This question has a weird implication of mutuality. What I think you mean to ask is “should some LW members support other LW members financially?”.
My answer is “yes, if the donors think that’s a good use of their financial resources.”
Related questions you didn’t ask, but should have:
Should LW support or encourage individuals to ask for or provide financial support? No.
Should LW members ask for such support in DMs to other members? No.
Should LW members post their circumstances in hope for financial support? No.
Should LW be in any way involved in financial transfers between members? No.
After reading your followup, I have a few other rephrasings to propose:
Is LW a good place to ask for money for my services or software? No. For registered or generally recognized charities, some amount of solicitation is tolerated, especially as a side-note to a relevant post.
Does anyone on LW want to sponsor my project? Probably not, but maybe. If your project is rationality-related, describing it and the benefits to the community of it’s existence is just fine. If you mention that you’re seeking sponsorship, you might get someone interested in collaborating or donating. You may well get valuable feedback, even without funding. Note that if this is transparently a plea for bucks, you’ll get downvoted out of existence.
Is LW better than Kickstarter or Patreon as a way to fund my hobby or startup? No.
Should I really think about my business model (or lifestyle income model) if this avenue of revenue is important to me? Yes.
This question has a weird implication of mutuality. What I think you mean to ask is “should some LW members support other LW members financially?”.
My answer is “yes, if the donors think that’s a good use of their financial resources.”
Related questions you didn’t ask, but should have:
Should LW support or encourage individuals to ask for or provide financial support? No.
Should LW members ask for such support in DMs to other members? No.
Should LW members post their circumstances in hope for financial support? No.
Should LW be in any way involved in financial transfers between members? No.
After reading your followup, I have a few other rephrasings to propose:
Is LW a good place to ask for money for my services or software? No. For registered or generally recognized charities, some amount of solicitation is tolerated, especially as a side-note to a relevant post.
Does anyone on LW want to sponsor my project? Probably not, but maybe. If your project is rationality-related, describing it and the benefits to the community of it’s existence is just fine. If you mention that you’re seeking sponsorship, you might get someone interested in collaborating or donating. You may well get valuable feedback, even without funding. Note that if this is transparently a plea for bucks, you’ll get downvoted out of existence.
Is LW better than Kickstarter or Patreon as a way to fund my hobby or startup? No.
Should I really think about my business model (or lifestyle income model) if this avenue of revenue is important to me? Yes.