I also do freelance writing for pay. That is currently the majority of my earned income.

And the internet would like me know I'm immoral and ruining the internet for doing that kind of work. See this recent comment by me in reply to those accusations:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20035958

Twenty years ago when I was homeschooling, I could find all kinds of high quality free goodies online to support that. It wasn't long before all the good stuff began disappearing. One woman who provided Italic resources removed all her free stuff from the web and became a consultant.

These days, a lot of what's online is low quality and cannot be trusted because it exists to sell you something. Blogging done to draw traffic to a business site and explain to you why their product or service is superior is inherently not unbiased. Journalist us supposed to be objective and serve the good of the people.

I know a lot about topics like homelessness, raising twice exceptional children and managing serious health issues with diet and lifestyle. Homeless people, parents with 2e kids and people with serious medical conditions cannot afford to pay me for my knowledge.

We currently have serious social issues. I'm quite confident I know things that would provide a path forward.

But I need to eat. I can't do it all for free. Me writing product descriptions so I can eat does not put any if that information out there.

These are all inherently hard problems to solve in their own right. Monetization of these spaces is also inherently hard.

And it's information that is on track to die with me while our social problems deepen because it isn't monetizable.

The hell of it is, I don't need that much to live on.

I appear to be the only woman to have ever spent time on the leader board of HN. Men here routinely tell each other "You have a lot of karma on HN. You must be very competent." No one says that about me. When I point out the discrepancy, I get attacked and dismissed as some twit obsessed with pointless, meaningless internet points. When I talk about my frustration with HN failing to be a networking opportunity for me because of my gender, I get mocked and told it doesn't work that way, never mind the overwhelming evidence that it absolutely does work that way for men who desire to use it that way.

I'm not stupid. I do freelance writing.

Looking to make sure I eat by doing the kind of writing people here decry as ruining the internet, and to hell with producing the kind of writing that makes it to the front page of HN doesn't begin to solve the larger issue that this article brings up: journalism itself is in crisis, which is how this misinformation spread so widely to begin with.

This is a serious problem. Encouraging me to cave and just do more freelance writing only serves to keep it alive.

It's a problem that has world changing consequences, and not in a good way.

I'm sure you mean well and you imagine that this is just about feeding one pathetic loser. You couldn't possibly be more wrong.

I'm a woman. If I get adequately fed up and decide to throw in the towel and cave to the status quo, I can marry well to escape poverty.

I'm reasonably certain I would rather die for reasons that aren't especially pertinent to this discussion and that I doubt anyone here would actually understand, believe or care about.

I talk about my situation as testimony to the problem space. Please don't miss the big picture here.

If my problem can be addressed in a manner that moves the needle on the larger issue, that's worth something. But your advice amounts to throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

I've been basically crawling naked across broken glass for about a decade. I'm flabbergasted that none of this ever really sinks in with anyone. There's always some new BS excuse to push aside the real issue and act like I'm just dumb and not trying hard enough.

Which makes me feel like the world might actually be doomed. Not because it has to be, but because, wow, there is no getting through the amazingly thick skulls of a large gathering of generally intelligent and competent people.

This is not "one dumb woman can't figure out money." That's not what this is about.