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This is a weird thread for me to read, as someone who a) works primarily with developer tooling (and not even GUI tooling, I write cryptography stuff usually!),

This is a weird thread for me to read, as someone who a) works primarily with developer tooling (and not even GUI tooling, I write cryptography stuff usually!), b) is very active in a vibrant community of artists that care about nerd software projects. I don't, as a rule, ever ask artists to contribute for free, but I still occasionally get gifted art from kind folks. (I'm more than happy to commission them for one-off work.) Artists tragically undercharge for their labor, so I don't think the goal should be "coax them into contributing for $0" so much as "coax them into becoming an available and reliable talent pool for your community at an agreeable rate". If they're enthusiastic enough, some might do free work from time to time, but that shouldn't be the expectation.

ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
It’s a long story, in my case. There’s a very good reason for me to be asking for gratis work. I regularly do tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of work for free.
- imtringued 1y ago
  That only works if you form a team with the artist. It doesn't work when the person you're commissioning free stuff from is an external artist who is getting flooded by both paid and unpaid requests. Even a token amount will let them know to prioritize you over the freeloaders.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
    This is true. I have paid friends free market rates for work; even though they would have done it for free. It’s a matter of Respect. It’s really amazing, how treating folks with simple Respect can change everything. I like working in teams, but I also participate in an organization, where we’re all expected to roll up our sleeves, and pitch in; often in an ad hoc fashion.
galagawinkle489 1y ago
Why should they work for pay on free software? Nobody expects to be paid to work on the software itself. Yet artists expect to be treated differently. If it is your job, then go do it as a job. But we all have jobs. Free software is what we do in our free time. Artists don't seem to have this distinction. They expect to be paid to do a hobby.
- nemomarx 1y ago
  It's just more common for artists to do small commission work on the side of a real job. 30 dollars for something is basically a donation or tip in my view, and the community can crowd fund for it the same way bug bounties work I think?
- some_furry 1y ago
  > Yet artists expect to be treated differently. Because it's a different job! Your post is like asking, "Why is breathing free but food costs money?"
  - Dylan16807 1y ago
    Either you're implying that people should code for free, or your analogy is so vague as to be useless. Yeah it's a different job but they're both jobs. Why should one be free and one not be free?
    - some_furry 1y ago
      Because programmers consent to programming for free. That fact does not, in any way, obligate anyone else to.
      - Dylan16807 1y ago
        The question/skepticism is why the programmers are consenting to this but not the artists.
        1y ago

ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago

It’s a long story, in my case. There’s a very good reason for me to be asking for gratis work. I regularly do tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of work for free.

imtringued 1y ago
That only works if you form a team with the artist. It doesn't work when the person you're commissioning free stuff from is an external artist who is getting flooded by both paid and unpaid requests. Even a token amount will let them know to prioritize you over the freeloaders.
- ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
  This is true. I have paid friends free market rates for work; even though they would have done it for free. It’s a matter of Respect. It’s really amazing, how treating folks with simple Respect can change everything. I like working in teams, but I also participate in an organization, where we’re all expected to roll up our sleeves, and pitch in; often in an ad hoc fashion.

galagawinkle489 1y ago

Why should they work for pay on free software? Nobody expects to be paid to work on the software itself. Yet artists expect to be treated differently. If it is your job, then go do it as a job. But we all have jobs. Free software is what we do in our free time. Artists don't seem to have this distinction. They expect to be paid to do a hobby.

nemomarx 1y ago
It's just more common for artists to do small commission work on the side of a real job. 30 dollars for something is basically a donation or tip in my view, and the community can crowd fund for it the same way bug bounties work I think?
some_furry 1y ago
> Yet artists expect to be treated differently. Because it's a different job! Your post is like asking, "Why is breathing free but food costs money?"
- Dylan16807 1y ago
  Either you're implying that people should code for free, or your analogy is so vague as to be useless. Yeah it's a different job but they're both jobs. Why should one be free and one not be free?
  - some_furry 1y ago
    Because programmers consent to programming for free. That fact does not, in any way, obligate anyone else to.
    - Dylan16807 1y ago
      The question/skepticism is why the programmers are consenting to this but not the artists.
      - 1y ago