Have you been nominated to do the ALS ice bucket challenge? Learn the rules first!

Since the first week of June up to the moment, social networking sites had been rife with a lot of viral videos showing people from all walks of life who are taking the icy cold challenge.

The ice bucket challenge engages different people who were dousing ice water buckets and recording the entire ordeal on video, then posting it on various social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube. They will also have to nominate other people to do the same.

This effort is being made to raise awareness about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as the Lou Gehrig disease.

The viral challenge began when Pete Frates and his family from Beverly, Mass. helped spread the viral Ice Bucket Challenge through Facebook and Twitter. The 29-year-old former college baseball athlete had been living with ALS since 2012, and he is working with the Massachusetts Chapter of the ALS Association to raise worldwide awareness for the disease that affects the nerve cells in the nervous system.

Basically, the ice bucket challenge rules are very simple. Anyone can do it with just a few easy steps.

First, the person who wants to do it should wait to be nominated by a person who already did the challenge. A friend, a colleague, or a family member can nominate a person before actually doing it.

Then, the nominated person must decide if he or she had accepted to take the challenge within a 24-hour period. He or she can also refuse to take the challenge, but the nominated person should donate $100 to ALS Association (ALSA) in order to fund the organization for ALS cure research.

But if the person decided to do the challenge, they are still required to donate but it does not have to be $100. They can give whatever amount they want via the ALSA donation website.

Those who are willing to do the challenge would need to have a bucket filled with cold water and at least ¼ ice to be able to perform it. They also have to have a video capturing device on hand so they can record it and post it online.

Additional instructions from the ALSA website said, "When doing the challenge, please use the hashtags #icebucketchallenge, #alsicebucketchallenge, and #strikeoutals."

ALSA also reminded everyone to be mindful of water conservation. The website stated, "Please be thoughtful about water usage! If you're in an area of the country or world affected by drought, repurpose the water for later use or help spread ALS awareness by becoming an ALS advocate, joining the Walk to Defeat ALS® in your community, getting involved in our fundraisers, or sharing information about this disease via social media. Or you can make a donation instead at www.alsa.org/donate."