I have zero interest in people who commit murder. I get tired of seeing this at the top of every site as well.

hopefully not

Glad you mentioned this. I need to do a post on the topic. Certain positions or fields don't align with this community. I've seen positions like yours posted in certain threads, which makes me question the sanity of the poster. Fortunately, they are usually ignored or deleted. And from what I’ve seen, no service handles these positions as they are excluded in the terms. This type of community is geared towards entry and mid level positions. Most users, like you, understand this. I’ll post on this and ensure such requests are removed from the thread. Thanks for the input!

Regarding your points, you're correct in pointing out communities like this have existed on Reddit, X, other social media platforms, and services on the web for a while. I also agree that everyone must be very skeptical when connecting. Any normal person should be thinking, "Is it a good idea to get a ref from the internet?" I certainly did. In all my cases using these communities, I spoke with the people I ended up using via chat, VoIP, and exchanged info after feeling confident. I had some ghosting, but the peeps I did talk with, it quickly became obvious they were solid IT, after which we'd declare what we needed and exchange info. The last person I helped was a woman with a 4-year gap and was in IT data entry. She posted she wasn't getting any calls because of the gap. I reached out and we came up with a way to resolve that. However, I'm very aware my positive experiences are tiny compared to all the activity that has taken place in all the communities. It must be assumed people have had bad experiences. I also assume that since these communities have existed for quite some time, with much positive feedback from many, the good outweighs the bad. I'll do my best to monitor for suspicious activity in this community and act accordingly. Thx for the post, take care!

Hey, thx for the great points. I'm in the IT field and have given and requested refs many dozens of times legitimately. I would say from all those calls the same questions come up over and over. More recently, due to legal reasons, I'd say the calls have become very basic and short. Every so often, there will be an inquisitive HR/recruiter, but after 20 years of IT, it's never a problem. As for giving refs via communities like Lemmy, Reddit, etc., I did that myself the 1st time due to not wanting my current employer to know and being 1 short of the typical 3 refs requested because of last-minute ghosting. I ended up finding someone on Reddit, did a quid pro quo, and it went great. After that, I continued to participate, giving another 6 refs or so successfully. One guy has reached out to me about once a year, which is typical for IT. I eventually switched to gig work and at one point needed 9 refs total for 3 bids. I ended up using a combo of legit, old, and new Reddit refs, and a website service. I never heard anything negative from anyone and got 2 of the 3 bids. Anyway, I think you raised some great points, and skepticism is the best approach when connecting with someone. I also think my perspective is distorted because my world is corporate IT. However, due to observation over 4 years in various communities, it appears people have been successful in other fields as well. You also had a great point when you said, "Reaching out to users you know and discussing in private the details would be better than just hoping someone will lie for you." Typically, these communities are for doing exactly that, meeting new people, getting to know them via communication, skills, bio exchanges, and then helping each other out. Thx for your input, take care!

Hey, great question. First off, I'd like to say this community's main purpose is to offer an alternative to the functionality found on Reddit r/JobReferences and other threads or social media that are similar. More directly to your question, based on my observations and experience of that thread and others, I believe it is a combination of everything you asked about. In some cases, you have people in the same fields building quick relationships and helping each other quid pro quo. Some are entry-level jobs where young people need a name and number. Many have gaps due to their health or a family members, pregnancy, mental health break, or other legitimate reasons and need a hand in a competitive market. Some are looking to help others. As for my experience, I'm an IT gig worker and constantly need references. From a combination of my refs not answering to feeling bad for badgering my refs, I started seeking alternatives and have used them successfully. And personally, over 20 years, I've grown to dislike the barriers corporations add to get a job and enjoyed seeing communities help each other with those issues. Hopefully, that answered your question. Take care!