Modding on either Reddit or Lemmy seems like a lot of work. It’s like a part time job where you don’t get paid. What do the mods get out of their labor?
Imo this gets to the crux of how “people don’t want to work” is such horseshit. People don’t mind, or even like working to share knowledge and build community. And when they have the capacity and free time, they’ll do it for no pay.
People don’t want to work at something that feels like it makes no difference in their world or the world, when they’re not getting treated well or paid enough. They’ll work at things that deserve it in their life.
I think you hit the nail on the head there. In fact one of the biggest sources of economic value for networks like Lemmy and Reddit is the free labor people are willing to do out of passion for the community.
Modding can be quite tiresome. But it also comes from a place of wanting to see a community exist and be healthy.
If I want a GameBoy community on Lemmy… Someone needs to create it, someone needs to make sure it’s organized.
If I want people asking for relationship advice to have a safe space… Someone needs to create and moderate that space.
So it’s tiresome, sure, but humans do things for passion, fun, community, love. It doesn’t need to be profitable.
It’s labor, but a labor of love.
That’s exactly what I was going to say. If someone loves their community enough, and has the time and willingness to do so, moderating an online community can be an extremely helpful contribution!
I’ve been a mod for several different communities over the years, not just reddit-type forums but also IRC, discord, twitch etc. I’m now “retired” because I have too much going on irl and don’t have time, but anyway.
As someone who was a mod for literal decades: for me personally, it was always about love of whatever community or project I was volunteering at. Wanting it to be a safe, welcoming and pleasant environment for everyone, helping people when they had questions or problems, and so on.
To be brutally honest, yeah, it’s a thankless job. The average internet user really has no idea what mods deal with, especially if they’re working with larger/more popular communities. Over the years, I’ve dealt with a lot of harassment, stalking, death threats, even a smear campaign (well, there was an attempt, lmao). You’d be shocked how vicious people can become over the most trivial, unimportant shit — to give you an idea, someone once sent me a death threat because I told them to knock it off when they were spamming the same question on twitch chat. I’ve been doxxed for banning someone for posting content that was against the rules of a forum, and accused of being a shill for several different web sites. I was also told I was an “authoritarian” for enforcing rules such as “no self-promo” and “no affiliate links” etc., and I’ve been accused of “censorship” for banning Holocaust deniers and flat earthers.
That’s not to mention the really ugly shit. Someone photoshopped a picture of my dog to make it look like he was decapitated and sent it to me. I’ve been sent things I had to contact the authorities about, literally like, actually illegal, horrible stuff.
And the reason those things were sent to me was always something completely fucking unimportant, by any measure. Like just inane internet stuff. I’ve never been a moderator for any kind of “serious” community, never anything political or anything like that, just anime, video games, digital art, etc.
So why did I do it for so long, and plan to do it again when I have the time?
As someone who has struggled with loneliness due to an unfortunate combination of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and agoraphobia, I know better than most how vital online spaces can be. I know how important it is to have a place where one can talk to likeminded folks who share the same hobby, passions, and so on. I probably wouldn’t be alive right now if I hadn’t had access to those spaces, and I want to do my part not only to give back as a show of gratitude, but also to make sure that others like me have a place where they feel welcome, safe and seen (in a good way).
Being a mod was how I met just about every person in my life that isn’t family. My best friends were on the same mod team as me; my husband was a member of a community I moderated, as were many of my oldest and dearest friends. I don’t know what my life would’ve been like without the internet.
So, that’s why.
TLDR: the good outweighs the bad.
Often I think the Internet has done more damage than good in the world the way it has evolved to be, but creating good social circles about hobbies and stuff is definitely an amazing thing that helps many people out there. Hopefully we can turn the tide a bit with technology like the Fediverse and create a healthier part of the internet that isn’t corrupted and ruined by capitalist greed
There’s an underground economy of…
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are you really sure?
last warning...
love and friendship born from the labor of nurturing communities with respect and friendly shenanigans.
Thank you @ElectroVagrant@lemmy.world
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I want to help support my community on lemmy!
I would have never bothered modding for reddit, because I don’t give a shit if reddit succeeds or dies, but I want lemmy to succeed!
Tbh I’m thinking about starting one. I don’t want to at all, but I’m seriously contemplating it, while simultaneously hoping it pops up on my feed, which is the current problem.
Mostly personal satisfaction and a way to kill time.
I just really like talking about 90s TV.
Fair enough
It may seem a lot of work, but it gives people tasks to do in their free time and contribute to a community and makes sure that everything is in balance and order as people want to see these communities thrive.
they do it for free
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Because it causes you brain to release dopamine when you help building and maintaining something others (and yourself) enjoy.
