
Ask HN: Ethics of paid long form content - deepstream
I had an idea for an online magazine for long form content with the provision that people have to pay to submit articles if published. I would have sole responsibility for editorial direction. what are the ethics considerations I need to be aware of?
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CM30
That's basically how a vanity press works. Or any number of unethical awards
shows.

As for the ethics of it, well they're the same as the ethics of vanity
publishing houses and low quality academic journals. Money is supposed to flow
to the writer, not the other way around. It's like a job; you're not supposed
to be paying for a chance to do the work.

So yeah, not really too ethical.

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krapp
Yog's Law[0]: "Money flows _to_ the writer." The business model you're
describing is entirely unethical.

Let this scene from Goodfellas describe what should be the correct
relationship between author and publisher[1].

[0][https://whatever.scalzi.com/2014/06/20/yogs-law-and-self-
pub...](https://whatever.scalzi.com/2014/06/20/yogs-law-and-self-publishing/)

[1][https://youtu.be/8L4HHPTiZN8?t=25](https://youtu.be/8L4HHPTiZN8?t=25)

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dangrossman
You're supposed to pay the people producing your product, not the other way
around.

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Spooky23
It’s not a magazine, it’s an advertisement.

Usually these sorts of publications are essentially sponsored. IBM used to
have trade rags that delivered ads with strategy and tech material written by
IBM and partner employees.

The other model is career builder magazines. “Regional CFO Monthly” will host
conferences and give awards to executives who are featured in the magazine,
with articles written by conference sponsors.

The entire experience is about getting the big shots who will spend money to
accept the reward and bring their minions to cheer them on.

