$5 or not?

Alan W · Aug 27, 2014

When looking up a camera online and wanting to see a review Ken Rockwell's stuff is always near the top of the pile,with Google at least.I read the mans reviews and a lot of other reviews as well(I know,I should be out shooting myself,but sometimes......).Does anyone out there think that they are obliged to pay the $5 he asks for,for the "use" of his opinions?Is it not enough that he directs people to his favorite sites and is then rewarded by them?Just wondering.And for the record I find some of his reviews informative enough to read all the way to the bottom.Are there other sites that ask for payment for the use of their opinions?

Old-N-Feeble · Aug 27, 2014

The Ken Rockwell name is well-known. Having stated that, I would not pay the $5 just to read his data. Other opinions will differ, of course. If, on the other hand, you intend to "use" Ken Rockwell's data elsewhere then he has every right to request a fee most especially if you gain profit from it.

Dan Daniel · Aug 27, 2014

Alan W said:
When looking up a camera online and wanting to see a review Ken Rockwell's stuff is always near the top of the pile,with Google at least.I read the mans reviews and a lot of other reviews as well(I know,I should be out shooting myself,but sometimes......).Does anyone out there think that they are obliged to pay the $5 he asks for,for the "use" of his opinions?Is it not enough that he directs people to his favorite sites and is then rewarded by them?Just wondering.And for the record I find some of his reviews informative enough to read all the way to the bottom.Are there other sites that ask for payment for the use of their opinions?

I'll give you one opinion for free: please put a space after periods and commas. It makes it much easier to read what you have to say, which I hope is your intention in writing posts.

Being read, that is.Not to be ignored.Intentionally or not, spaces have their purpose.Makingthingseasiertoread.

snapguy · Aug 27, 2014

certainly

It certainly is okay to ask for a donation and yes, other folks do it too. I ran a small blog a few years ago and it is a ton of work and a pain in the patoot. I do not blame him for asking. If you truly value his work you should contribute a couple of bucks from time to time. Otherwise he is liable to chuck the whole thing, which is what I did with mine.

gone · Aug 27, 2014

So far, Ken is the only one I've seen w/ the cojones to ask for money. He's a good read, usually very funny stuff, but I wouldn't send him a dime.

Please send me $5 for my opinion here.

trythis · Aug 27, 2014

I get him asking that and think it makes sense. I do web design and have done reviews of computer equipment in the past. I wouldn't do it for free. Would you? Would your wife let you spend 20 hours a week writing reviews of stuff online without getting paid? If you are making it your business to make money reviewing camera equipment it makes sense to tell people that is what you are doing. Some people use his site to decide what to buy, or find out how much what they have is worth. Others use it to help them decide if they like what they have because they are indecisive and need someone to tell them what to think.....hmm.

MattKing · Aug 27, 2014

Mike Butkus asks for a donation to support his library of user manuals. I support that.

Asking is never offensive - demanding often is.

chriscrawfordphoto · Aug 27, 2014

I have a website with an extensive list of film/developer combinations that I have tested for EI and Dev. Time, and I have several free tutorials on film scanning, photoshop, and printing. I have a donation button on my site, too. No one is obligated to "Pay" for the information that I share, but a lot of people have found my information very useful and have sent me money in appreciation. This stuff took me years to learn, and in the case of the film dev. stuff, a lot of money for film and chemicals. The people who sent me donations could have done their own film testing, and for the digital stuff could have bought books (which are expensive) or taken classes. I saved them a lot of time and money. I've gotten individual donations as little as $5 and as much as $300! Most people don't give anything, and that's ok, but I truly appreciate those who do help me with the expenses of having the site and doing the work of writing the material and doing the testing.

I see nothing wrong with Ken Rockwell asking for donations. Its your choice to give him something, or not to do so.

Poisson Du Jour · Aug 27, 2014

MattKing said:
Mike Butkus asks for a donation to support his library of user manuals. I support that.

Asking is never offensive - demanding often is.

The very splodgy, poor quality of a lot of the Butkus manuals is a continuous talking point among photographers. On some forums, particularly Pentaxforums.com, it's made a lot easier by people you get to know with their own library of manuals (in pdf form) that they are happy to share. Most of my Pentax 67 and SMC Pentax lens manuals came from just two people there.

sr44 · Aug 28, 2014

Love him or hate him, Rockwell has created a ton of original content that he essentially gives away for free and asks you to consider paying for if you found it valuable. Nothing wrong with that at all, he isn't forcing anyone to pay for anything, simply to consider if what you just read has value to you. Seems like a pretty fair model to me.

Richard S. (rich815) · Aug 28, 2014

Poisson Du Jour said:
The very splodgy, poor quality of a lot of the Butkus manuals is a continuous talking point among photographers. On some forums, particularly Pentaxforums.com, it's made a lot easier by people you get to know with their own library of manuals (in pdf form) that they are happy to share. Most of my Pentax 67 and SMC Pentax lens manuals came from just two people there.

Really? I've referenced his site more than a handful of times over the years for a variety of manuals and never came across any that I would describe as poor quality. I've sent along $5 on at least 3-4 occasions. I'll count myself lucky that the manuals I desired were of good quality I guess.

Ashfaque · Aug 28, 2014

Ken's article on why film is better than digital sensor is a very convincing and informative read. It convinced me to switch to analogue and thus eventually ending up here at APUG. He may sound like a bit arrogant in some instances and funny. But I am with Chris and others that nothing wrong in asking for a donation.

Bests,

Ashfaque

Roger Cole · Aug 28, 2014

Alan W said:
When looking up a camera online and wanting to see a review Ken Rockwell's stuff is always near the top of the pile,with Google at least.I read the mans reviews and a lot of other reviews as well(I know,I should be out shooting myself,but sometimes......).Does anyone out there think that they are obliged to pay the $5 he asks for,for the "use" of his opinions?Is it not enough that he directs people to his favorite sites and is then rewarded by them?Just wondering.And for the record I find some of his reviews informative enough to read all the way to the bottom.Are there other sites that ask for payment for the use of their opinions?

Just a note - please don't shoot yourself.

darkosaric · Aug 28, 2014

It is ok to ask for money. APUG is the only forum that I know that asks money, and I am subscriber . What I do is: I use Ken Rockwell links to go to amazon and ebay, so helping him indirectly. I like Ken, he has funny, pleasant and good reviews .

AgX · Aug 28, 2014

The same time considering paying Rockwell or Butkus for their articles resp. services, we could consider asking a donation for our own contribution here at Apug. Some is very original

Instead we gift all our writing to Sean.

Yes, we also benefit from the forum. But I just wanted to bring things into another perspective.

mauro35 · Aug 28, 2014

I think if only we knew how much Mr. Rockwell makes with pay-per-click ads we would soon realize the poor guy does not need any donation...come on people!

RattyMouse · Aug 28, 2014

Apug.org is the ONLY web site I've ever donated to.

trythis · Aug 28, 2014

mauro35 said:
I think if only we knew how much Mr. Rockwell makes with pay-per-click ads we would soon realize the poor guy does not need any donation...come on people!

I don't get this attitude towards his asking for money or for referral clicks. Why begrudge his earnings or other people's generosity to him? His site is extensive, he has a family to provide for. The material is there for all to consume at no cost. His site hits #1 on google searches because it is useful, linked to frequently and easy to read. So what is wrong with him saying ...."if you find this useful, reciprocate". (Not quoting him)

mauro35 · Aug 28, 2014

trythis said:
Why diss a guy for paying his bills?

Absolutely, nothing against him or his work. Just saying he owns the biggest independent photographic review website and certainly generates huge numbers. We could donate to smaller businesses, that need our support much more.

trythis · Aug 28, 2014

mauro35 said:
Absolutely, nothing against him or his work. Just saying he owns the biggest independent photographic review website and certainly generates huge numbers. We could donate to smaller businesses, that need our support much more.

I edited my post...tapatalk goof

David Allen · Aug 28, 2014

trythis said:
I don't get this attitude towards his asking for money or for referral clicks. Why begrudge his earnings or other people's generosity to him? His site is extensive, he has a family to provide for. The material is there for all to consume at no cost. His site hits #1 on google searches because it is useful, linked to frequently and easy to read. So what is wrong with him saying ...."if you find this useful, reciprocate". (Not quoting him)

Quite! If you find his information helpful then why not click on a few links or send a donation. Yes he is running a business but you do not have to pay anything, all is there for free if you want and you can always spend loads of your own time doing the tests if you wish.

David.
www.dsallen.de

Alan W · Aug 28, 2014

Dan Daniel said:
I'll give you one opinion for free: please put a space after periods and commas. It makes it much easier to read what you have to say, which I hope is your intention in writing posts.

Being read, that is.Not to be ignored.Intentionally or not, spaces have their purpose.Makingthingseasiertoread.

This is wanderfull advise howmuch do I owe U?

Old-N-Feeble · Aug 28, 2014

I posted that I wouldn't pay but I never intended to imply Rockwell is doing anything inappropriate. To the contrary, more power to him. It's just that the subject in question is written about and discussed often on may websites so I don't see much gain in reading his article. Having stated that, I have not seen the article.

analoguey · Aug 28, 2014

Before I discovered APUG, and other photo-forums - actually, I am not on most photo forums(just APUG,LFF), I was pointed to two fine lenses via reading stuff on Ken's site. His site isn't bad at all - and I have donated before - I don't remember how much - it was a couple of years ago.
Just like I had subscribed to APUG late last year as well, I find it worthwhile to support sites that help me.

Ashfaque said:
Ken's article on why film is better than digital sensor is a very convincing and informative read. It convinced me to switch to analogue and thus eventually ending up here at APUG. He may sound like a bit arrogant in some instances and funny. But I am with Chris and others that nothing wrong in asking for a donation.

+1 on the film bit. I would not have tried it but for KR's vociferous enthu for it.

Jim Jones · Aug 28, 2014

AgX said:
The same time considering paying Rockwell or Butkus for their articles resp. services, we could consider asking a donation for our own contribution here at Apug. Some is very original

Instead we gift all our writing to Sean.

Yes, we also benefit from the forum. But I just wanted to bring things into another perspective.

Rather than gifting Sean with our contributions, we are sharing with others. As Karl Marx said long ago, "from each according to their ability, to each according to their need." This is the foundation of families and some communities. It can fail catastrophically when manipulated by some governments, businesses, and greedy individuals.

$5 or not?

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