Its different if you are volunteering to help friends or guildies. I wouldnt be offended by them offering to pay me but I can see how it would make people feel like they think they need to pay you for your help, like you arent really their friend.
I dont require a tip but if I dont get anything I will consider that person rude and probably not make anything for them again. Its optional because you dont have to pay it for what is being made at the time. Itsalso a test of what kind of a person you are. If you dont think my time is worth anything, I wont help you. IDK if you only give me 1g, I dont need the money, its about acknowledging my help for them more than "ty", drop group. This only goes for trade chat people and people I dont know.A tip is optional. If there is any negative consequence to not performing the action (such as being considered rude), then it's not truly optional. I respect the time and effort you put into what you do, which is why I personally choose to tip; however, if I don't ask a fee for my services, I have only myself to blame if I don't get one.
Yeah my dislike of fees is mostly illogical. I dont really care how low the fee is. IMO if you want to make gold business like, you should use the AH and you will make more that way anyway. I pretty much always post in trade if I need something made, what it is, I have mats and Im tipping. Sometimes I put an actual value. Anyone who contacts me then knows they will make something and they didnt have to do any extra work advertising in chat.You're proposing that people who want to do things for money (ie in the fashion of a business) rely solely on the goodwill of their customers for their money. That just doesn't work... and I cannot comprehend your position regarding people who charge fees. If you're willing to pay 50g and someone's only asking 20g, will you refuse their services? (If it really bugs you to pay that much less, you can always tip them 30g; tipping is, after all, an option regardless of whether a fee is charged or not.) Obviously if you're willing to pay 50g and they charge 100g that's a person you won't go to for assistance... but then, that's just free market at work.