Social expectations for donations
Jul. 13th, 2010 08:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alpharaposaSo, I had The 'F' Word on today for background noise and sometimes watching. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, Gordon Ramsey invites teams of amateur cooks to work in his restaurant for a dinner consisting of appetizer, main course, and dessert. The patrons have an option of not paying for any course that they feel wasn't worth the money. The team of cooks is rated by how many patrons pay for each course. At the end of the season, whichever team scores best gets to cook in one of Gordon's best restaurants.
As a financial transaction, there is no difference between the patrons paying for their courses and patrons here on livejournal giving me or others donations for art we post for free. There is no obligation to pay; the money is given because the patron feels the product is worth it.
However, as a social transaction, there is a big difference between choosing to not pay for a substandard meal at a nice restaurant and choosing to pay some amount for valued art that's available online. The expectation is that food from a nice restaurant (or even a bad one) will be paid for. Art posted on the internet is mostly expected to be free to view. Some people will even criticize those who request donations, even if both paying and non-paying patrons receive the same thing.
The power of those expectations really changes the social aspects of both transactions.
As a financial transaction, there is no difference between the patrons paying for their courses and patrons here on livejournal giving me or others donations for art we post for free. There is no obligation to pay; the money is given because the patron feels the product is worth it.
However, as a social transaction, there is a big difference between choosing to not pay for a substandard meal at a nice restaurant and choosing to pay some amount for valued art that's available online. The expectation is that food from a nice restaurant (or even a bad one) will be paid for. Art posted on the internet is mostly expected to be free to view. Some people will even criticize those who request donations, even if both paying and non-paying patrons receive the same thing.
The power of those expectations really changes the social aspects of both transactions.
