In a world where people frequently feel invisible and like their contributions don't really matter, even a little appreciation goes a very long way. It costs nothing to make sure the people who contribute to a publication, group, organization, etc. know they matter, so I've never understood why it seems to be such a hard sell.
Totally. I 100% agree that it matters and is worth the time to do. I was just pointing out that for someone else running a site, it may also matter, but not as much as other things they are trying to do with limited time. It might not be the case that they don’t care. We all say no to things that matter, every day, in our process of apportioning the time we have to other things that matter. But it’s good that you bring attention to the feelings you and others have about it, so hopefully giving credit will get more time from those who hear your message and decide to reorganize what priorities get their time.
In the context of a website, for example, they could cover one less band that month, in exchange for spending the time creating a staff page instead. The band loses out, but the staff get recognized, so it’s just a transfer of that time cost from one party to another based on values.
As a former freelance writer who also wrote hundreds of reviews for free or for very little, I hear you. It was nice getting listed on the writers page, at least, when it happened. But later, I also ran my own zine with 40 some writers, constantly revolving, and it was quite a chore to get the staff page done and keep it constantly updated. Even as a business owner now, I don't do a staff section on our site because any time someone leaves, that's more work to change it. I imagine that's the perspective of the head of the site you mentioned, if they're at all busy or just doing the site as a hobby themselves. They're going to focus their limited time on what they enjoy or what they prioritize most. Time is the most valuable thing in the universe, so to say it doesn't cost anything to create and update a staff page is not accurate. Not saying it isn't important, but hopefully that gives perspective on why it's not as simple and easy as you might think.
Hey Josh, I appreciate your perspective, and I get where you're coming from, truly. But I think it’s worth pointing out that I’m not just tossing this idea out as an outsider looking in. I currently admin Heaven’s Metal Magazine, which has a similar number of volunteer writers as the music site I was referring to in my post (7-10), and we do list them as contributors. I happily take on that berdon. I also write for several other websites, run a record label with 15 bands, and produce and score feature films. So trust me, I know time is valuable, I live that.
But that’s exactly why I believe contributor credit matters. When people give their time, creativity, and effort for free, especially in this era where attention is currency, the least we can do is acknowledge them. And honestly, listing someone’s name and bio isn’t the Herculean task it’s sometimes made out to be.
Sure, time is valuable, but so is respect. And again, we’re not talking about daily code refactors here. A static contributors page can be updated once a quarter. It’s not a full-time maintenance nightmare unless you’re overthinking it.
I’m not discounting your lived experience, and 40 writers is a lot for sure, but I do think the mindset of “It’s just too much work to credit people” is part of the larger problem. It normalizes a culture where contributors are invisible unless they shout. That doesn’t build community, it builds burnout.
In a world where people frequently feel invisible and like their contributions don't really matter, even a little appreciation goes a very long way. It costs nothing to make sure the people who contribute to a publication, group, organization, etc. know they matter, so I've never understood why it seems to be such a hard sell.
Totally. I 100% agree that it matters and is worth the time to do. I was just pointing out that for someone else running a site, it may also matter, but not as much as other things they are trying to do with limited time. It might not be the case that they don’t care. We all say no to things that matter, every day, in our process of apportioning the time we have to other things that matter. But it’s good that you bring attention to the feelings you and others have about it, so hopefully giving credit will get more time from those who hear your message and decide to reorganize what priorities get their time.
In the context of a website, for example, they could cover one less band that month, in exchange for spending the time creating a staff page instead. The band loses out, but the staff get recognized, so it’s just a transfer of that time cost from one party to another based on values.
As a former freelance writer who also wrote hundreds of reviews for free or for very little, I hear you. It was nice getting listed on the writers page, at least, when it happened. But later, I also ran my own zine with 40 some writers, constantly revolving, and it was quite a chore to get the staff page done and keep it constantly updated. Even as a business owner now, I don't do a staff section on our site because any time someone leaves, that's more work to change it. I imagine that's the perspective of the head of the site you mentioned, if they're at all busy or just doing the site as a hobby themselves. They're going to focus their limited time on what they enjoy or what they prioritize most. Time is the most valuable thing in the universe, so to say it doesn't cost anything to create and update a staff page is not accurate. Not saying it isn't important, but hopefully that gives perspective on why it's not as simple and easy as you might think.
Hey Josh, I appreciate your perspective, and I get where you're coming from, truly. But I think it’s worth pointing out that I’m not just tossing this idea out as an outsider looking in. I currently admin Heaven’s Metal Magazine, which has a similar number of volunteer writers as the music site I was referring to in my post (7-10), and we do list them as contributors. I happily take on that berdon. I also write for several other websites, run a record label with 15 bands, and produce and score feature films. So trust me, I know time is valuable, I live that.
But that’s exactly why I believe contributor credit matters. When people give their time, creativity, and effort for free, especially in this era where attention is currency, the least we can do is acknowledge them. And honestly, listing someone’s name and bio isn’t the Herculean task it’s sometimes made out to be.
Sure, time is valuable, but so is respect. And again, we’re not talking about daily code refactors here. A static contributors page can be updated once a quarter. It’s not a full-time maintenance nightmare unless you’re overthinking it.
I’m not discounting your lived experience, and 40 writers is a lot for sure, but I do think the mindset of “It’s just too much work to credit people” is part of the larger problem. It normalizes a culture where contributors are invisible unless they shout. That doesn’t build community, it builds burnout.