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Comment by rumpelstiltskin | Hacker News Reader

Reddit would benefit from more resources and less corporate interference. We can offer all of the above.

How does working in the sweatshop that is the Cheezburger Network = less coporate interference?

Edit for clarification: http://www.google.com/search?q=cheezburger+network+sweatshop

Heh, I was wondering why I was getting a bunch of traffic on that article all of a sudden. (My article's the top result on that query.)

That said, though, he pays minimum wage for work that for all effective purposes requires a college degree. And he stands behind that as if it's sound policy. (See here, though I'm sure it's posted elsewhere in this thread: http://www.benhuh.com/2010/02/02/are-you-what-you-earn-compe... )

Let's be clear: It's nowhere near as bad as what sites like Examiner.com and Demand Media do. If anything, it's part of a bad, disturbing trend.

EDIT to be a bit more evenhanded

If he truly believes that advertising high wages leads to bad candidates, then why advertise wages at all? It seems to me that if you are offering wages that low, you will end up with a bunch of candidates who don't think very highly of their abilities. That isn't the sort of environment I would want to be a part of.

I, for one, wouldn't work for near minimum-wage, but that isn't because I have an inability to control my expenses [1] or I don't believe I could work my way from Jr. Developer to Sr. Developer. I wouldn't work for that because I expect my employer to respect me and my abilities, and an offer that low would be, quite frankly, an insult. I've invested a lot of time and effort to get to where I am, and I expect any potential employer to recognize that. If they didn't recognize that, why hire me at all?

[1]: I could roughly continue living my life at the wages he posted ($8.55-$10/hr).

I agree that Huh's theory is misguided. I wouldn't apply for those lowball rates either and I strongly dislike people that seek candidates for minimum wage. Even if the posted wage is a fakeout, it's a horrible idea because there are actually a _lot_ of people who want professionals for basically nothing and have no respect for the profession they are trying to find, and it's not like you can distinguish the intent behind the posted wage, and there are lots of people out there who believe that collecting only $10/hr in pay, no matter what job, would be an unhappy situation.

Huh posits that lower wages make better candidates because they care more about the work and enjoyment than the money. Well, that only works if you can afford to work for minimum wage. An important part of being happy with a job -- probably one of the most important -- is receiving compensation adequate to supply the needs AND wants of you and your family. Even if you could make an argument that the needs of a person and his dependents could be met with $8.55/hr, which I think would be pretty difficult, there'd be no money left over for wants or leisure. And after a hard day slaving for minimum wage, I think that's important, anyway.

I'm curious, why Cheezburger Network is a sweatshop? Any experience first hand? or employees there blog about how sucky the company is?

I don't know myself, but the article has this link in the comments:

http://gawker.com/5488509/inside-the-low+paying-cheezburger-...

and that post has this comment:

http://gawker.com/comment/20269906/

shrug

It's a tabloid site of Nick Denton's so it must be true. Heh.

I worked at Cheezburger until a few months ago. Here's the deal with the sweatshop charges. It comes down to three items.

1. Disgruntled ex-employees are disgrunted. 2. Entry-level positions are entry-level. 3. Sleazy tabloids are sleazy.

While I worked there (as an experienced developer, not a fresh-out-of-college content moderator) I was a "real" employee (not contract) and I made a very decent wage, especially considering it's at least nominally a tech startup. (I wouldn't describe it as a tech startup but that's a different story).

You really did work at CN, given that accent/logic.

restating the hypothesis == proof. I love it.

Thanks for noticing.

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