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This clip is great. I saw it a while back for the first time and then watched the whole doc that it is from on netflix. This really is the best part and boy does he have a temper.

Did you have to licence that clip from him? I imagine someone had to pay since “he doesn’t piss without getting paid”.

”... and they don’t even send you a copy of the DVD !” lol

Love this guy attitude, he really knows what he wants.

have actually met this scifi god at a conference and listened to him rant of much the same….this is a great clip and I’ve tweeted/FB’d it to my followers….

:-)

Jim

The whole film is worth a watch. He’s a very interesting guy and an amazing author to boot.

Interesting that he wants to get paid for everything and then expects to get a DVD for free.

I couldn’t agree more! Harlan Ellison is a legend!

@David, funny how that works. I half-agree with this guy, but if someone can afford can do your job for free, you might want to get better at what you do or find another job.

The main point - don’t miss this - is that amateurs are ruining it for the professionals.

Don: Why are the professionals worth protecting?

Anon: Well, they are better at it. I’m betting I know where you’re going with this, disruption, etc., but I think his point is if you’re coming to a professional don’t try to treat them like an amateur. If you want an amateur, go to one, but don’t mix expectations.

That was awesome! No idea who he is, but he knows how the world works.

I agree with his main point, but I don’t understand his anger… Also, any time a “proffessional” blames amateurs for making their profession difficult, I question their skill level. The jobs I lost to Ametuers were from people/companies that obviously wouldn’t have made good clients! I don’t understand people that feel threatened by amatuers. If anything, it makes you step up your game and show the real differents between the labels.

If we all took the attitude that “the only value for me is if you put money in my hand” there would be no open-source communities. Ellison’s view of the world falls flat on me. Both his opinion that professionals should do nothing without pay and that people who contribute without pay harm their profession are ridiculous.

Contributing to open-source might indirectly put money in a developer’s hand. But is money-in-hand the main reason they contribute? I think not. Do open-source communities eschew amateurs? Of course not.

Do professional developers look at un-paid contributions with such disdain? I hope not. I’d hate to see our language communities end up in such a bitter state as the world in which Mr. Ellison lives and as such find no applicable lessons in this clip.

I don’t disagree with him, but this is as near a definition of “rant” as I can think of :)

@Scott – I don’t think he said he would not do things for free. He is merely saying he won’t do what they want for free. Can I start an open source project (for profit) and expect you to work on it just because I call you?

@JF Wow. I thought only designers and programmers had to deal with this. Turns out we’re not that special. :)

Every professional should watch and share this.

AIGA should use this in a PSA .

5 stars to Coudal for sharing.

@Lee – If would do things for free then he’s got a problem with his rant. To wit: pick a thing he would do for free. And say that I happen to not want to do that thing for free. Then that makes him the jerk for undercutting me.

Everyone likes different things. If I enjoy offering work that contributes to someone else’s success, who is he to denigrate that contribution and claim it harms the profession – just because it’s not something he would volunteer to do?

That’s all fine and good, but the “very long and very interesting” interview has already been done. How exactly are they asking him to work for free? He did the interview after he got the job. Now they just want to use it.

Dick.

Spoken like a true professional that tires of a multibillion dollar company expecting concessions to further line their pockets. He’s experienced enough to know the pitch about the PR value was a big stretch to offer free use of his intellectual property. Great clip, thanks for posting.

I think everyone bagging him (calls of “hypocrite” and so on) are missing the point.

Some good comments.

And a great post.

Never be afraid of selling. This whole “everything for free” thing that a lot of people are espousing (Anderson, Godin, as much as I love them, and as clever as they are) is very dangerous.

Nothing is free. There is always a price.