The Google community was recently flooded with accusations of racism in search results.
Checking in on a Monday morning a few weeks ago, no-one seems to have been around over the weekend.
Once a perception forms, it’s hard to shift. Past a few hundred thousand members you need 24/7 moderator coverage to respond to issues like this.
The costs are relatively low and the risks are worryingly high.
What happens if on 5.01pm on Friday afternoon someone posts a suicide threat and no-one from the company reads it until 9.00am on Monday?
It’s a possible tragedy and a headline of “Company {x} did nothing for 4 days after member posts suicide threat”.
Now consider illegal/illicit activities, death threats, security bug reports and the whole gamut of worst-case scenarios. Hoping the community manager checks in on their days off isn’t a solution.
You don’t need someone there every second, but at least have someone checking in once or twice a day. Hire an intern for the weekend, use virtual assistants, hire paid moderators, or a professional moderation company. It doesn’t cost much and can avoid a catastrophe.
