RE: Tired of giving out technical advice for free

["Steve Hudson" <cruddy -at- optushome -dot- com -dot- au>]

Mmmmmm. Munchies for thought. Mmmmm.

Look, let's drop all pretence that I can answer politically, subtly or
ethically. I face the same dilemma now I have always faced. _Where_ is my
next beer coming from?

By the same token, if I don't help my weaker brother, where does the family
go? If times were tight, I might be tempted into "Yeah, sure buddy, $30 into
this account and give me your ph number for the answer."

On many levels you are arguing capitalism versus communism. Altriusm versus
user-pays. Socialism versus Cable-TV :-)

If you don't have the time, then don't without pay. If you do, then do. Time
is our most precious commodity and it drips away sometimes without us even
realising.

Finally, I cannot help the irony. Might not the time you spent penning the
tech-whirler message and reading responses - let alone time spent by
respondants in replying - have been better spent just helping the poor fella
and moving on? Let alone expecting us to spend unpaid time... blah blah ad
nauseum.

Cynically laughing hartd inside - and crying outside:

Steve Hudson, Word Heretic
HDK List MVP
Word help and tools: heretic -at- tdfa -dot- com


-----Original Message-----
From: Emily Berk

But, looking back after 20 years of writing for peanuts for magazines, I
realize that I have not once found paid employment as a result of an article
I've written.  I do, however, continue to get lots and lots of calls and
emails asking for additional information that did not appear in the
articles.

Just today there's such an inquiry in my Inbox.  He just read the piece I
wrote and is impressed by its careful research and thoroughness.  He is a
professional in his field, working for a well-established organization and
he is asking for advice (and it's not a yes-or-no kind of question, but one
that would take time and research to answer) that he will no doubt package
into a nice report and in return receive a nice check (or maybe he's on
salary).  He does not offer me any recompense for the work he is asking me
to do.


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