Tiping and "Support Me" culture on the indie web

[KrazyKoen]

I don't have a problem with people asking for tips in an unobtrusive way. Even when it is obtrusive, I really can't bring myself to care much. The great thing about the indie web is if someone is asking for tips in an annoying, obtrusive way, I can just leave their site. Unlike modern social media where you have no direct control over what you see. Obviously I'd prefer if people weren't annoying about it but I have so much more control over what I interact with that it can't really become a problem for me.

[ribose]

lots of the answers so far have mentioned that it's okay to have a tip jar or "support me" link as long as it isn't in- or ob-trusive, so i'm wondering what qualities of the link make it more or less bothersome to people. my partner has told me my ko-fi link is "so hidden no one will ever find it" while i feel like where i have it is totally obnoxious. it's pretty subjective! so i have some follow-up questions:

• does it matter where on the page the link is? (in the main section, header, footer, nav bar)
• or how many times the link shows up? (either within a single page or across pages)
• is there a maximum size of the link/button that's acceptable?
• does it matter if it's a text link vs an image??
• how do colors/animation/etc affect how you feel about a tip link?
• what about sticky positioning?
• or pop ups that you have to dismiss to see page content?

what's too obtrusive? where do you personally draw the line?

[ValyceNegative]

@ribose I'd say a donation button, be it static or animated, that stays in their part of the page either at the footer or in their section of the menu is widely accepted and discreet. If a site has the same layout for all pages (e.g. the same header, menu and footer loaded with php) then you're not "spamming" the donate button, simply that's its place in the "frame" around the content of the page.

For what it concerns drawing the line at what's too on the nose, my red flags are:
-Button that exceeds 500px in either height or width;
-Mentions and text links about it in every paragraph (for example, a "by the way, donate here!" In each blog post, about me post, news post, etc...
-Pop ups! Uuuggghh!
-Those kinds of sticky divs that obscure the content of the page ubless you manage to close them