Thanks for the well-reasoned response. So what makes these professions different from other highly sought after positions, such as investment banking or law, where free labor is unheard of? Perhaps it’s the ridiculously low barriers to entry? Something else?

The reading expedition which had started out so well has started to struggle. We were making good time the first thousand paragraphs but somewhere around the 2nd Seth Rosenthal plateau the monotony and drudgery of just repeating the same things over and over and over and over and over started to effect our progress.

I’m really having a hard time caring that fans of particular teams aren’t getting paid for blogging about their teams when they took the positions knowing the compensation involved. The vast majority of the bloggers there would be otherwise just writing long posts on their favorite team’s message boards if they…

I’m honestly curious: what profession heavily relies on unpaid labor? Blogging, sure. Graphic design? Photography? I honestly would like to know.

lol ok

Interns have only been paid since 2013

But is it a problem if these unpaid contributors continue to submit content because they enjoy it? Maybe not being paid isn’t a big deal to some even if it generates ad revenue for the company that runs/owns the site.

yea but what about the commenters?

Interesting write up. I actually write for an SBNation site and generally admire and am impressed with our site managers, do have a stipend, and always thought of it as a labor of love. I’m probably under paid but that’s not really why I’m doing it. But certainly understand the sticking points made.

Counterpoint:

If a few of the more popular writers banded together and started a site on Wordpress or whatever, would they be able to exceed what they’re making now if they used Adsense or something similar?

I read the comments on every article, and often make them. Hell, I skipped this billion word article JUST to read the comments. Why don’t any of us get paid?

Yeah, I’m sure you would quit a job that has unpaid interns. I doubt those guys have SB Nation stock options. It’s mighty easy to shame people for not quitting when you don’t have mouths to feed. And I’m not just saying that because I like those guys. I like Ufford, Spencer Hall has turned into a fart sniffer with a…

It’s blogging, not a California fruit farm.

This seems like a pretty generous use of the word “exploited.” I dunno. Fans blogging and getting paid for it seems like an ok model in most circumstances? If they want to have vox host their blogs they need to hit certain targets. If they can’t or don’t want to... then they don’t have to blog..? Was it ever…

i will never understand people that buy cars to not drive them..... theres only so much looking at a car i can do before i get bored.. i’ll never get bored of driving them (well... some cars i might...)

Doug, Roberta... look, I don’t think you’re going to get your asking price, or even close to your asking price. While the Marauder is a cool car, it’s not yet a classic. Maybe in another few decades, but not yet.

On the off chance McGregor goes off script and does a MMA takedown once he realizes that the fight is already lost.

I’m glad someone finally found a use for Jim Carey’s Riddler.

Very different. You can’t put points into stats anymore. There are now talents you can skill at levels 10,15,20 and 25. New items and heroes have been added. The map got tweaked twice, with more neutral and ancient camps added. Almost every hero has an Aghs upgrade now. There have been complete hero reworks.