Profiteers

[Jeffrey A. Webb]

Shannen Durphey wrote:
> Nothing stated here, on the list, has been given as a gift.  Nothing discussed off
> list has been
> given as a gift.  

Not true.  How can you speak for everyone on the list?

> Unless a person clearly stipulates within an email or message
> that he or she is
> giving a gift, expect otherwise.
>

I think Will is right when he says that an agreement must be made prior
to the exchange of information.  This is the way things are done in most
transactions I can think of.  Consider eating at a restaurant.  Do you
negotiate the price of a meal after eating it?  How can you disagree
with the price on the menu if you've already eaten the food?  It is the
same way with information on the list.  How can you give information to
someone without telling him how much it is going to cost him?  How can
he "give back" the information if he decides that the cost is too high?

> If a person chooses not to collect for any information used, it does not mean there
> is no debt owed.  Just because they're not asking for payment does not mean there
> is a
> debt which does not need to be settled.
>
> A true gift is a rare thing indeed.  If you ask for something, you owe something in
> return.  If you sign up to this list expecting to get information, you should
> expect to give something back in return.  If you are contacted off list as a result
> of requests posted to the list, you are not absolved of your debt.

Who defines this debt?  Who decides when a debt is repaid?
 
> Is this clearly stated?

Your opinion certainly is.  Just don't speak for the whole list.

I understand your outrage at people making a profit from your hard work
without giving you a cut.  I think that is unethical and wrong from a
moral standpoint.  I just don't think your expectations are practical. 
I suggest that you don't publish anything on the list that you expect to
be repaid for.  If you do, then explicitly state the conditions under
which you are giving the information.

Jeff Webb
 

> Will McGonegal wrote:
> >
> > Unless there has been some agreement made, you should come to expect nothing in
> > return for any gift you give, including the gift of knowledge.  If you expect
> > something in return, that should be stipulated in some form of a contract up
> > front.  That is the sad reality of the world.
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