I think most people sign up to italki with an idea of what they expect, even if their expectations don't match how italki actually works! So, someone who signs up knowing that tutors and teachers are paid for their time will be very respectful of that. A person who signs up and thinks that they'll get free lessons off native speakers may get frustrated quickly and then complain, insult people and (hopefully) leave soon.

I'm glad other members have brought up the misconception of "instant language" and I think Luigi's analogy of a bikini body is quite spot-on. Fitness, like language, needs to be a habitual practice, even though there are plenty of salespeople who'll throw you a promise or slogan just to make you buy their product. I've even had students walk into my physical classroom with a "gimme English, hand it over" attitude and then wonder why their progress is so slow.

Sometimes a student needs direction and focus, and tutors/teachers can help with that. Not every native speaker knows how to guide a learner. And yes, it is about the native speaker's time as well.

Typically in life you get what you paid for.  So I pay for my lessons & chat with language partners.  I don't expect language partners to provide course outlines, give me a progression through the language and ensure that they fill in the needed gaps in my fluency.  The free language sessions are meant to provide value for both parties.

..Isn't it worth that because this is, like, 60 minutes of another person's life?

I won't be distinguishing between different qualities of informal tutoring here. Some people just chat for an hour, and other provide actual help. I always try my best to do the latter, but it doesn't matter really. It is 60 mins with a native speaker anyway, which the native speaker could spend as they wanted to. Very probably it wouldn't be a chat with some stranger simply for the reason they want to study the language.

Of course there are many ways to have practice for free. If you are friends with someone, it would be pathetic to offer them money for hanging out together. Even if you simply share some interests, it's only natural to chat from time to time. I think that paid informal tutoring is a nice opportunity for those who don't have such friends, probably because they live in another country. You can also make informal tutoring a regular practice, which will help you progress better. Even if you have, say, a Japanese friend, it may be a bit annoying to ask them to practise Japanese with you every week. They may have other plans.

It is very nice when you find a native speaker who will just spend time with you for free! The main thing here is to remember it is a big favour, not a duty as some people seem to assume.

Of course, I can't speak out about specific cases of rudeness: they may just be an example of that discourtesy which normally escorts the anonymity on the Web.

However, about language, I wonder if these questions and pretensions are not the effect of a general misunderstanding about linguistic learning.

How to explain that confidence of so many sites assuring a quick and easy mastery of a tongue? What is this obsession to find a native partner at whatever level of a learning process? And why the outspread of those "miracle methods" to create polyglots?

I could not image such a stream of slogans and promises about, say, theoretical physics or informatics. But, yes, a tongue seems to be a bit like the perfect bikini-shape before summer: you can have it in a rush and without any effort!

There is the widespread conviction that languages can be learned spontaneously, automatically. That actually it is the only “natural” way to learn them. And children seem to be there to prove that, indeed, it is the way how the system works.

The recipe is hence quite simple: speak with a native, listen to songs, watch TV, then wait a little and magically the target tongue will appear in your head, ready to be spoken!

As a result, many people must actually wonder why they would need a teacher.
Or, up to them, their “teacher” should limit to talk a bit about weather, news and random stuff and let the learning process develop spontaneously ... for itself.
Since, for them, a linguistic lesson comes down to a chat with the foreign neighbour, is it ever worth paying for that?

   Some students may want only to have a relief  from formal lessons in grammar,  or anything with

strong structure.   I think some may desire just to have a  chance to have a friendly dialogue so that they can practice. 

 Just the same, they may feel very nervous, and they may hope  to find help and encouragement.

 So in that regard,  what they want is slightly unique.  They want to learn,  but they  definitely want to avoid  anything like the language lessons they find in the schools in their home country.