So I got an e-mail from someone at my WIST account. She started off very complementary:
Thank you for sharing all those quotes, maxims and aphorisms that you’ve collated through the years. I like the idea of WIST. Keep up the good work!
So far so good. Then the kicker.
Is it possible to ask a small favor in return for a donation of $30?
Uh-oh.
Turns out she, as a representative of some foundation or another (of an Eastern religious persuasion), wants me to include a quotation from some teacher her foundation represents, with a citation back to the foundation’s website.
Now, the quotation itself isn’t a problem. A bit bland and undistinguished, but not objectionable. If I ran across it online, I might consider putting it into WIST.
But putting it up in exchange for money seems … well, wrong. I’m not doing WIST to make money (fortunately), but it seems improper to post a quote and link in exchange for reimbursement.
So I think I have three alternatives:
- Write the person back saying that they are welcome to send a donation (have I ever gotten the WIST donation info up yet? Ah, interesting — I haven’t), but I cannot put up a quotation and link in exchange for that. If she chooses to make a donation, and at some later time I go back and look at the quotation (after getting over the unpleasant emotional association) and judge if it’s suitable for posting, and if the link to the home site is a reasonable item to include.
- Put up the quotation but leave off the link. Leave it up to the person whether to make a donation.
- Put up the quotation and the link, but also include a “disclaimer” that this is a paid sponsorship. That’s the most straightforward, but it establishes a precedent (“Well, we know what you are, now we’re just haggling over the price”) that I’m not comfortable with, even with full disclosure.
Of, of course, I can not put up the quote, because, honestly, it’s not that good.
Thoughts?
Put up the quote and link it to it’s originating source. It’s their choice whether to donate. But if you don’t like the quote than don’t put it up. There’s no need to showcase crappy quotes says I!
None of the above.
What is the purpose of WIST? I take it you don’t actually wish you’d said the quote; therefore, money or no, it doesn’t belong at the site.
Tips are for a good job completed. Donations are for charitable purposes. Calling $30 a donation is misleading and dishonest; the person is trying to pay you to provide a service. Do you wish to provide quote spaces for payment? Or do you wish to share the quotes that amuse you?
Then there’s the legal stuff. If the other site ends up getting sued, will you get sued as well for false advertising? Do you want to start getting calls from the IRS for your small advertising business? On the one hand, I know you would love to blog for a living; on the other hand, you may want to blog for a living, not spend most of your time selling linkage.
Finally, is the exchange equal? Would you be sending the other site $30 worth of hits? More? Less? What kind of accounting would be completed, even if it’s just in your head?
I would say either:
1) Write her a polite letter saying thanks but no thanks.
2) Consider whether you want to get professionally involved in website content and choose what best suits you, not just what wanders across your path.
Or maybe both.
This sounds a little odd to me. I think I’d say “thanks but no thanks.” If this is how they need to behave to get people to link to their site, then I get the feeling that something fishy is going on.
I’m inclined to concur with the idea that this is just a bit too fishy, and not what I want to get into. That’s where I was leaning already, but was interested in what folks had to say. It’s not often I’m approached with a bribe (essentially), and I thought it was interesting.