Need somebody fluent in Japanese that also knows the culture? I’ll e-mail too later, but I figured there’s no way you cant see this ^^ You can PM or post a reply, either is fine by me. (or of course you can ignore me, haha).
Of course !!! They’re treated like real ladies.
And a mug eh?
Juuuuust typical ,living the life of Riley out of my subscription.
Ed has said that Tuba is paid a stipend. Whether others are or not, or how much it is, good for them.
This gets a “Yahbut” clarification. Based on what Ed last said TTBOMK:
Unless things have changed dramatically in the last couple of months, nobody gets a stipend for being an SDMB Administrator or Moderator.
Tubadiva gets a small stipend for work managing the Straight Dope homepage – a distinct, discrete (if perhaps not discreet) position from her duties on the message board, which is as volunteer and uncompensated as everyone else’s.
What he said, though it’s a little bigger than the front page. I wrangle a good deal of the editorial content into the site, which includes reformatting Cecil’s Classic Columns, fixing coding problems for all content, and dealing with the typo gremlin when he strikes. (When you think about where some of these columns have been, from one system to another to another, stuff creeps in, I’m amazed it doesn’t all look like greek.) I also handle Threadspotting and Weird Earls as well as archival duties for said content. (No, I do not archive the board.)
I am not paid for the work I do on the board, which includes supervisory duties such as managing moderators – training new ones and taking old ones to the Home when they have served their time and need assistance.
Jerry has to clean the hamster den, though, that’s his gig.
Thanks for clarifying, Polycarp.
Oh, I also handle the weekly Straight Dope mailing. You are all subscribed, right?
Actually, what Ed said was that she is paid in return for taking care a lot of things, many of which involve SDMB customer service. While I would agree that nobody gets paid to be an admin or mod, it doesn’t sound like the line between “paid for THIS non-SDMB work!” and “volunteering for THIS SDMB work!” is all that discrete.
Actually, based upon what Polycarp has said and what Tuba herself said, I’d say the line is quite discrete, easily definable, and could be split off into a different job involving someone who isn’t a Mod/Admin if TPTB felt it necessary.
Of course, as a trained lawyer type, I’m good at drawing distinctions where others might find no difference. 
Oh, uh, wait, strike that last. That makes me sound like Sandra Day O’Connor was my idol… :eek:
Actually it is. I would think it’s clear by now how moderators and administrators are compensated for their work on the board – the fabled coffee mug and Reader Calendar – and all the trolls, spammers, and ill will they can eat at no extra charge. And that’s pretty much it. Oh, at one point they gave the staff t-shirts, but that was a long time back.
I’ve been covering SDMB customer service going back to the first day we started at AOL, all those years ago. I wasn’t paid for it then either.
I do happen to cover a lot of other duties in addition to my work on the board and there is a (small) stipend for that work. Why is this important and what do you care?
my bolding
As you know we Dopers are more curious than cats or even 5 year olds. Once a subject is broached, we will collectively worry it to death.
Jim
What Jim said. It’s technically and properly none of our business, but as a group, Dopers compare quite closely with a group of curious preschoolers in asking minutely detailed, not to say trivial, questions.
If Tubadiva served for precisely 719 days 11 hours 59 minutes as Acting President, could she run for the Presidency none, one, or two times? And would the Chicago Reader compensate her for doing so? What if she were detailed to measure balrog wings? What is Cecil’s wife’s maiden name? Does being a Moderator include getting a caricature of yourself done by Slug Signorino? How about being an Administrator? If I don’t shut up, will you shoot me with a 1920’s style death ray?
No, thank Og. At least, it’s never been offered to me.
Once. For about 20 minutes.
Either that, or you get to listen to a rendition of Neon Moon played by an oompah band…
Not to mention our collective sense of personal hygeine and jeuvenile attention span.
Perhaps some gifted Doper would up and offer to draw portraits of our Admin and Mods. Not caricatures per se, but… Interpretive Illustrations.
According to the first two books, Cecil’s wife is named " Mrs. Adams " and from what I remember, she has a distinct lack of tolerance where science experiments in the kitchen or bathroom are concerned.
Upon examination, I also see that some of us spell the word “juvenile” like a Kindergartener…