Mumsnet not paying staff disgusting

[stepuporshutup]

Just read that mumsnet do not pay their night staff.
This cannot be true can it mumsnet?
If it is true then what is going on at mnhq
Aibu to be shocked by this
Or do fellow mumsnetters think it is ok to work for free
If the story is true

😂

Aiden leaves at 3...

What do so many of you not understand about volunteering? These night moderators have agency over their own lives. No one is dragging them off the street and chaining them to a laptop. These people are more than welcome to stop volunteering any time they choose to.

Why would they pay the Night Watch? They’re not doing anything worth paying for really. Without them, the trolls would just go mad overnight and mumsnet would deal with them at 9am. Having them there just makes the forums a more pleasant place until then.

Volunteering (in any capacity) has lots of benefits to an individual. I’m sure volunteering for the Night Watch gives a few people who struggle to sleep at night or new mums on night feeds a bit of beneficial focus.

I think lots of us commenting very much understand the concept that it’s a choice, and no one at all is forcing them to do it. They can stop at any time, all good. That is completely understood.

The other topic and more relevant question is WHY Mumsnet have chosen to operate like that and have made their own choice to deliberately use unpaid volunteers for their night staff, instead of paid workers like their day staff?

The other topic and more relevant question is WHY Mumsnet have chosen to operate like that and have made their own choice to deliberately use unpaid volunteers for their night staff, instead of paid workers like their day staff?

Because the night mods are just hiding threads when they chose to be moderating. The day staff are actually clocked in and doing a hell of a lot more than hiding threads.

Their voluntary work (and according to what MN said) is casual, not set. They do a great job but sometimes, in the past, I have had to post in their topic when reporting hasn't worked, and one of those vile troll threads has remained standing unchecked.

That's probably an argument for a 'properly employed staff member with set hours and full permissions. Sorry!

@GoldenSongbird lots of forums that do not make a profit use volunteer admin. I do not know any multi-billion pound profit-making business that do, except MN.
Or can you name any?

84% of Wikipedia contributors are male. Unpaid.

Reddit has more male users than female and it’s mods are unpaid.

I don’t believe this is a feminist issue.

And I say this as someone who is passionately angry about women’s unpaid contribution to society.

All my life, I've done unpaid voluntary work to support causes I thought were worth supporting.

UNPAID voluntary work is just as valuable as any other work. Sometimes more so, because volunteers can't be bought, bullied, leant on.

Can a night volunteer please comment.
Why do you ruin your body clock for night work that you don't even get paid for.
It's not a hospital or anything important.
Staying up at night, doesn't it interfere with your actual life.
Or, is for work experience so you can get a proper job in moderation?
Thanks

Mumsnet should pay all their staff at least the national living wage. It cannot be compared to the Samaritans as Mumsnet is not a charity and it's owners are very wealthy.

@Sweetpeasaremadeforbees
No but then I PAY for those services and certainly don't regard them as a community in the way that I view MN

Mumsnet LTD is a private buisness. As a user you help generate advertising income for the owners. There is nothing wrong with Mumsnet being a business and nothing wrong with them generating income but I think it's unfair of them to use volunteers. Being a paid overnight forum moderator would be a great job for someone. It's the type of job that could someone with mobility issues or caring responsibilities.

I'd have thought it more community minded to pay someone than not.

Reddit.

So what do you think of the comment above that the nightwatch are not doing anything worth being paid for?

@IVFPrayingForBioChild I think some of them may be in different time zones, and I assume they get a notification from someone asking them to look at something so it is not like they are having to read every single thread all night

antelopevalley
@GoldenSongbird lots of forums that do not make a profit use volunteer admin. I do not know any multi-billion pound profit-making business that do, except MN.
Or can you name any?

Reddit."

Also Babycentre. I had to fill in an application form, with all of my details and typical job application questions. No payment, purely voluntary.

Either someone is grateful for someone going out of their way to help, and it definitely is “worth” something, or it isn’t. I get what you’re saying and it’s more of a moral/ethical question I guess. It won’t happen, but if all the night work volunteers suddenly stopped, would they be missed or would it not make any difference? Interesting thing to think about.

Big thank you to the Night Watch, and all volunteers who give their time for good causes. Trolls can do so much harm when people are vulnerable, and those who poat at night often are depressed and vulnerable.

Just what wild accusations have I made???????
The night watch are not paid. Look up volunteer and then explain to yourself then the me how much a volunteer gets paid.
I read on another thread this morning that the night watch do not get paid.
Unlike you I do not assume that everything I read on mumsnet is a wild accusation

At least one of the night watch has said they're in a different time zone.

reddit has paid mods. It also has the capacity for users to set up their own groups that they mod. MN does not allow users to set up and mod their own boards. It is not comparable.

Thanks for this answer, appreciate it. So it’s basically not really work? I’m not being snarky, just trying to understand how it’s viewed? It’s basically low effort just hiding a thread if it’s suspicious? And doesn’t take any skills or time away from the user that they could be using to do something else?

Wikipedia is a nonprofit public charity. It's part of Wikimedia.

Reddit uk Ltd is a private limited company. I wouldn't volunteer to be a moderator on that either. Just because Mumsnet isn't the only complaint to take advantage of volunteers doesn't make it right.

Yes, they're basically only able to hide threads. I did more than that for my volunteer job at Babycentre.

MNHQ would either have to switch off the ability to post or comment when paid mods go home. Or MN would collapse without night mods as every night trolls post porn and disturbing material driving users away.
They need night mods, and they know it.