Speaking for the *ACL conferences, they are not "random people" in the sense that they must have "(a) at least two papers in main ACL events or Findings, plus (b) at least one more paper in the ACL Anthology or a major ML/AI venue" [1]. So they are published authors.
As for it "being a thing": sadly yes. The number of papers has been steadily increasing over the years and the number of volunteer authors is simply not enough.
As for it "being a thing": sadly yes. The number of papers has been steadily increasing over the years and the number of volunteer authors is simply not enough.
[1] https://aclrollingreview.org/incentives2025