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TECSHARE
I think you think you are getting a better deal than you are. Spec work often results in problems for contractors as well. Do a search for USAGI on this forum for a good example of how it can go wrong. Additionally pissing off a bunch of your potential user base by exploiting them for cheap labor is not the way to go either. A note to designers, participating in this kind of spec work also devalues your own ability to get paid in other jobs. If someone could get 100 rubes to do it for free why would they pay you? I suggest that any self respecting designer should not participate in spec work.
Thanks for your comments, but I'm afraid I have to strongly disagree & indeed now defend myself against your accusations;
If I 'piss off a bunch of my potential user' base by them voluntarily deciding into a competition to redesign me a logo and losing, there's not much I can do about this. It's life.
As for 'exploiting them for cheap labour', I set a 2 BTC Bounty, which after looking around online freelancer sites & 99designs and such, $240 to me seemed like a fair/ good market rate for a new logo.
As as for 'exploiting' anybody, this is a peaceful, voluntary interaction. The word 'exploit' does not belong here.
If you would kindly rescind those comments, I would obviously be most appreciate.
I will not, because it is true. A lot of designers work very hard spending years to study the field just to have their pay constantly devalued by people such as yourself scraping the bottom of the barrel and wasting more than a dozen peoples time because you don't want to pick one person to do the job. If you need some plumbing done do you call 12 plumbers and tell them the first one that gets it done right gets paid, and then not pay the rest? That's not how it works in the rest of the employment world, why is it ok for designers?
This is the same kind of prejudice applied to IT people on the job. Employers think is is a matter of punching a few keys and the computer does the rest. Easy peasy right? This kind of opinion comes purely from a place of ignorance, and you get what you pay for as demonstrated by the submissions so far (no offense guys I am sure you'd polish them up if he'd pay you). This kind of practice hurts ALL DESIGNERS CUMULATIVELY, and part of voluntarism is not causing harm to others, which you are. It is easy to support ideals when it costs you nothing.
Side question: Do you support the Minimum Wage?