The scourge of the Craigslist jobs board is those people and organizations looking to get something for nothing. It’s at once laughable, depressing and rage-inducing.

Listen up people: You can call it an “intership,” but it doesn’t change the fact that you want someone to give you something for free.

Here’s a great example from today:

Eco-Friendly Website Looking for Writers (Los Angeles)

Chosen by Time Magazine in 2009 as of the best designed green websites, EcoHomeResource.com provides inspiration and information to help people create and maintain healthy home environments. We are looking for talented and enthusiastic writers for our internship program. We are looking for a minimum 4 month commitment, contributing 2 articles per week, plus minimal data entry to continue to build the green products and services database. You will work primarily from home, so access to a computer and the internet is essential. We have in person meetings usually every 2 weeks or conference calls. There will be an initial orientation/training session. Please send a writing sample and why you think you would be a good fit for the team. This is a non-paying internship, but you will gain valuable experience, good job references and your work will be published and archived on a credible web resource, with author credit. Thank you for your interest!

Author credit!? Halleluah!! After all, as a narcissistic artist I do this solely for the recognition, anyway. And the archiving. Thank you EcoHomeResource.com!! I can’t wait to give you 4 months of work in exchange for “valuable experience” and “good job references.”

You know what? Real jobs offer those things, too, IN ADDITION to money.

Bottom line: There’s no excuse for asking a writer to contribute revenue-generating content to your website for nothing. Furthermore, there’s no excuse for writers — of any experience level — to give away their services for free.

Not to start a rant here, but creatives get taken advantage of in ways other professionals don’t. Can you imagine asking a young accountant to do 4 months of bookkeeping for free? Try posting an “intership” for a car salesman and tell him he doesn’t get any commission … just “valuable experience” and “good job references.” There’s no reason this should sound any less crazy than asking writers to contribute content for free.

The wonder of Google autocomplete! Okay, let’s take a look at these one-by-one:

1) Writers are loners — I can’t speak for all writers, but, in the case of this writer, this might be true. I work best by myself. But, not all writing is done alone. Songwriters collaborate. Screenwriters do, too. Copywriters are probably the lone wolves of the writing world.

2) Writers are born not made — I think people either write well or they don’t. And I’m not sure this is a skill that can be taught. People who are not born writers can, if they are so inclined, learn the basics and get along just fine. Those who are not ’so inclined’ exist solely to generate work for copy editors.

3) Writers are introverts — No we aren’t. Leave me alone.

4) Writers aren’t exactly people — People who type this into Google aren’t exactly people.

5) Writers are depressed — Many writers – some of the most famous ones – were depressed. Perhaps they wrote to explain and, hopefully, escape their depression. Some of the world’s greatest art has been inspired by the pain of the human condition. My depression is, conversely, caused by having to write "compelling" web copy for 42 different colors of the same table lamp.

6) Writers are the engineers of the [human] soul — The phrase was coined by Russian novelist Yuri Olesha and adopted by Joseph Stalin. Apparently it’s all the rage in China right now.

7) Writers are readers — The good ones are. Additionally, speakers should be listeners; takers should take turns being givers; and lovers should never be haters.

Writers are born — (see #2)

9) Writers arena — Meet other writers who are lonely, introverted, depressed, not-exactly-people just like you!!!