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

[lakes]

I don't mind it because you never know what someone's situation is and servers or paid tiers on web hosting services cost money. At the same time, I feel weird doing it myself which is why my "fundraisers" page is more people who'd I either want to donate to but can't or feel like is a good cause.

[pencilz]

As someone who sells my art online, I feel weird about asking for tips Unless it's part of an invoice I'm already sending. Even then I feel guilty about it.   

[ribose]

For what it concerns drawing the line at what's too on the nose, my red flags are:

thank you for your response! i think the lines i draw are very similar to yours. i also feel like a link in a menu takes a different tone than a link in the main body of a page.
though when i read 500px as a button size limit, my first thought was "no way!! that's too big!!" but then i made some mockups on my screen, and i think i agree. it depends on the aspect ratio. 500x500 is egregious to me, but 500x50 isn't so bad. 500x100? maybe that's pushing it... i don't think i would raise an eyebrow at a donation button with the same total area as the e-link banners or smaller. i mostly surf the web on a tiny laptop, so i wonder if my limits would be different if i used a 4k monitor?


in my first response to this topic, i agreed that i had noticed a shift in what was okay when i joined neocities vs. now, but then on monday i saw a webpage from all the way back in 2004 that really surprised me! from feb 2003 to feb 2004, Allen Bukoff took a picture of his lunch every day and put it on a webpage: https://www.allenbukoff.com/lunch.html ...and look right there in the sidebar!

Spoiler

[close]

maybe things haven't changed so much after all!

[Horsey Chobunso]

Tipping and support me culture has never really bothered me. Web creators, especially those that aren't blatantly putting ad reads in their work, have never been my worry about the monetization of the internet. To me, giving someone on the internet a few dollars of support or purchasing merch/art from them is akin to supporting a local-owned restaurant rather than a chain, or buying a tape from a local punk band rather than streaming the newest release from a major record label. I don't think I'm ever going to be mad about it.

I do not currently accept tips, but I would consider it once I get more comfortable publishing my music, photography, and writing work on the web. There was a time when I was receiving very meager ad revenue from Twitch, so I would at least want to feel like I'm contributing more than I did back then.

The line for me would be if the sponsorship side of the more mainstream web took over. It's one thing to support a single person, or something like a small record label that uses neocities for a more professional site, but its entirely different if your indie web page is plugging Raid: Shadow Legends. Although, reading back through this makes me think its more of a vibes thing for me than anything.