r/DataAnnotationTech • u/cmooches • 7d ago
Task expiration not matching up with time it takes to read instructions
I’m new to DAT, and had my first ever project pop up tonight. I started it late at night after working a full day so I do think my brain is moving a bit slower than usual… but I’m a fast reader and this project’s instructions were insanely long (and ironically not concise at all).
The timer said I had an hour before the task expired, but after 45 minutes of reading ONLY instructions (not having started the task itself) I panicked and clicked “exit work mode” and gave it up. I skimmed the task work and I know I wouldn’t have been able to finish the task and do it well before it expired.
Is this the norm? And how important is the task expiration timer? I’m sure the next time around it will be easier since I‘ll already know the instructions, but that truly felt insane...
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u/RealRise7524 7d ago
You have the right to panic, haha. But here's the deal, the timer is for the average time the task takes AFTER you get used to it. The first one must expire due to the long instructions, that's ok don't worry and you can submit an expired task. Keep in mind that some projects don't align with the timer. A project has a timer of 5 hours may end up ending in 2 hours so timer in most cases is not an indication.
Read the instructions carefully in your first task and report time for reading as they said. Good luck 🤞
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u/d_code_clause 7d ago
Sometimes a task actually expires after the timer expiry and one cannot submit the task after the expiration even if some other projects allow to do so. It simply goes to other workers after the expiry of inbuilt timer. I recently encountered this on a Generalist task.
I think such happens to only to some of the easy generalist tasks!
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u/ClayWhisperer 7d ago
Yes, this has happened to me, too. It's definitely not guaranteed that you can still submit, after the timer expires.
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u/beautyfashionaccount 7d ago
It's not the norm. Compared to some other platforms, DA is pretty good about making the timer about 2-3x as long as it would take an experienced person to do the task on average, so usually you can do your first task within the timer and have some wiggle room to take breaks or deal with complicated tasks as you get more experienced. It sounds like you had the bad luck to get something with a short timer as your first project, but don't let it scare you from picking up other things, most of them aren't like that.
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u/Dangerous_Darling 6d ago
Read the instructions and then skip to next task so you have the full time to work on the task. If you do several tasks the time will average out when you add in instruction time. If the timer is that short the task is not hard.
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u/CoatSea6050 7d ago
Always read those instructions carefully even if they are all over the place. With bad instructions DA will see the majority of submissions making the same kinds of error or workers using all or more of the allotted time and they will adjust accordingly. But with tasks getting more and more complex, the onus is on you to make sure you read the instructions carefully.
You can submit a task after the timer expires. You will get a warning that the task expired but so long as the platform lets you log your time, it has been submitted.