re-materialization of commodification (3)

The conclusion to two previous posts (apparently this needs to be said more forcefully):

It's easy and popular to talk about money but it's back room stuff, a necessary way to help support an artist but not an urgent topic for a show or a paper.
As for the sudden proliferation of art websites that put this concern front-and-center, it's a defensive stance to combat the general notion that what's on the net is free and therefore valueless. Better than bribing Congress to create unworkable laws but still putting the shopping cart before the horse, content-wise.
Value can't be gamed in the short run, even though everyone working in webspace from the most crass shoe seller to the loftiest art and technology site seems to be obsessed with it.