from Hacker News

Ask HN: Why doesn't Reddit give it's mod's a revenue cut

by sf4lifer on 6/20/23, 11:41 PM with 18 comments

  • by SheepHerdr on 6/21/23, 12:16 AM

    There's no need to pay the mods when they're already doing it for free, with many more willing to take their place. Some of the mods do it for power, but I would hope most do it for their love of good discussion and their community.

    If it really comes down to it, I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Reddit admins just kick out all the protesting mods, finding replacements will likely be pretty easy.

    Edit: Mass removal is already happening. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36412619

    The mods of several large subreddits were all kicked out, leaving the subreddits unmoderated. Multiple of these removed mods are also locked out of their accounts.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/14eq8ip/the_entir...

  • by mostlysimilar on 6/20/23, 11:46 PM

    Because they took 1.3 billion dollars from investors who want their money back, moderators currently do the job for free, and Reddit is looking to _cut_ spend, not increase it.

  • by hker999 on 6/20/23, 11:49 PM

    Supply exceeds demand for free moderators. They have no incentive to change this.

  • by version_five on 6/21/23, 12:14 AM

    It's a minimum wage / gigwork job at best. You pay for it, you'll get that quality of work.

    If you pay people in power, as they do, people will put their heart and soul into it. Not everything is a monetary transaction, and there are better incentives.

  • by aborsy on 6/21/23, 1:17 AM

    It’s worth noting that people don’t pay for a lot of online services, such as access to information in platforms such as reddit. Advertisement is also loathed by public. It’s a tough business, and there isn’t all that much to trickle down.

  • by hitsurume on 6/21/23, 1:10 AM

    They have no reason to pay them. Hell I think Reddit could find a cheaper way of using ChatGPT and making their own inhouse mods then pay existing mods who go on strike.

  • by rvz on 6/21/23, 12:04 AM

    Because Reddit took VC money and need to give their investors a return from it, in the form of an IPO.

    Giving money to mods won't help their IPO roadshow or make them profitable.

  • by jim-jim-jim on 6/21/23, 12:07 AM

    Because Langley already pays them plenty.

  • by yarrowy on 6/21/23, 5:08 AM

    Mods are overrated, easily replaceable and do not contribute to Reddit's success.