A proposal to charge fees for posts on a popular Facebook page for Auckland flat hunters has caused uproar among its members. Photo / Supplied
A proposal to charge fees for posts on a popular Facebook page for Auckland flat hunters has caused uproar among its members. Photo / Supplied
A public Facebook page connecting flats with flat hunters throughout Auckland has proposed a posting fee, sparking a divide between those running the page and its community of 202,000-plus members.
In a post shared to the Auckland Flatmates & Flats Wanted (AFW) page on March 17, admins told its members they will be “dedicating more time to maintaining the group” in order to “address the growing issue of scams”.
As part of the change, AFW admins said they’ll be introducing fees through “a comprehensive payment system, incorporating various banks and payment options” that caters “to members both within and outside New Zealand”.
Although admins said fees would be used to “facilitate efficient screening and approval processes”, they noted the payment for – and subsequent approval of – a post would “not guarantee” its “permanence”.
“Administrators reserve the right to remove any content deemed inappropriate, scam-related, bullying, racist, or hate speech, without providing a refund,” they wrote, adding that websites like Trade Me charge customers for listing properties on their site.
The admins expected some members to “disagree with this policy” but stressed they operate “on personal time” and monitor the group “during work hours”.
Administrators shared their proposal on Facebook, suggesting members of the Auckland Flatmates & Flats Wanted (AFW) page would need to pay for future posts. Photo / Facebook
It remains unclear how much the proposed fees are, or where the money collected would be spent. The admins mentioned “a fee of $3 per post”, but said they’re avoiding introducing it. Later in the announcement, they said that “$1 out of the $3 charged will be going to charities for each post”.
Facebook’s Terms of Service do not allow individuals to charge others for posting on a page or group, given they remain under the company’s ownership, and pursuing this may result in one’s account being restricted or even banned.
The proposal faced immediate backlash from members, both on Facebook and beyond. One member told admins they understood their “situation” yet were aware Facebook is “designed to be free itself”.
“Charging people for any group membership or for any post is ridiculous. There are way bigger groups than this,” they replied. “[The] ideal choice is to gather more and more admins.”
Over 160 members responded to the admins' post with a laughing emoji. Hours later, several revealed in a Reddit thread titled “Auckland Flatmates Wanted Admins Power Trip” that they’d been banned for their playful reactions.
“Got banned for react laughing at the post,” wrote one person, while another replied: “Me too, welcome welcome.”
The Auckland Flatmates & Flats Wanted (AFW) page has over 202,000 members.
“Same but I didn’t even laugh react. It was either a thumbs up or a surprised react,” wrote a third former member. “Either way, how f*****' petty are they?”
Admins confirmed this with their own post on AFW, saying they’d “banned and blocked” 88 members since making the announcement.
“Feel free to remove yourself and created [sic] a group then manage it and see how much time it takes and how much people are running into your private dms,” they wrote.
“Thanks to those who have better understanding this wasn’t for making money after 10yrs running it without anyone’s penny staying actively [sic] with wifi and data none of that comes to the admins for free.”
AFW admins paused the group on March 18, with people unable to post or join it until at least March 21, while comments on both of their posts have been turned off.
When approached by the Herald about the proposal, an unnamed moderator for the Facebook page said the admin who began it has “decided not to worry about the group anymore” amid fallout from the proposal.
Facebook pages are used in cities around the world to help individuals connect with potential flatmates or landlords. Photo / 123rf
“[The admin] said she gonna close it down to save herself time and everyone ... lots of ungrateful people and I agree with her decisions tbh”.
The moderator said previous attempts to add people to the admin team had failed, with one admin approving their partner without permission, another admin attempting to “take control of the group,” and scams slipping through the system.
While the original admin spent 10 years of “personal time, wifi and data all to help the community”, the demands had become “extremely high”, and fees were proposed so other admins could “put in more of their time.”
Still, one member told the Herald they offered to help admin “at no cost” but were turned down, despite previous experience moderating pages.
When questioned whether they were aware their proposal violated Facebook’s Terms of Service, the moderator referred back to the cost of internet and data, saying people aren’t “considering the effort that admins and moderators [put in] to stay connected to keep the group running after 10yrs plus”.
The moderator reiterated that the admins now plan to shut down the group, saying anyone interested in maintaining it can make their own group or join another one.
