibly basic credit card with a line of $1000. Would you expect the bank to obtain a copy of your credit report? Probably; that's standard practice. Would they also try to determine prior convictions? Maybe. Would you expect them to search for a mugshot of you based on a cartoon they saw, pick a totally unrelated image file, then factor what that person looks like and what they've been accused of pre-trial into the decision? I hope not.

If you're planning to spot a fellow HN user some money, and you can't show them any trust, at least show a little professionalism. If you just did that for your own amusement, please don't ever do it again.

[uptown]

I didn't search for a mugshot. I searched for his name, and it was the first photograph shown on the first page of the results.

Your suggestion that this was done for amusement is incorrect. A basic name search for a person in "urgent" need of money from strangers where no friend or family is able or willing to help seems like pretty basic due diligence to me.

Additionally - I'd refuse to ever lend to anybody that was an active gambler:

"@[name redacted] Hello, do you honor bets where you have made an error with the odds? (Sports book not exchange)"

[link redacted]

The exact nature of my original question was trying to determine what the money was for, and that question remains unanswered.

[biot]

Your matching algorithm is about as accurate as a name match for a TSA no-fly list. Regarding the cartoon likeness, the only similarity I saw was the hairline... ok, that and two eyes, two ears, a nose, a mouth. To be honest, the cartoon image looks more like Ben Affleck.