Getting paid is weird and sometimes hard | Hacker News Reader

Getting paid is weird and sometimes hard

cassidoo.co

22 pointsmooreds12 comments

This reminds me of many a musicians' mindset. Many don't try to get paid, don't like marketing or advertising, or insisting they receive their pre-agreed gig fee etc.

Connecting some dots that have been on my mind. Musicians and programmers have a lot of overlap [1] [2]. Also, higher incidences of being on the autism spectrum. There is evidence that folks on the spectrum have a strong sense of justice [3], high ideals, are highly empathetic [4], and have a strong moral compass. This would lead to what you observe. My hot take is this is also why programmers and some musicians also have a disdain for marketing; potential conflict with honesty, values, and moral compass.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19566063

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39407404 | Thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39373254

[3] https://iidc.indiana.edu/irca/articles/what-those-not-on-the...

[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9804307/

>I shipped a project called W-9 Crafter earlier this year (which I blogged about) and BCM helped me figure out pricing

I'm surprised that someone would pay money for an app to fill out IRS Form W-9. It's a very simple form available via PDF and you only have to fill it out once.

> and the form information is always the same except for the date.

There is no need to re-create the form with a new date if nothing has changed. I routinely give out the W-9 I created 15 years ago, with that date. The form does not get filed with the IRS, it's just for the payer's files.

Enough companies made a fuss about it that I made the app for myself to save me the headache! Enough folks bought it that I think it's more of a pain than it should be

Large vendors will often insist on a current W9 because there is a new IRS W9 form every year. But to your point, the form has almost idential information year over year anyway.

That may be true with large vendors, but not for the reason you state. As you can see at the following link, the form has only been revised 3 times in the last 10 years.

https://www.irs.gov/prior-year-forms-and-instructions?find=f...

> I’m not trying to bash these orgs or the people in them, please don’t go after them

Then, why name them? Could have just used some random fantasy names that still make the point across.

> I’m mostly just typing out my feelings right now and I don’t know if this will turn into something coherent.

The answer is in the first paragraph.

I realize it’s more common now to just post your first draft, but it wouldn’t have taken more than a minute to go back and remove the names before hitting “publish”.

Ah! that's pretty good... I'm going to make sure to remember that preface next time I want to doxx somebody online... Or preform any nefarious activity for what matters... Seems like a nice placeholder.

Mike Monteiro: F*ck You, Pay Me: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVkLVRt6c1U>

Classic. Every freelancer should watch this video.

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