Originally Posted by Katastrof

Sorry, I'm a little ignorant in this field so I decided to pose the question.

This might sound really stupid too but since you're here: If the work is published for nothing, does it still count as a notch on the belt? (As in: Would it give a writer a literary credit?)

Originally Posted by Baron

Work published free in an e-zine is as much use in your cv as work published in a blog.

Originally Posted by Dan

I'd debate that a bit. Anytime someone else with no ties to you chooses to publish your work, you can count that as a credit. When I was editing a magazine I wrote an article for it which the publisher loved, so it went in. I didn't get paid jack for writing the article, but you can bet that I'll list it as a credit. Just throwing something on your own blog (or a family member's) is a tad different.

There are plenty of non-paying markets out there, including print mags who only pay in contributor copies. The difference between getting no pay for your work and getting $5 is negligible with regards to a credit/non-credit.

It's a new publishing world, and the standard rules no longer apply.

Originally Posted by MJW

Baron, why can't you leave us alone? You've already chased us off of another writing forum - can't you just be happy with that victory?

We're not ripping anybody off here - we're just trying to put something nice together. How can we create a reputable publication if we're not given the chance even try? We haven't even put out the first issue yet; how can you be such an expert on our e-zine if you haven't even looked at it?

Every publication had a first issue; everyone and everything has to start somewhere. If you don't like what we're doing (even though you're judging without seeing) then don't participate, but please stop following us around, trying to poison our efforts!

Originally Posted by Dan

Uh, the students are the only ones cheating. As long as the site is providing the service they say they'll provide, they're reputable. Your argument is like saying no one should submit a story to a gun magazine's site because sometimes people use guns to kill other people.

I once wrote a paper for my roommate in exchange for a month's rent; his request. That doesn't mean I'm disreputable, because my work was honest. His wasn't. Big difference.

Anywho, the work I submitted is something I had no immediate plans of submitting elsewhere, so they're welcome to it. And if I can build a little readership in the process, so much the better. If, at any point, I feel like someone is ripping me off, that's the end of it. Oddly enough, the same rules apply here, as well as anywhere else I post my work.

The long and the short of it is that it's pretty hard to judge something that doesn't even exist yet.

Originally Posted by MJW

Thanks for the support, Dan.

Baron, don't you have anything better to do? Go outside and take a walk - some fresh air might be good for you.

Originally Posted by Baron

This is a public forum and I have every right to voice an opinion. Your attitude and failure to directly answer the isses raised says much about the validity of my questions regarding your venture. The other forum that you spoke of has a higher ratio of moree mature members and most shared my doubts, which is why you decided to pull out. The younger writers here, eager to see their work in print, might be more easily taken in without asking the right questions.

Originally Posted by Dan

Is 34 still young?

You run the risk of getting ripped off every single time you post your work where it can be seen. If I can be a part of establishing a little credibility for the ezine, awesome. If not, who cares? I still have the same legal recourse I'd have anywhere else. Do you think I'm wholly convinced that I (or others) won't get ripped off here? No one should be entirely comfortable. I don't think I'm anywhere near running out of stories, so if I get burned on one to learn a lesson (wherever it is), so what?

As far as for having "established credibility"...how many places actually have that? Tobacco companies don't have a whole lot of credibility, even though they engage in legal behavior.

I've met dudes with a criminal record who I'd trust more than some others who've never even gotten a ticket. My wife was a total druggie as a teen, and now she has her PhD in Criminology. I once met a bartender who was a recovering alcoholic. What we've done isn't necessarily who we are.

Would I write papers for money? No. I'm not 22 and short of cash anymore. Do I think that those who do are beneath me? Why would I? It's still legal. The only person showing a lack of morals is the lazy-ass student who pays for it.

Tell you what: if I get hosed, I'll be the first person to announce it and stand around waiting for any "I told you so's." Until it actually exists, what's to say?

P.S. I'm a cynical bastard.

Originally Posted by Baron

What someone has done in the past need not have bearing on what they are doing now. I'm a Christian and would be denying my own faith if I believed otherwise. However, the way that someone is operating in the present is relevent. If the way that this operation is funded is morally questionable then how can any promises to respect the rights of the writer be trusted?

Morally questionable? Please. You couldn't have a more ambiguous argument. You know what I find morally questionable? Preaching to others how they should handle their writing, while constantly having typos in your posts. That offends me as a writer. Thank you for including that you're a Christian in a decidedly non-religious discussion to assert your moral superiority, though. It's totally relevant!

As for your ascertion that supplying isn't the same as using, I'd say that this shows an ethical view that's lacking. If that is established as the precedent for what constitutes ethical business then drug dealing is an ethical business.

You know, I really have no retort for this argument.

Wait, yes I do. Drug dealing is highly illegal, as is using. Writing papers is not. Nor, for that matter, is passing them off as your own in a college class.

Originally Posted by Dan

I've already told you I'll be man enough to admit if I get taken for a ride. Will you take your lumps if I don't? Incidentally, if someone really wanted to steal the serial from me, all they'd have to do is go to the blog that I link in my signature and grab it. I never would have known. MJW, on the other hand, has been very upfront and responsive from the beginning.

You don't like their service? Fine. Don't use it. I and my lacking ethical view won't, either.