I’m surprised no one has reviewed the results of his stewardship of chowhound.com on linkedin.com
I’m not a member of LinkedIn, so I don’t know much about how it works. Would such reviews be visible to anyone who wants to read them?
I really don’t know, I don’t participate there, either, despite a long time membership.
Here’s the head screwball in charge of ruining the CH experience: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=AAIAAADEdc0B3SrnAUVuzYlLusJLn1lDMhVBx0E&authType=name&authToken=dD8r&trk=Skyline_click_NBM&sl=NBM%3B30514038%3A1451578940002%3B0%3B68286%3B
Even though it’s at the bottom of his list of “skills” it’s kind of ironic that he lists “community building.”
Since its purchase by CBS I have always wondered how they can violate Labor Law with the “volunteers.” There is no way they only hire students who are allowed unpaid internships to foster their education.
Maybe a lawyer at CBS finally woke up and figured out the “NY Times Test” was violated big time.
Good to see you here, jfood. Hope you can help build a local board for your community.
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Is that who the moderators are? I had always understood that the mods were ordinary site users who had been approached to do the modding - a common practice with discussion boards in my experience.
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Over the years we were always told they were hard working volunteers. That may work well when it was Leff, and everyone was a volunteer. But when CBS bought it, it became a part of a larger for-profit organization and there are rules for hiring. What if Apple or McDonalds, or Sears used “volunteers” like CH? If these are “important” roles and they “work tirelessly” and “without compensation” then why can’t the other companies hire volunteers.
I am no lawyer but I thought that is why we have Labor Laws, to protect people from companies calling workers “volunteers” so they can exploit them without pay and benefits.
I just never understood how CBS gets away with it.
In more recent times, I believe they have said some were paid and some not. Marssy, I think, was a paid hire as community manager.
Honestly, I can’t imagine why anyone would do the miserable task of wrangling that site and those boards know for less than top dollar. Can’t be very rewarding. Unhappy, critical posters and an autocrat at the helm.
With any luck and more of the same, hopefully they’ll have all of 2016 off…
I don’t wish job loss on anyone there. VIP if I thought it would help, but he’s doing what CBS wanted him to, so…
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I wish them all rewarding, less-toolish and -toadie jobs somewhere else. Is that better?
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Marssy was definitely a paid community manager. One wouldn’t include it on a resume if it weren’t paid without noting it was on a volunteer basis. She is still showing “Head of Community” as her title in her LinkedIn profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marssy
Head of Community
CBS Interactive
October 2014 – Present (1 year 4 months)
● Community policy manager and Social Media strategist
● Increase in social media followers by creating and publishing engaging content
● Manager of 2 paid and 8 volunteer moderators.
● 50% reduction in paid moderator hours by streamlining the moderator processes
● Lead the community efforts through the transition of a redesigned site
● Planned and executed meetups with site influencers
So if she’s still there, she’s managing two paid mods (patsully and maybe DeborahL?) and 8 volunteer Mods…but was also instrumental in reducing the PAID mod hours by 50%.
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What does THIS mean???
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Is it not one of those bits of meaningless management speak, that no-one ever challenges for fear of appearing stupid about management-speak?
I’d love to see an explanation of just exactly how she was going to “lead the community efforts” and how well she thought she’d achieved it.
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scheduled a meeting with VIPERgeorges?
She-god forbid that she would have considered CHs “site influencers.” 
I didn’t suggest you post a retraction nor is anyone required to wish them well.
The hate stuff can be kind of a buzz kill, though…
Not so much so far.
I suspect Jacquilynne and any loyalists to CH culture account for most/much of that 50% reduction.
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Huh? A retraction of what?
