I feel like you're getting mad at me now...but I'm not trying to twist your words or anything, I swear. And I never complained about anybody "nitpicking"; if anything, people are doing the opposite: ignoring large portions of all this text I'm typing in favor of their own interpretations.
I never disagreed with that. In fact, as I explained in an earlier reply, I merely said that "one benefit of doing free collaborations is the exposure you CAN get". I also said that exposure CAN actually be beneficial: in other words, it isn't truly worthless. Which is a true statement. After all, why would companies spend so much on advertising if it didn't make any difference?
One thing I most definitely did NOT say was that exposure is equivalent to payment or should be accepted inSTEAD of payment, which is what you seem to be railing against. So you're basically just preaching to the choir, which certainly keeps you in the right, but doesn't actually accomplish anything.
I really dislike having to quote myself over and over again because no one can be bothered to read through the topic...you're not the only one in this conversation, and it's entirely possible that you could find the answers to your questions in the explanations I give to other people.
Of course, it's probably way easier on you to assume that only the words I say directly to you are relevant to the argument, and that I'm just an ignorant little jerk who couldn't possibly have a point. But I don't think that's fair to me. =/