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"Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith."
What I will not do is be exploited for free labor by the USGS who can absolutely afford to pay someone to do the contract work they are asking for. But by all means, if you want to, go for it.
Some people wouldn't want to spend their weekends working at a homeless shelter unless they were paid for it, but would happily spend time in a national park without being paid for it, and don't see it as being "exploited". You have different values/interests, and that's fine, but I don't know why you're trying so hard to be condescending to people that just have different interests than you do.
They described a high of 4°c as "mild". Fuck that.
But that isn't my point: people do all sorts of things to volunteer for others/organisations. Just because you wouldn't do it unpaid doesn't mean it isn't volunteering.