should online community stewards be paid?

I think that’s a common outcome in volunteer-based organizations—they rely so much on unpaid labor to exist that there’s really no other resource allocation strategy besides asking people who show up and succeed at things until they say no or stop succeeding.

Free-flowing exchange of work can establish non-transactional community. Not, like, asking your electrician to work for free, but asking your tech-savvy neighbor if they can help you install a light fixture this weekend.