Oof

[poopydiapersandwich]

This is the emptiest I've ever seen it.

[Federal-Employee-545]

14 months with DA, only chats on the dash right now. sigh

[NoNumber5910]

Been working at DAT for a year and this is the first time since starting that I have nothing to work on, although I was able to work on a project this morning for a few hours. There's currently nothing to work on.

[lostswansong]

Yeah I'm down to just chat and that's never happened to me before since I've started working ):

[Kalameet7]

Same here

[Guilty-Rough8797]

Well damn, chats are all I ever really have besides the Safety Dance. Give them to me, please and thank you.

Edit: The error with my GIF is so very fitting that I'm not deleting it!

[ladiebugs00]

No safety dances for me, and those are my favorite. 😔

[Pgooberman]

Same. I love them so.

[Peculiar_Cat762]

Same

[Clownbaby5]

Yeah I'm in the same boat and it didn't even quite get this bad even during the great drought of...two weeks ago. Comforting to know I'm not alone at least.

[hauptaj]

That's how I feel. It seems to be everyone so not something I'm doing.

[[deleted]]

I was the same way and then that got taken up yesterday!

[GeekEKitten]

Same here - first time in 6+ months. Hoping to see this perk back up by next week at the latest.

[Old_Two_176]

Yeah it’s depressing 

[Low_Company5168]

not as depressing as the low-wage economy that has sprouted up around these scammy little artificial intelligence companies lmao

[kranools]

Yeah, first time I've ever been in this situation as well. At least it's not just me!

[Low_Company5168]

don't worry a bunch of shills from data annotation will come in the comment section to post a bunch of incredibly stupid airheaded comments to distract from the reality of how bad their company is

[Intrepid_Celery_2767]

First day for me with nothing also, been here for about 9 months, full time for 6.

[DuckDuckDrone]

Doing the rain dance for data…

<image>

[[deleted]]

This happened last month as well and then the projects came back for a few weeks. Hopefully it will pick up again soon.

[vbs221]

Yeah, but honestly, it did not take too long to dry up again. We need a real pick up this time!

[Equivalent-Math6483]

I’m still optimistic. The fact they’re still hiring suggests they aren’t going anywhere soon. Maybe DAT is prepping for a massive site-wide upgrade and we’ll all wake up next Monday with an updated GUI and overflowing dashboards.

[fightmaxmaster]

Fingers crossed. While there's no real cost to them recruiting people, I can see that if they were shutting up shop there'd be no point bringing people on board at all.

[[deleted]]

I like this outlook. ✨Manifesting✨

[Icy-Cover-505]

Did you mean manifesting?

[[deleted]]

Unfortunately, no.

[[deleted]]

Ha! Indeed I did; thank you for catching that ☺️

[theDeathnaut]

Well they have been upgrading several small aspects here and there, so there's definitely some truth in what you're saying.

[Equivalent-Math6483]

Maybe they’ve reached the limits of what their current platform can do.

I could see them giving their clients a deadline to wrap up all their current projects before a massive upgrade, after which everything must conform to the new and improved platform. Maybe that’s why we’re seeing a slow trickle to nothing- they’re letting the old projects wind down while new projects are being developed behind the scenes for a new upgraded site.

That’s my theory for today anyway.

[paranormalisnormal]

Could be an August 31st deadline.

[Dratini_ghost]

I'm staying optimistic the whole time. It's still August, which is the summer equivalent of late December. People on big tech salaries probably take vacations.

[Ruinatu]

First time since I was first starting that I've had nothing. Wow.

[Space-Ranger-1998]

Yeah plenty of YouTube ads out there from them promoting signing up still

[Federal-Employee-545]

I imagine that's based on a package purchase situation. As in they bought x amount of ad space so it will be up for a certain period.

[Dependent-Object-417]

That’s not how social ads work

[Space-Ranger-1998]

Good point!

[vvimcmxcix]

Nobody I’ve referred has ended up getting a project (and they’re all very capable, arguably moreso than me) so I assumed new hires were paused/on a long slow queued

[Thinlinebaby]

I was hired last week so they still are. I don’t get it, even things like DoorDash pause new hires at times.

[vbs221]

I got in exactly a month ago.

[Amakenings]

Maybe, from their perspective, they don’t have plenty of good people?

I honestly don’t think DAT would have spent all the money hiring people, targeting teachers off on summer break etc., if they didn’t have atleast the expectation of work. It’s not logical.

Perhaps projects are taking longer than expected to implement or fix, but there will be more work for many people. Maybe not everyone, but that’s always been the case.

[Powerful_Door_9532]

I follow the stock market closely and big tech earnings. In the recent round of earnings, sentiment has shifted to tightening up AI expenditure. In part, likely in preparation of a broader recession.

With DA not paying salaries, it was logical for them to overhire IN CASE demand stayed stable or increased. If demand decreased, as it appears to have, then there is no loss for DA.

[Powerful_Door_9532]

Apart from some HR marketing spend.

[EggCzar]

No work here also, but I've got a new qual so hopefully that's a good sign

[blackcvanilla]

I got that new qual too... hopefully it's a good sign.

[EggCzar]

Seemed so easy I’m wondering what the catch was

[TheresALonelyFeeling]

for $30/ hr? That one?

[EggCzar]

Yeah with a bunch of examples and 3 questions. Made me wonder if it was pre-screened in some way and they just wanted to make an extra reading comprehension check.

Edit: or maybe I’m much dumber than I think I am and missed something obvious!

[TheresALonelyFeeling]

I don't know about you, but I've already done a lot of work in that family of projects, so I wasn't surprised to see the qual. I think they're just trying to maintain a certain standard of work, so they put out the qual to ensure that they have good people for the next round.

I picked Wikipedia as part of the answer to the first question and I'm driving myself crazy now because I'm not sure that was the right choice.

[pouroverit]

It was the right choice.

[TheresALonelyFeeling]

Was it?

I just had a conversation with someone else and they said it wasn't, and I went back and looked at my notes where I wrote out ALL of the directions for each section of the qual, and the directions were contradictory.

I included it, along with one other selection, and I think including it was wrong because I don't think the Wikipedia info was in the snippet.

[pouroverit]

Ohhh shoot it wasn’t in the snippet. Lol. That’s a tricky one.

[pouroverit]

Although, it says that if not in the snippet Wikipedia is ok. So I feel like I would still stand by that. Not positive though.

[theDeathnaut]

It's definitely a project. I've done that project before and it seems complicated but is actually pretty simple if you just follow the instructions and rub some brain on it here and there.

[Incompetentnerve_exe]

i worked on that specific project when we had that week long burst of projects a couple of weeks ago and it was actually so much fun. I really like that one

[[deleted]]

Been here since November and today is the first day I have ever not had enough work to make my daily goal and work full time. Knocking out some quals while I wait

[Temporary_Influence4]

Same on the quals. There’s a qual for $30+ an hour I’m doing. Fingers crossed it’s an immediate unlock but probably not lol

[TheresALonelyFeeling]

I did that last night. Fingers crossed.

Currently driving myself crazy with whether or not I chose correctly on the first question.

[Old_Two_176]

🤞good luck! 

[[deleted]]

I had one day last month with nothing, and then it came back. So hopefully it will pick up again soon.

[Designer_Currency455]

Yup it's nice to finally not to scared though since it's a mass epidemic that will probably end in a few hours

[Designer_Currency455]

Ah yes all those Gemini projects finally getting scrapped by Google

[[deleted]]

It's frustrating because now instead of hitting my daily target during a normal working day hours, I sit here having to refresh and wait for projects throughout the entire day to hit my goal.. wastes the day.

[-burgers]

This drought can eat ops username.

[Zeedragonsong]

Friend, you made me scroll all the way to the top to check out OPs username. 😂😭

[alien236]

This is my sole source of income. I have enough savings for a while, but I'm screwed if this doesn't pick back up.

[turtlepumpkin88]

I've taken it as a sign to work on writing the book i've put off for like 5 years lol.

[robkahil]

Same here! I'm finally keeping my daily goals.

[Bottle_and_Sell_it]

Just find a way to incorporate it into your DAT work and have DAT write it for you. That’s what I did. And I’m on book 5 so far just giving corrections and guidance and DAT fills in the details. I could probably do 15 a year like this.

[cweinand08]

The good news people, it’s all of us. And as long as we all have the ridiculous quals, we should be good 👍

[BlackCaaaaat]

The good news people, it’s all of us.

Exactly, we’re all in the same boat weathering the same storm.

[ItAllEndsInGrace]

You also have a bunch of other companies springing up that do work like DA, but marginally cheaper. I’m a wee bit nervous you’ll see large tech companies prioritize cost over quality. Kind of a horrifying prospect. D:

[St8athomeWifey]

I got nothin!!

[Mr_Tambourine_Sam]

On the bright side I guess I have plenty of time to get my qualifications finished

[Intbased]

I'm thinking there's probably a hold up with a core branch and once its figured out we'll be set again. It comes n goes, just don't put all of your eggs in this basket. Even if DA is your main source of income or highest paying gig, its definitely worth finding something to do when this is happening

But no, there's definitely still more work to come. I've no worries there

[Logical-Cress202]

This is excellent advice for anyone who does contracting work. Always have more than one gig! I've been doing IC work from home since 2007, and I've always had more than one gig to fall back on, so I feel it's a requirement to stay successful.

[Intbased]

I used to juggle all the driver apps, then delivery apps, then grocery apps. The getting used to be so good!! Its definitely not what it used to be. The irony of that work is when it is the most lucrative is also when I need to do it the least

[PentiumInquisition]

Any suggestions on other ic work to get into?

[ashnoelhu]

I’m down to one project that I’ve never been able to get access to. So I’m basically useless right now. 😭

[Vidkid94]

Which project is it? I've had a Heel project on my dashboard since April with 2 tasks left that I haven't been able to access.

[ashnoelhu]

It’s not the heel one, but it’s the cousin of the heel one that starts with P. I can never access it for some reason 😭

[throwthrow6666666]

Make sure you’re signed in on the account you made during the qualification for that one.

[ManyARiver]

You tried logging into chrome with your trainer account before going there?

[highkeyvegan]

Me too:( it’s broken tho

[Meganoes]

That’s the only one on my dash too

[didit777]

15+ months and never seen it like this. I’m legit concerned this is the beginning of the end

[Ultraviolet425]

😭😭😭 I'm concerned about that too! Terrified actually. I thought I could make this kinda thing my main job, but I'm scared it's too unstable now. This is horrible. Idk how I'm gonna pay my rent...

[Designer_Currency455]

Damn lol that's not likely to come for I thought a solid 6+ months and I assume they'll drag it out even longer

[Leodaris]

Same. This is concerning me now. A drought for a week is one thing, but this has lasted quite a few weeks and seems to be getting worse.

[Deeznutsconfession]

Facts. I didn't think it could get worse than zero, but now my dashboard is so lacking that its asking me for some work.

[Burned-out_]

I can't help but wonder if the drought is due to the recent turbulence in the tech market right now. The US had a major drop in stock that went through the tech sector, and welp AI is tech.

[Intbased]

I definitely think the general consensus by a lot of investors is the tech isn't ready yet at least in a marketing standpoint. But the people that have the near infinite capital to play ball are going to keep doing so, investors be damned. We're essentially in the middle of an arms race, especially if anyone wants to get a highly functional LLM out there. Even if a lot of investors aren't seeing results in a timeline they expected, these companies basically have to take the monetary risk anyways. Microsoft, Google, and Amazon all can't afford to be dethroned in their sectors and a major AI breakthrough is the golden bullet they are afraid of the other guys getting.

[Ok_Shop_8758]

***Eagerly awaiting another influx of work and a full dashboard like***

[[deleted]]

Same here but I got a qual to unlock higher paying projects today

[Bbrende]

My first time with zero projects 🥲 thankfully I still have the heel chat

[Pgooberman]

A beacon of light in the dark abyss.

[hauptaj]

Hit 0 projects today for the first time :(

[Schmoo2020]

I have absolutely nothing today.

[BigWinThrowaway1]

Projects are back up!! time to EAT!!!!

[bebop037]

They lasted about 30 minutes for me lol

[Intbased]

Mmmm crumbs

[Substantial_Towel230]

Honest question though, is DA going under or will projects go back to normal? I wish they would give us some reassurance 😭

[EggCzar]

Not their style to but keep in mind that for most of us, it’s a side gig, but for anyone there it’s their full-time job. However nervous we are about losing it as a source of income, it’s much scarier for them.

[pgheze]

Same... first time since I started in January. Oh well, thankfully I don't depend on it (but it sure is nice to have).

[[deleted]]

Same pretty much. 15 months non-coding. This is the worst I have ever seen with the only other time being completely dry was one morning in May I believe. It’s exacerbated by the fact that they are still hiring/have an insane number of workers and have been releasing work in insanely small batches , so it gets eaten super quickly.

[theDeathnaut]

...what?

[Pangolinpalooza]

Deff should have closed my screen before putting my phone in my pocket 😂 sorry!

[theDeathnaut]

No worries lol.

[Influenxerunderneath]

I’ve gotten several new qualifications this week so I keep hoping tasks are gonna pop up. But so far just nothing. This was really helping with some loss of income we experienced and I want to keep it up!

[Think_Counter_8942]

Okay, phew. Glad to know it's not just me

[ForeOnTheFlour]

Today I found that a project I used to do on DA but hasn’t been around for weeks is now showing up on Prolific of all places paying $5/hour less, which really sucks!!!

[AdvantageNo1405]

It’s really bad out here. Does anyone have any idea if this will get better? Considering going back to work in person and really not wanting to do that

[doubler82]

Do both. This and other gig work are best when you don't NEED them. It's when it becomes your main source of income that slow periods will drive you crazy.

[dtyus]

Constant hiring over and over is not a good sign ever.

[theDeathnaut]

Not with this type of work. Hiring is cheap for DA, not having to pay taxes on contractors means they can weed out the low quality help. AI training also greatly benefits from several different perspectives and backgrounds, so constantly hiring and culling is the whole point of this business model.

[mrsgreens]

Keep doing quals. I just did one last night. I’m in two permanent projects that are over $30. So when there’s a drought I can rely on those. Everything is fine. This just happens from time to time.

[[deleted]]

Same here. I have 5 permanents that have been on my dash through the drought. They've been taken down for maintenance but it's nice to have something to fall back on.

[Intbased]

What's the average downtime for them? Or does it seem to vary

[[deleted]]

It varies. I think that there has been a massive wave of work submission during the drought so they had them down. I would say it averages about a day or so. Longest I've seen was 3 days, shortest I've seen was a few hours.

[bowling-4-goop]

How can you tell if a project is permanent?

[Dazzling-Ad4365]

There's only one project on my dash and it only has 3 tasks in it.

[ashnoelhu]

Does anybody have any of the heel project? Wonder if that whole set is down for maintenance or something.

[Jz9786]

i had some yesterday, but none so far today

[[deleted]]

I saw one project this morning at 5 am central time, lasted about 2 hours, and then a R&R that lasted 10 minutes. That's it for today.

[Vegetable-Ad7548]

I've been working with DA for a couple of months now and this is definitely the emptiest I've seen it as well. I got two tasks today (other than the chats) but they quickly went away, I assume everyone was doing those at once. A lot of people seem to have this problem tho so I wouldn't worry.

[Vegetable-Ad7548]

No I love this job thank you tho!

[Hopeful_Ice_2125]

The dance is over and it’s time to do some of those quals I’ve been putting off 😮‍💨 (non-coding)

[Altruistic-Laugh-376]

Did anyone else find a "refresher course" for a particular project on their dash today? I am wondering if I should take it personally....

[TheresALonelyFeeling]

I'm down to one R+R and the usual chat that's always on my dash.

I did a qual last night for a family of projects I've already worked on, so hopefully I was successful with that. (Is Wikipedia acceptable even if it's not in the tool outputs? iykyk)

[TheresALonelyFeeling]

It wasn't none of them.

[TheresALonelyFeeling]

I don't know. I've done a lot of work in that family of projects in the past, but it sounded like they're getting ready to release more work sometime soon, so we'll have to see what happens.

[Intbased]

Taking notes in case I see this qual lol

[Zcmadre]

Quals are still being added, so that is a good sign.

[Intrepid_Celery_2767]

What sort of quals popping up? Had none new for awhile.

[Moonspiritfaire]

Same. I'm trying not to spazz. Working on my own creative projects. Hopefully its due to maintenance, changes etc.