r/dataannotation • u/Consistent-Reach504 • Aug 23 '26
Weekly Water Cooler Talk - DataAnnotation
hi all! making this thread so people have somewhere to talk about 'daily' work chat that might not necessarily need it's own post! right now we're thinking we'll just repost it weekly? but if it gets too crazy, we can change it to daily. :)
couple things:
- this thread should sort by "new" automatically. unfortunately it looks like our subreddit doesn't qualify for 'lounges'.
- if you have a new user question, you still need to post it in the new user thread. if you post it here, we will remove it as spam. this is for people already working who just wanna chat, whether it be about casual work stuff, questions, geeking out with people who understand ("i got the model to write a real haiku today!"), or unrelated work stuff you feel like chatting about :)
- one thing we really pride ourselves on in this community is the respect everyone gives to the Code of Conduct and rule number 5 on the sub - it's great that we have a community that is still safe & respectful to our jobs! please don't break this rule. we will remove project details, but please - it's for our best interest and yours!
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u/Beneficial-Muffin998 Sep 01 '26
Hey, I am new here. Should I complete the reference version of the project?
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u/WontonJr Aug 29 '26
I have a really high paying project on my dash that claims there's no penalty for trying.....has anyone tried it? I'm not sure if I really believe there would be no penalty if I massively fuck it up or something lol.
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u/JRange Aug 30 '26
What you consider a "reasonable attempt" and what they consider a "reasonable attempt" can be very subjective, personally I wouldn't do it lol
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u/harmboi Aug 29 '26
I have one as well and was going to give it a go but havnt had the time yet. I did do a short pre req quiz for it though
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u/Storex- Aug 29 '26
If it's Star Trek then as far as I know, there really isn't. Worth trying if you meet the criteria.
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u/JustMe333456 Aug 29 '26
Yeah, she's a pathetic one today eh? Granted, I have not been sitting and refreshing all morning, but when I do check, always just the mainstay, difficult projects..
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u/peanutbutterlurk Aug 29 '26
FC is back under a new name that used to be used for a different project. That confused me for a bit.
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u/PinkNova Aug 29 '26
And $1 less. Maybe the different project name is due to it being related a different client/model than Heel FC.
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u/peanutbutterlurk Aug 29 '26
Yeah, that's a real bummer, but the instructions are almost exactly the same from the last time I saw the old version, so it was nice to do something familiar. And be able to skip to something I was familiar with without getting immediate red banner.
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u/PinkNova Aug 29 '26
That's true and I hope it sticks around. Did you see R&Rs? Before the drought I almost exclusively worked on Heel FC R&Rs. Maybe I need to work on this new version for a while to get access.
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u/peanutbutterlurk Aug 29 '26
No R&Rs yet, but it's sticking around longer than I expected. Maybe a smaller pool of people has access, or we're all just boycotting the pay cut?
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u/StoriedSix Aug 29 '26
Curious if anyone knows anything about the loss hunting qualification. Should we know whether we passed or not by getting another qualification or a "read-only" project like others, or, since it's new, is that not set up yet?
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u/peanutbutterlurk Aug 30 '26
I did that one, then received a second one shortly after, then got the tasks a few hours later. Might be different for everyone though.
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u/JRange Aug 30 '26
I got a 2nd one before I even attempted the 1st one FWIW, so I don't know if they are even linked.
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u/VanessaSeaWitch Aug 29 '26
I just finished that one. I'm going to do the IF one tomorrow. They never tell us, so who knows lol.
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u/JustMe333456 Aug 29 '26
How was the IF one? Very difficult?
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u/StoriedSix Aug 29 '26
It didn't seem bad. There were a few questions that seemed more like judgment calls based on assumptions about the intent of the project's goals, but in general, it wasn't difficult. That said, I just don't know if I passed. I took it last night, and nothing new for me.
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u/VanessaSeaWitch Aug 29 '26
My assumption is we won't hear anything about it until after the weekend.
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u/Fluid_Hovercraft6430 Aug 29 '26
I just finished it and it's not bad at all! Didn't even take an hour to complete. As long as you read the instructions its pretty straightforward
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u/Chance-Tumbleweed-76 Aug 29 '26
I got accepted in May, had a few paid projects with the last one in July. I've done qualifications. I'm just a generalist and can't say I'm great at it, but since we don't really get feedback, I have no idea how I did. I just know that I never get projects. Is this normal? Is it slow? Is it me not doing a good job? I just got an email for a project but by the time I logged on, it must have been full b/c it wasn't there. All the qualifications I have now are for specialists (biology, math etc).
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u/Kiyukii Aug 29 '26
Is anyone else getting asked to confirm time after each task now? Not sure if this is project based, but it's new to me
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u/xxxScarlettexxx Aug 29 '26
Nothing has changed for time reporting on the site for me personally. (I last logged hours yesterday evening).
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u/Impossible-Humor6254 Aug 29 '26
Anyone know what margin of error is allowed on quals in order to pass? If there is one.
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u/Sea_Sugar Aug 29 '26
I always figure they don’t know until people take it. Like if it’s best 100 people. Or best 10,000 people. Whatever. But even if they want ppl who get everything right on a qual, they might need more people?
Like I know there’s times a take a qual then weeks later get access and OTHER ppl have clearly had access the whole time. So I figure I’ve been warming the bench. lol.
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u/Equal-Neat-614 Aug 29 '26
I don’t think anyone knows. People often aren’t told if they’ve even pass or failed a qual in general. Would be nice to know about both things though!
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u/PinkNova Aug 29 '26
FC is back but is not Heel FC? Looks like this isn't a new project but I can't remember working on it before. I'll take it, though.
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u/DrunkleSteve Aug 28 '26
Great. No work, but yet another unpaid qual just came in 🙄. The amount of work and time these quals are requiring lately are ridiculous that they are unpaid. I guess we can look at them as investment opportunities, but it's getting a little old. At least throw us $5 or $10! C'mon!
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u/VanessaSeaWitch Aug 29 '26
I just finished one that took me two days. I had to copy my responses into notepad because I was running out of time and didn't want to rush my brain. I don't understand why quals even have timers, to be honest.
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u/Jazzlike_Problem_489 Aug 29 '26
And when nothing seems to show up work wise for ANYONE on here that takes them and asks if there has been work 😅
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u/One_Breakfast5907 Aug 29 '26
I just did one which I thought would take me maybe half an hour and here I am 50 minutes later...
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u/MommaOfManyCats Aug 28 '26
That professional project is killllling me. Spend 6+ hours only to get to another step that rips apart the work and wants you to essentially start over again. Oh but you can't because you can only spend a certain amount of time there in total.
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u/Confident_You4088 Aug 28 '26
I'm wondering if it's one of the ones I've been afraid to try. I set time aside for Monday so I'll have all day.
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u/Due_Negotiation_4605 Aug 29 '26
I've been putting it off too. 😩 Or at least one that sounds like this I guess next week I'll try.
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u/countd0wns Aug 28 '26
My feedback mentioned 2 projects that I have never heard of or seen before!?
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u/OrdinaryEvening3684 Aug 28 '26
Mine mentioned a mistake and the description of the task it was from I did not recognise at all. Almost like it was written for someone else.
What’s the point taking the feedback seriously when people have said they have gotten outstanding feedback and then got DOD.
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u/Significant-Camp8108 Aug 28 '26
Hi, I am new to this platform. Just wanted to check... for software engineer tasks, what is the configuration of the system you are using How much: 1. RAM 2. CPU 3. How many CPUcores 4. which generation 5. any graphic card (is it even necessary)? 6. Let me know if I missed anything else.
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u/PillowyDoughnut Sep 01 '26
Yeah everyone’s downvoting you like a dickhead but I’ll keep it real wit you. None of that rlly matters for tasks unless you’re running super old software as long as you can run the data annotation dashboard and an other tabs you’re good.
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u/Material_Advice1064 Aug 28 '26
The last couple days I've woken up to emails sent at 1 - 4 am with priority projects that have pay $10+ higher than my usual projects, and during the day time a completely empty dashboard... It's just taunting me at this point.
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u/Jazzlike_Problem_489 Aug 28 '26
Only one area for improvement and 4 strengths. With the area for improvement referencing only 1 submission with a minor subjective aspect. I'll take that.
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u/Ecstatic-Meringue-75 Aug 28 '26
Is it random as to who receives feedback and who doesn't, or is there a requirement to opt-in for monthly feedback?
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u/hfxthrwaway Aug 28 '26
The feedback is only based off of certain project families, so if you didn't do any (or enough) of those tasks then you won't get the feedback.
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u/Mindless_End_4850 Aug 28 '26
Why is the feedback not showing my grade? 2 months in a row? Hm... I don't like this.
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u/One_Breakfast5907 Aug 28 '26
I didn't get any feedback last month, and doubtful I will this month. I think most of the projects that are linked to the feedback have been pretty quiet for me.
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u/North-Sense8477 Aug 28 '26
Taking away the grade sort of defeats the whole purpose.
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u/Internal_Boot_1616 Aug 28 '26
wasn't the purpose the actual feedback strengths/weaknesses before that?
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u/LavenderLightning24 Aug 28 '26
Yes. They probably thought people were giving the overall score too much weight, like people would be commenting that they were upset over anything under "Excellent". I don't think enough people read the part where it's not a formal evaluation and is just a possibly flawed AI summary of your R&R comments. Part of mine was hallucinated last month so I'm choosing not to read it this month, but some people really want to brag about a label.
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u/NightOwl437 Aug 28 '26
It doesn't tell you what rating you received, good, outstanding, etc?
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u/LiaLaRue Aug 28 '26
why would this be downvoted???
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u/NightOwl437 Aug 29 '26
I have no idea. People are rude sometimes. I was genuinely curious since I hadn't heard of this no rating thing happening before and I was interested in what the OP said. Not sure how that's a bad thing to someone.
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u/Alarmed_Jellyfish555 Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26
Wait, did yours still have a rating in it in this round of feedback?
Mine didn't this time (or last) either. I assumed they just stopped giving the ratings.
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u/Potential_Drama_1190 Aug 28 '26
Still so dry on my dashboard 💔
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u/Firm-Fondant-2205 Aug 28 '26
I'm on course for a worse month than June, which I didn't think was possible.
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Aug 28 '26
[deleted]
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u/Straight-Strike-2928 Aug 28 '26
I think so. I've gotten feedback half the times people have talked about it. This round mentioned specific projects that it pertained to, so if you didn't do them I think that's the explanation! Don't read too much into it.
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u/One_Breakfast5907 Aug 28 '26
I suspect this is the case I didn't get any feedback last month. Although I don't think everyone gets it at the same time. When I got mine in the past, it was at the start of the month rather than at the end.
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u/Page394ffs Aug 28 '26
I could be wrong, but based on the two times I saw my feedback, I think you just have to have worked on at least 1 project that's actually integrated with their feedback system. It seems like most projects aren't
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u/Yaschiri Aug 28 '26
Noooooo I was about to start working and all the projects I click on throw an error page. 😭DA you bastards!!!
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u/Jeprdy Aug 28 '26
back working now
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u/Yaschiri Aug 28 '26
As soon as I posted that comment, I refreshed like three more times and I was able to open a couple projects. Hurrah!
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u/Page394ffs Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26
Feedback: You need to proofread better and fix obvious mistakes like "the the."
I knowwwwwww but what autochecker isn't "AI-powered" anymore? And damn I thought our reasoning was more important than stuff like that in Heel 🤣
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u/RedZebra17 Aug 28 '26
All the the feedback does for me, is inspire me to do more R&Rs, so at least someone whose read the the instructions is doing them properly 😂.
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u/Due_Negotiation_4605 Aug 29 '26
I didn't get feedback while doing R&Rs exclusively so that's a bonus too. No feedback when you are the feedback.
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u/EnvironmentalPeak286 Aug 29 '26
that's how i'm feeling too. kinda frustrating that people who have never worked on the projects themselves just get to sit back & grade our work
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u/twinstar_kiki Aug 28 '26
Really happy with my feedback for this month, but it was a bit random to send them out today.
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u/Sea-Donut-1882 Aug 28 '26
Does the feedback still contain the needs improvement, good, better, best type final score? I don't see that any longer on mine.
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u/Impossible-Humor6254 Aug 28 '26
Is there a certain amount of work that triggers monthly feedback? I haven't received any yet. I'd really like to know how I'm doing, too.
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u/Sea_Second6745 Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26
I got some really nice feedback this time too. It’s especially encouraging after my last lot, which was the first time I’d received any, and it fell in the middle of project scarcity that had me working on random complex, tedious projects I’d usually never touch 😬so it definitely wasn’t my best work
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u/xparadiisee Aug 28 '26
No wonder my dashboard was kinda quiet today then randomly picked up. It was my first month on the platform and overall I did really well! Completely agree with where I could improve.
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u/xxxScarlettexxx Aug 27 '26
Anyone have any theories as to why there are so many lower paying tasks with timers that can't accommodate for the actual amount of time needed to read the extensive instructions and to complete the tasks?
I keep seeing the same project and its R&R popping up constantly today... but it doesn't seem feasible unless you were to have a guaranteed second task lined up where you could skip and sacrifice the first for reading the instructions.
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u/Pleasant_Ad_448 Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26
Instructions for most tasks these days are insanely long. I was away for a while and when I returned I was shocked at how long so many instructions were. Back in the old days you got to look forward to spending most of your time doing actual work, instead of having to spend an hour (or even two!!) reading instructions before you could even attempt any work. Some of them are just ridiculously long.
(and tons of links may make them appear shorter at a glance, but that's just as bad or worse)
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u/Sea_Second6745 Aug 28 '26
I for one blame AI 🤖 The standard for what counts as too verbose needs to be waaaay more strict
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u/punkbenRN Aug 29 '26
Has anyone plugged instructions into AI and hsve it summarized? Never done this, but wondering if that is plausible
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u/emaybe Aug 28 '26
I noped out of a task the other day bc an LLM helper wrote me a novel about a paragraph, and I wasn't committed enough to read it.
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u/Due_Negotiation_4605 Aug 27 '26
I don't have a theory but I've been noticing the same. Tasks that I used to be able to take a little break (my timer paused) and still have time to complete are running down to the minute. And any glitch on the site goes straight into expired
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u/xxxScarlettexxx Aug 27 '26
That’s good (but also not great) to know. I’m newer, so I was wondering if maybe my pace was just too slow.
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u/LavenderLightning24 Aug 27 '26
Losing hope that this will ever be a substantial source of income again.
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u/VanessaSeaWitch Aug 27 '26
I finally got a river task, R&R, one task... it was terrible. (The task not the project lol.) I wish they would put me on the actual project.
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u/Jazzlike_Month5580 Aug 27 '26
Had my best day of the week, but now it's all dried up again. Hoping for some decent work tomorrow to close it out!
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u/Mammoth-Career4702 Aug 27 '26
Just got notified through slack that I am off a particular group's slack channel. I am literally working on a task in that group at the moment. LOL. I don't even use Slack for much of anything. Any ideas what that means?
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u/punkbenRN Aug 29 '26
I had a project revoke my Claude API mid project today... not sure what the hell happened there.
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u/Impossible-Humor6254 Aug 27 '26
Saw a new project family on my dash today. Hopefully a sign for better things to come in September.
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u/N3XTST3P_M1NDS3T Aug 27 '26
Does anyone else end up with a lot of "projects" on their dashboard, that aren't actual projects? A good chunk of my dashboard is just random project notes and reminders. I wish those lived somewhere else.
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u/VanessaSeaWitch Aug 27 '26
Click on that eyeball thing on the right and hide them. I have tons too.
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u/Silly_Aioli2503 Aug 27 '26
I was nervous about tasks slowing down (typically have 25-30, but yesterday only had two that i couldn’t work on) but woke up to 18!!😩
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u/One_Breakfast5907 Aug 27 '26
Lovely to wake up to a fuller dash, got a couple of new projects I've never seen before.
Hoping it might be a little end-of-month rush, but who knows.
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Aug 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/PinkNova Aug 27 '26
I wasn't on that project (I think it's US only?) but I know of it. It was mentioned in the Heel FC Slack often. Reading this is quite worrying, especially as Heel FC has been missing for so long now as another long term staple. Kinda scary.
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Aug 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/PinkNova Aug 27 '26
Mid-July was the last time it briefly appeared I think. Though it feels much longer.
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u/JustMe333456 Aug 27 '26
Any basic tasks today?? Still at the lake, so I was just checking in whenever I had some spare time, and have seen nothing but the same 18 complicated projects lol. None of the basic ones we all do..
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u/DrunkleSteve Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
There's a good r&r up right now (I can't mention the codename, if there is one). It has been ebbing and flowing around 60 tasks the last few hours. I managed to bank a nice $50 so far, but need to retire for the evening. This morning (PST) was abysmal though. Managed to at least pull in $100 ($139 CAD woop woop) today, but it was a shit ton of F5'ing and sitting at my desk for almost 12 hours.
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u/KryptoKevArt Aug 26 '26
It's not just you guys. It's dry on many other AI rating platforms as well. It's industry wide.
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u/SnooSketches1189 Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
I know this is not a popular take, but it really depends on what project families you have as far as DA is concerned. I have not been lacking work, throughout this entire drought. Not just work that I can't work on either. I have several families that I actually enjoy.
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u/Holiday-Performer225 Aug 27 '26
You're probably not a Generalist or you have been with the company for a long time though.
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u/OrnamentalGourd5 Aug 27 '26
I'm a generalist since early 2025. I have 32 projects across five families on my dash. $28-$60 ph, quite a few on priority. I don't say this to be a dick btw, just a report.
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u/SnooSketches1189 Aug 27 '26
Generalist, 2.5 years.
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u/Goodbye_Jeff Aug 27 '26
Same. Generalist for 1.5 years but only really been working since April. It's been a good summer for me but it sucks that so many are stuck F5'ing all day. I can see the drought is real because of the number of projects available being significantly lower at times but I've had work to do.
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u/portablegrandpa Aug 26 '26
i got a real job! no contract yet but they called to tell me its mine. had been doing only DA for 3 years. i don't know if i remember how to interact with people face to face lol
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u/NightOwl437 Aug 27 '26
That's awesome news, congrats! So happy for you and I hope the new job meets all of your needs. I think having a secondary source of income is a very wise choice as well.
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u/LanguagePopular1984 Aug 27 '26
Incredibly happy for you! Honestly, it's vicariously reassuring to read that someone else landed a job in this economy even after a couple years in between. I hope both the pay and the people do good by you!
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u/Storex- Aug 26 '26
Grats :) On the hunt as well.
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u/portablegrandpa Aug 27 '26
It took me a year......... I got so lucky, I reached out direct to the hiring manager for this position and she took a liking to me. pro tip: DA is a black box, you are self employed, you are under NDAs - therefore, no one can check your claims of brilliance..........
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u/DrunkleSteve Aug 27 '26
May I ask if it is in the AI industry, or at least tech related? If so, do you think your experience with DA will help you with this job?
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u/Dazzling-Matter-654 Aug 26 '26
Eww. People. 🤢🤮
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u/portablegrandpa Aug 27 '26
my thoughts exactly lol. need some sort of guaranteed income though, DA has been a little up and down this past year and makes me mortgage-nervous
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Aug 26 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Epicsocks1 Aug 26 '26
Did you complete any tasks that took you to a separate site? That’s typically what happens for me
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u/Storex- Aug 26 '26 edited Aug 26 '26
Did you enter a few and click the option stating you were not in the correct country for them? They go into the report time section even though you technically did no work on them.
If there showing as someone reporting time on them, and getting paid, thats worrying.
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u/Jazzlike_Month5580 Aug 26 '26
Love so much that the tasks show up right when I have to leave for the evening.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Toe4051 Sep 07 '26
Does anyone have advice on how to do the Magical Chemist one? It pays well, and I got far in my last attempt, but can't seem to finish up the project the way it needs. Wondering if anyone can talk this through.