What is it about the Internet that so very many netizens don’t appreciate the abundance of free content?

Scott Kurtz of the top-notch webcomic PvP had a service problem which didn’t allow him to upload a comic on Monday, and he receives this e-mail:

You’re pretty freaking lazy.

Got a kinko’s nearby? Got an AOL CD? You’ve obviously got a working phone so that’s enough to get online nowadays you lazy bastard. The comic should *never* be late. When you die the comic should keep going for a few days because you’re so prepared.

Meanwhile, Monsur Hossain of Bloglet.com, who provides our daily update e-mail delivery service, had to post a news item about Bloglet’s lagging service over the summer. Here’s the first line:

Well, what started out a little project to help fellow bloggers has turned me into the most reviled person in the blogosphere, and rightfully so.

It sounds like many of the other Bloglet users were nowhere near as nice and appreciative as I tried to be when enquiring as to the status of the service.

PvP is free. Bloglet is free. Both would be grateful for a donation, sure, but the plain fact is that the user is not automatically charged and there is no contract. There is just no call for snarkiness and abuse toward someone who gives of their time and talent for the entertainment or service of others.

Someone, please, invent a micropayment system that works! I’d gladly give these guys 25 cents or 50 cents a month to make their efforts profitable. But until that happens, remember a very old truism: Do not look a gift horse in the mouth.

(…and no, Uncle Cheeks, this does not make me a hypocrite for complaining about the massive image downloads on the old Unca Cheeks site. Not not not!)