I might sound a little selfish here, but is anyone as annoyed as I am at the alarming trend of ex-1UPpers panhandling their audiences lately? Sure, they just lost their jobs. I need to stay sympathetic, I keep telling myself.

So the folks at RebelFM get a free pass, because it was an immediate reaction from the community who wanted those guys to land on their feet. $12,000 though? Well, they got it, so more power to ‘em. Then TalkingOrange, or Area5 as they are known now (free link boys, and good job!), have enough donations to have PayPal question them. And now, those who voluntarily quit their jobs are looking for community bailout funds. That’s where I draw the line.

Dan “Shoe” Hsu posted on his Sore Thumbs blog that he has this great new idea for a website. It’s so great that he’s asking for money from his audience to fund his new venture. Not for a stake in it mind you, just some good old-fashioned free money. Forget videogames, he should go into a more profitable career in the banking or automotive industries. I think they really need his moxie right now!

The problem I have with these donations is in most cases these kids who would follow any former 1UP staffer blindly, are coughing up their hard earned cash without realizing that it’s pretty much like throwing their money away. They aren’t getting any software or services for it, they are only funding someone else’s project from which they will never see any reward other than being able to read a few blog posts a week about something that was probably not only written about on countless other websites, but aggregated to death across the Web. All for free. These are the same kids who probably got their EGM subscriptions over the past few years for free, too, by the way.

And the sick thing about all of this? These kids are pissing away not only their money, but their parents’ as well. And that money, especially in this economy, could go to things like food, education, mortgage. Oh, but Dan Hsu wants to build a website, let’s give him money. Did John Davison, after he voluntarily quit his job, ask his readers for donations so he could start What They Play? No, he created a business plan, peddled it to venture capitalists and investors – you know, the people with money who in return purchase a stake in a business venture. What would have happened if he couldn’t find someone to help back his business? He’d either have to dip into his own pockets or give up the dream.

What Hsu is doing here is reprehensible. He’s not selling a subscription, he’s stealing money from kids.