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?