asking for free art is completely fine. asking for free anything is completely fine. this is just an elitist mindset. their ego is unfathomable.
let me tell you a story from one of the novel i read.
there's this one suburban village that almost got hit by a plague. people who got affected got rash on their bodies and getting weaker overtime. the infected goes to the only doctor in the village then the doctor giving them a minimum fee and the raw cost of medicine. but some people still couldn't afford it. so the doctor had to politely decline since he need to makes a living as well.
and then there's this local priest suddenly granted miracle by the god, he could heal any disease and ailments with just simple touch, and asking no payments for it. the doctor didn't have any qualm with it since the priest doing it without any effort and resource. the villager rejoice and they saved from the plague.
but 3 years later afterwards, the same plague strike. but this time : the priest already passed away, the doctor is the only choice the villager had. so all of them coming to the doctor and asking to be cured for free. because to their understanding : to be cured from this disease is something that you shouldn't pay. the mindset already ingrained in them. since the doctor refuse to do treatment for free, he got banished from the village and they ask for the priest adopted daughter to cure them instead.
of course the daughter couldn't do anything since she couldn't perform any miracle. then the village turns to ruin because of the plague with no one to cure it.
-------------------------------
The point of the story is : if someone do something for free, especially doing so in public. people would taking it as granted. and it would grew a mindset among populace that art is something that could be asked for free. so if you could got it for free, why bother paying? this whole stuff is actually more about ethic.
i also asked for free art to my friend once, but i didn't doing it in public. and he readily agree to do it. because that's how the manners to do it.
why do giveaways exist? those people, the ones who entered the giveaway did nothing to deserve what's being given away, yet they still are allowed to reap the benefits of possibly walking away with something they never once thought they could afford themselves. how is that possible?
and tell me, why do people volunteer at soup kitchens or churches or old folks home? for money, or out of the goodness of their heart (or community service hours, lol).
not everything in life has to have a price tag on it. you can do something nice for someone just cause. remember, in that thread, op was not asking for long term commitment. they were asking for a single cover to their novel that didn't even need to be fancy at that. are you really going to make them go through google images for hours on hours searching for that perfect stock image that may not even exist?
for giveaways, if you didn't pay for a thing you got, that means you're not a customer. you're the product. this thing is a very basic economy.
and did you know those volunteer actually got a proper reimbursement for their time and hardwork, not in form of wage but something else.
and your last point is just a splitting straw, you're basically saying something for sale for really cheap should just might as well free. that's not how it works
The next time my skin itches from an allergy, I will remember your nickname when I scratch it in a fury!!!
