Advice on what? Thesis, portfolios, applications to GSD? Should we also collect CAD/BIM databases for those lazy students with fast approaching deadlines? Or is this question limited only to those looking for free services and think they can get anything they want because they think themselves clever for navigating this asteroid belt of cat videos we call the internet?

My normal fee for advice only is a pint or two of Guinness, however, it's hard to send that through an internet forum.

Give as much free advice as you feel comfortable letting go for no compensation. This will vary not only by person, but also by that person's mood each day. 

The vary talented architect Marica McKeel has made it clear that she believes giving away knowledge in the helpful form of blogging, etc. is valuable in building up the general knowledge of the community which then leads to more commissions. I agree with her.

Advice to peers is freely given. In fact the technical discussions here are some of the most interesting as they are really a valuable form of CE.

Advice to others is case by case. I tend to not to take anonymous posters seriously. If you are serious you have nothing to hide and everything to gain by being open about your real identity. I'd feel much better about a web dialogue with Charles Manson than I would with Manson pretending to be someone else.

In the end there is no doubt that I am scarred from decades of working for - and living in the same area with - majestically entitled royalty. At least that is how they view themselves and behave, which has been the impetus for several of my non-architecture projects.

Well stated so far... I always used advice to educate people about architects and as a way to allow someone to test drive my brain... but never included any work product... think we should look at questions as opportunities.

I answer in detail when I feel like refreshing the stuff I think I might know already. I do my best to keep anonymous though. I'd probably get in trouble with a few people if I didn't.

advice is advice -- work is work

i honestly don't think anyone's worried about lost wages for dispensing advice on the internet here -- we're all wasting time losing wages while being online

but i do see a quick reaction to lazy internet researchers looking for a shortcut to actual work, whether that's an easy unearned new job, a ground-up new house for free, a guaranteed portfolio at the touch of a button, whatever...

newbieselfbuilder walked into a shitstorm that was somewhat expected from the generic questions and somewhat distressing at how quickly we assume the new poster is a dumbass

sometimes it's funny because the poster IS a dumbass; but sometimes it's not because the poster has a real question and isn't able to communicate it properly

we are all living and learning and not worried about losing wages on the internet

(i have a plea for decorum in my posting history, but i'm more laissez-faire about the level of maturity here [who am i to moderate that?!]...it will be what it will be)

(& good for timothysadlertrademark to make us look like a bunch of jerks)

part of it is whether your free advice will turn into work in the future, right?  in real life, sometimes we will do free work up front in order to be at the top of the list when it becomes paying work.

when someone posts on a forum they've never even contributed to, trying to get a feasibility study or free floor plan, i would think it's highly unlikely that's going to turn into real work.

maybe we could to a better job of pointing people in the right direction towards how to find and hire a decent local architect to help them.  'go to aia' is one way, but some people probably have somewhat justified misgivings towards supporting the aia, since they aren't really representative of a lot of architects.  other than that, you could say 'go to the yellow pages,' but people don't really do that anymore, so it always comes back to 'google it.'  google is probably what brought them here in the first place.

also, some of us could stop being jerks.  birds can start swimming, fish can start flying, dogs and cats will get along.....

Sorry to the OP for a slight diversion but we are talking about "free". Its really everywhere not just here. Considering a thread about "free"... in the mood for a firestorm. What's all the squirm about answering an internet question.... you can't get a commission today without giving it up, RFP's are filled with questions about what you know about the building type, most want examples or proposed solutions.... did an interview at The Ohio State University on a major project.... as our team exited the conference room the next team entered with 4 guys dressed in identical black suites with matching black ties and white shirts carrying a huge model of the finished project... thought they were from Scientology and guess who got the job, they did.....its become a reality and necessity.

carrera, you're talking about doing work with the prospect of getting a paying job.  what do you suppose the likelihood is that NSB was really looking to hire someone from this site?  that wouldn't even make sense, since apparently nobody has any experience with her project type.

by asking her to seek out an architect, we're not only helping her find a local professional that can answer her questions, who has experience with this project type, but we're also helping her start to build the relationship she's going to need when she's ready to hire a professional to get the project built. 

null, you clearly fall into the peer  category and your anonymity for professional reasons is understood. Now get back to work.

Miles should we have a peer only option maybe? Like a club to discuss and not be searchable since much of what we do could be a liability...........I request a "let me google that for you" button or all students using this site as a short cut on homework. It would be like a random post generator taking the "thread title" and posting an image or text via lmgtfy...........I occasionally end up in electrical engineering forums and to be honest even if the experts were giving out free advice I am still not sure what they are saying all the time............

I've repeatedly stated what I think would make the forums a better place for everyone:

• minimum ten posts before you can start a topic
• stickies with welcome, guides, popular requests (what style is my house, etc.)

I'd also like to see a 'jump to last post' navigation on news and article threads. 

I'd hate to see the forums limited to peers. Not only is it difficult to define (does a high school kid interested in architecture qualify?) but we'd also miss out on some of the most delightfully absurd discussions ever. Like Why won't you design what we (the public) want? 

Although in retrospect a ten post minimum might have prevented suri from posting this delightful nugget.