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See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

Overnight moderation on voluntary basis

97 replies

Butterymuffin · 30/09/2017 10:49

Can MNHQ please explain why overnight moderation of the site is left to unpaid volunteers, and why they don't feel this work should be paid?

Please note that this is in no way intended as criticism of the Night Watch volunteers or anyone moderating overnight, or how they do that. That's not the issue here at all. I'm asking why MN as a business (and I understand it is a business; again, that's not the issue) isn't paying for this work to be done if they feel it's needed.

Would be interested to hear others' opinions. I know @Maryz for one had posted similar views on an earlier thread.

OP posts:
Original poster
Butterymuffin · 01/10/2017 22:38

Yes, and duplicated in some instances! Smile

OP posts:
pigeondujour · 01/10/2017 22:38

Totally agree, @Butterymuffin.

TooDamnSarky · 01/10/2017 22:40

I completely agree OP

bbcessex · 01/10/2017 22:45

I volunteer for a charity.. I completely agree with the OP.

It is highly unethical for Mumsnet to use unpaid staff to perform a required role.

There is more than enough scope for it to be a proper, paid activity.

Shame on you, Mumsnet, for exploitating people who should be earning money for providing a service.

WayUp · 02/10/2017 00:16

I think it's a bit cheeky of MNHQ. I know the volunteers have, ermm, volunteered to do it but i bet a lot of them would be happy to be paid a little something for their work.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 02/10/2017 00:19

Just because there is someone willing to do something for free, does not mean a company that's meant to support parents should take advantage of them. If they see it as a worthwhile job needing doing, you'd hope they'd want to pay the women doing it

I agree.

DixieNormas · 02/10/2017 00:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MrsBossyPants · 02/10/2017 00:35

My favourite band has five members who, obviously, do it as their full time jobs and make a decent living. Their manager, sound engineer, musical tech guys, roadies, etc also earn a living from them.

They have a fan Facebook page which is moderated by a fan, who volunteers to do that. The manager, and occasionally members of the band, will pop on to the page and comment or contribute something. But the mod doesn’t earn anything even though he/she is helping to maintain the public face of a commercial band.

Some of the fans take decent photos at gigs, on proper cameras. The manager allocates photo passes to a set number of these fans every gig, on condition that the best photos are given to the band for first refusal before being plastered on the internet. Again, these fans are not being paid but are doing something for nothing BECAUSE THEY ARE FANS. The band gets decent pics, the fan gets a great view of the gig (and picture credit when used in publicity)

Isn’t it the same at Mumsnet? There’s a hard core of posters/users who want to support the site that we get for free (I don’t get any ads on the iPad version of Talk), and they’re happy to volunteer because it helps make it a nicer place to visit.

khajiit13 · 02/10/2017 00:37

I totally get the OP. Volunteering is one thing but I don't know a single business that takes on volunteers. Tbh I'd have thought with the amount of advertising MN has took on over the last 12 months they could afford to pay people for their time Hmm what kind of a response is "well no one's has said they feel taken advantage of" ...

TheClaws · 02/10/2017 00:39

I’d add ‘The Night Shift’ is becoming less so - Mumsnet is an internet site, marketed and read around the world, so while perhaps the majority of readers of from the UK, Mumsnet is busy at all hours.

MinorRSole · 02/10/2017 00:51

In fact I'd really expect an organisation such as Mumsnet to not rely on women's unpaid work. And to know better than to do so.

100% agree with this

HeartsTrumpDiamonds · 02/10/2017 03:51

Mumsnet is an internet site, marketed and read around the world, so while perhaps the majority of readers of from the UK, Mumsnet is busy at all hours. - as evidenced by this thread, and others, quite busy at midnight and later UK time.

Why they don't have a community team - salaried - based in Australia/New Zealand, to take advantage of the time difference. What a good idea. North America (especially west coast) would work as well.

brasty · 02/10/2017 09:25

MrsBossyPants Fan clubs, pages have always been kept by fans. The difference is they are set up and controlled by fans. If someone sets up a face book fan page for mumsnet, of course that should not be a paid role. It is really not comparable.
And yes, I think it is unethical of mumsnet. It is simply a way of making more money.

brasty · 02/10/2017 09:27

Also as I understand it, it is only volunteers at night.

NearLifeExperience · 02/10/2017 10:10

Completely agree, OP. I think it's shameful.

kaytee87 · 02/10/2017 11:06

I didn't realise this op and I agree, it's not great.
As someone upthread said it could be a great job for a parent who can't get childcare, a disabled person who can't get out and about etc. If it needs doing then a business should be willing to pay for it.

AlternativeTentacle · 02/10/2017 11:13

Shame on you, Mumsnet, for exploitating people who should be earning money for providing a service.

Is it because they are mums and, well, mums are often up at night with nothing to do so their time is cheap?

I totally agree, volunteering should be for charitable organisation, not profit making ones. They are right royally taking the piss.

TheRealBiscuitAddict · 02/10/2017 11:32

I think that it's worth looking at just how much money MN saves by not paying their overnight staff.

Let's say that on average they have eight hours of volunteering overnight every night of the year. At national minimum wage of £7.20 that equates to an annual saving per volunteer doing an eight hour shift for 365 days of £21000.24. Times that by the number of volunteers you have working each eight hour shift overnight and you probably end up with quite a substantial saving which gets put straight back into MN's pockets, as they will be earning money during that nighttime period.

So if there are ten volunteers doing the night shift that equals almost a quarter of a million additional profit over the year. Still think that's perfectly ok for a business set up to make money?

Added to which it's also worth asking why the volunteers are happy to do it. Is it genuinely because they love MN so much and want to be a part of it other than just to post and read? Or could it be that they in fact have seen the increase in trolls and spam during the overnight period and have become so sick of it that they're happy to volunteer as part of the NW team in order to try to maintain some semblance of normality on the sight? I can imagine which one it is....

PeasAndHarmony · 02/10/2017 11:36

I agree with you OP, Mumsnet is a profit making business so should be paying everyone who works for the organisation.

Just because some people want to volunteer doesn't make it right.

kaytee87 · 02/10/2017 11:42

The volunteers are probably happy to do it so they can put it on their cv as experience or in the hope they get offered a job by mn. I doubt it's because they really want to work for free.

brasty · 02/10/2017 11:49

Well then they are naive. Volunteering to hide threads on a money making forum, will not help you get a job.

kaytee87 · 02/10/2017 11:51

They very well may be naive. Who knows. They should still be paid.

brasty · 02/10/2017 11:52

Totally agree

dontquotemeondailymail · 02/10/2017 12:06

Nobody is forcing the volunteers to do it, there is no exploitation.

Yes, in an ideal world mumsnet would make this an official, salaried role, but their business model is down to them.

If no volunteers came forward, mumsnet would have to decide to salary the role, but for reasons known only to the volunteers, they are happy to do it.

ANightWatcher · 02/10/2017 12:11

The volunteers are probably happy to do it so they can put it on their cv as experience or in the hope they get offered a job by mn

Grin It wouldn't even occur to me to put it on my CV and hope for a job with MN ehm no thanks. I'm perfectly happy with the job I have

They very well may be naive

I assure you were not Hmm

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