what is that supposed to mean? when the api charges were announced, multiple subs went private and were resurrected against the mods' free will. other mods were instituted. whether any of those made any money, i don't know.
keep in mind that i was not one of those mods and thus cannot verify that information, it is just what was posted on reddit multiple times. trying to deescalate and moderate a sub is a good thing and we should be grateful to those who actively do, but holding it against them that they do not take any money for that neither makes sense nor does anyone benefit from it.
I was just saying they do it for non monetary reasons, and if there is a continuous supply of people willing to do it for free, they really shouldnt pay.
Yea idk why you have downvotes you're literally just describing capitalism. Has no one seen others volunteering for positions when other people get paid to do the same thing?
Mods are paid in power and the ability to push their opinions.
A not-insignificant number of them are paid in wages and the ability to push the opinions of their employers. Can't find it, but there was some well-researched accounts of several of the bigger subs being moderated by think tank / party owned accounts, based on IP-tracking and associated account activity.
Most famously, there was the takeover of the /r/Libertarian server by right-wing agitators back in 2018.
That's not even getting into the direct (and indirect) advertising that site admins manage on behalf of the company itself, which is functionally a form of moderation.
Most big subs have some kind of professional staff at this point, if for no other reason than inattentive or rebellious moderators have been purged by Reddit admin. You're not going to find some weekend warrior at the top of /r/pics or /r/news or /r/politics.
I was a mod of a decent sized sub until an admin came in and...somehow...convinced the top mod to make the admin top mod. Left a bad taste in my mouth for sure.