'Auckland Flatmates Wanted’ Facebook page admin on charging a fee for posts

The hugely popular Facebook page ‘Auckland Flatmates Wanted’ is proposing a $3 fee for posting in the group.

The page has more than 200,000 members and is a godsend for those trying to find or fill a room.

An admin of the page is proposing the fee due to the work it takes to monitorscams and approve posts, but they’vereceived widespread backlash.

Another admin from Auckland Flatmates Wanted speaks anonymously to Tim Beveridge.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Have you ever wondered about who the people are that
run all those Facebook groups that you're part of. Auckland
Flatmates and flats Wanted as a booming Facebook page with
over two hundred thousand members, but all the work of
blocking out scams, approving posts that got too much for
one ad They got too much for one admin who
proposed a fee for posting in the group. After a

(00:21):
widespread black backlash which followed, the admin has paused the
page and that has left flat Hunter's panicked and with
us With us now is one of the other admins
from the Facebook page, and he has agreed to speak
with us anonymously. And good afternoon, Good afternoon, So how

(00:41):
much did you want to charge for a post on
the page? And what was going to happen with the money?

Speaker 2 (00:46):
We are for a three dollar fee, whereby we said
one dollar will go into charity for Auckland Starship Hospital
and the rest of the money to help meant to
put in more time to manage and maintain the group,
as well as be able to pay internet bills that

(01:10):
we used to keep the group that we have been
actively running it for the last ten years plus.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
Okay, so how many of Edmunds are there and how
much time do you spend on it?

Speaker 2 (01:23):
It's three, it's three. So basically we all have jobs,
so we on line here and there at work, at home,
so wherever we are, even if we are not we
are not at home, we have to use our personal
internet while we're out there and about to go on

(01:46):
the group to screen messages, accept and all of that.
So it's not like we have a specific time to
go on there when we're at home. Were on there
where we are work, when we had a chance, we
go on there when we're out with family. We still
as the group.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
You never escape it, right? How many posts are we
talking per day that you'd have to moderate?

Speaker 2 (02:09):
Usually sometimes we can get like thirty or forty a
DD but out of all the thirty forty you will
likely approve maybe ten fifteen because most of it are
scam scam ads or scam posts that they try to
get in. So we have to read through every person

(02:32):
who have put in a request to posts before we.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
Approved, and as that including you having to moderate the
comments as well.

Speaker 2 (02:40):
Yes, correct, okay, so you put some of the coments yes, right,
Because we have decided to actually shut it down because
when we ask for a fee to give us the
ability to put in more time because this group have
been very helpful and very high to mand with people
trying to find a rental and all of that. So

(03:02):
we have put in a whole lot of time, but
people don't see all of that.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
Would actually, why did you keep going with it when
it got so big? I mean, because it just sounds
like it's a John Hessel.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
Why don't you Because the person who created their group
was once a homeless in any situation. Why where he
was homeless, that's when he created the group in order
not to see anyone else fall in the situation where
they have nowhere to sleep.

Speaker 1 (03:30):
Any chance you're going to get any chance you're going
to get the page back up and running, because it
sounds like a lot of people rely on it. If
you've got those.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
There is a lot And even though it's possible, we
still receive private messages from people who come through our
personal Facebook that are acting us to allow them to
advertise or to run. Even we had a few people
that offered if people see all the page, but we

(03:56):
don't think it's something that we should sell it. We
seem fully ask for fee to give us also the
term to put in more time to screen all and
try to do whatever you can get this cam out
of it. That's the whole point. People just really don't
see the effort we put in there so that a

(04:17):
man decided to just shut it down.

Speaker 1 (04:19):
Yeah, well, I can understand that. You've got to be
a thank you. I really appreciate your time. You've got
to be a laton for punishment on that one. For
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