Artists and crafters shoud not be asked to do favors without geting paid...

[Rhea]

Generally speaking I agree with this. Particularly if they are a professional. One shouldn’t say, “Oh. Would you make me one of those?” Or “can you make a thing like this for me?”

With one rather striking exception:

If that requesting person had just written a check north of $20,000 to pay for your tuition to art school and they ask you to do a photoshop of a picture of your sister, the answer there is not, “I’ll need some remuneration,” it’s “yes, mom.” This one is not a favor, it’s a patronage.

 

[bilby]

Generally speaking I agree with this. Particularly if they are a professional. One shouldn’t say, “Oh. Would you make me one of those?” Or “can you make a thing like this for me?”

With one rather striking exception:

If that requesting person had just written a check north of $20,000 to pay for your tuition to art school and they ask you to do a photoshop of a picture of your sister, the answer there is not, “I’ll need some remuneration,” it’s “yes, mom.” This one is not a favor, it’s a patronage.

Indeed.

But at least you won't have to worry that others might get away with wheedling for freebies.

 

[Angry Floof]

I spend a lot of time in crafting groups on fb and this is one of the most common rants.

 

[gmbteach]

I get upset when my best friend doesn’t charge me full price for my beauty therapy! I would pay anyone for their craftiness! It’s simply because I don’t have a good crafty bone in my body so I am more than happy to pay someone for their time and materials.

 

[James Brown]

I've been told that it's perfectly acceptable to read an author's work in a bookstore without paying for it.

Because "Information Wants to Be Free™", as I understand it.

 

[CJW]

That's right up there with:

Bar Owner: Hey band - why don't you play in my bar for free - It'll be great exposure for you! btw... beer isn't free for the band.

 

[Malintent]

It's worse for IT folk... Everyone wants you to fix something or explain something on their computer... but god forbid you ask a plumber to add a bathroom to your house while he is visiting on Thanksgiving....

 

[bigfield]

It's worse for IT folk... Everyone wants you to fix something or explain something on their computer...

I tend to bring that on myself because I like helping people.

 

[bilby]

It's worse for IT folk... Everyone wants you to fix something or explain something on their computer... but god forbid you ask a plumber to add a bathroom to your house while he is visiting on Thanksgiving....

My father in law is terrible for that. He seems to think that because I work in IT, I will want nothing more than to spend my weekends doing for him for free, what I am paid a lot of money to do during the week.

And because I work in IT, only my services will do - his wife, daughter and two sons can all tell him "just restart the computer and see if that fixes it"; but no, he has to wait a week for me to be there, and have me restart his computer, because I am the computer expert.

I finally told him that I won't even look at it until gmbteach has tried (and failed) to fix it first - and so far, she's never failed (99.99% of the problems are PEBKAC).

 

[Malintent]

It's worse for IT folk... Everyone wants you to fix something or explain something on their computer...

I tend to bring that on myself because I like helping people.

You are no help by doing... you must educate them to help themselves. What's that expression? Give a person fire and he will be warm for a day. Set a person on fire and they will be warm for the rest of their life.

 

[gmbteach]

It's worse for IT folk... Everyone wants you to fix something or explain something on their computer... but god forbid you ask a plumber to add a bathroom to your house while he is visiting on Thanksgiving....

My father in law is terrible for that. He seems to think that because I work in IT, I will want nothing more than to spend my weekends doing for him for free, what I am paid a lot of money to do during the week.

And because I work in IT, only my services will do - his wife, daughter and two sons can all tell him "just restart the computer and see if that fixes it"; but no, he has to wait a week for me to be there, and have me restart his computer, because I am the computer expert.

I finally told him that I won't even look at it until gmbteach has tried (and failed) to fix it first - and so far, she's never failed (99.99% of the problems are PEBKAC).

And now he takes delight in informing us when he has fixed a problem by himself by rebooting!

 

[bigfield]

It's worse for IT folk... Everyone wants you to fix something or explain something on their computer...

I tend to bring that on myself because I like helping people.

You are no help by doing... you must educate them to help themselves.

I do that. Helping and teaching people how to help themselves are complementary; I myself learn a lot when others explain solutions to problems--that's pretty much how I gained a lot of my user and programming knowledge.

 

[rousseau]

It's worse for IT folk... Everyone wants you to fix something or explain something on their computer... but god forbid you ask a plumber to add a bathroom to your house while he is visiting on Thanksgiving....

My father in law is terrible for that. He seems to think that because I work in IT, I will want nothing more than to spend my weekends doing for him for free, what I am paid a lot of money to do during the week.

And because I work in IT, only my services will do - his wife, daughter and two sons can all tell him "just restart the computer and see if that fixes it"; but no, he has to wait a week for me to be there, and have me restart his computer, because I am the computer expert.

I finally told him that I won't even look at it until gmbteach has tried (and failed) to fix it first - and so far, she's never failed (99.99% of the problems are PEBKAC).

I'm the IT support guy for my father/mother in law, my parents, my fiancee, and one of my sisters-in-law.

At least my father-in-law occasionally fixes stuff for me too.

 

[ZiprHead]

I got my father a computer many years ago, Windows 3.1 days. Boy, was that a mistake.

 

[dendrast]

This actually works. But then you risk this.