I'd like a link to my HN username, or Twitter username. No money needed.

I think we all frequently write for "free" on websites that earn money from user-generated content/ presence. I don't feel cheated by this.

It's a good investment to write for free (I think of it more like interacting or participating) because I learn stuff from smart people, get relationships with nice people, attention for stuff I work on, and am able to pass on attention to stuff I am a fan of.

I'm not opposed to writers getting compensated with money, but in this case i'm not sure it's the currency that would help either party out the most.