Hi Danny,

I absolutely love your work, visit your site regularly and recommend your books to friends and clients whenever I can. Working in the creative field in a number of capacities, including being my own web designer after a decade in IT, I have to share with you the thought that your announcement for a volunteer brings up. It's basically this: You are successful and have a world wide following, the visitors to your site are potential customers who buy your publications and support your work, this web site is your face to the world and a big part of your business. There is absolutely no reason why the service of re-designing your site should be done as volunteer work without compensation. Especially now that CMS (content management system) has become accessible and feasible through blog technology, a design for a site such as yours can be easily contracted out. My current web site, ArtOfLife.com is actually one big blog and the technical part was created by the ladies at eWebScapes.com for around six hundred bucks. Do you ask your accountant or mechanic to volunteer their services? Your web designer should be your most cherished service provider and generously compensated.

Please take my candor as a contribution, I've been on all sides of this equation. Forgive me if I misunderstood what you're trying to accomplish with this request.
Blessings,
Damaris

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Damaris:

I think your point is valid. I certainly have no intention of gouging some creative person.
I guess I had in mind something collaborative that would be of interest to all parties, less of a job for hire, than an opportunity to try out something new.
I participate in all sorts of pro-bono projects for other creative people. I have done drawings for books and album covers and zines and posters and enjoyed the experience without receiving any monetary compensation.
Perhaps you are under the impression that I maintain this blog as an income source or that I am raking in enormous amounts of money for all of my many publications. The fact is, they are generally money losing propositions done as labors of love and the thousands of people who enjoy them without paying are my pals in one way or another.
If my request is completely unreasonable and uninviting, then I guess I'll go on and teach myself more about coding.
your pal,
Danny