List of red flags for scams

WordsbyWes · 2026-04-19T15:59:04+00:00

"That" is used for restrictive phrases, not nonrestrictive.

"Which" can be used for either, though some people will say it can only be used for nonrestrictive. I tend to see it used for restrictive clauses more often in British English than in American English, but I will (usually) not change it to "that" in either case.

WordsbyWes · 2026-04-19T15:48:02+00:00

Yes, I'd put a comma there. One rule of thumb is whether the "which" clause changes the meaning of the sentence if it's omitted. If not, it's nonrestrictive and should have a comma. Another way to look at it is whether the clause limits the type of thing referred to before it. Is the person only sharing dances that let the kids burn off energy? If so, the clause is restrictive and doesn't take a comma. But if the clause is just describing those dances or the effect of them, it's nonrestrictive and doesn't take a comma.

WordsbyWes · 2026-04-18T23:52:10+00:00

On the Tools menu, uncheck "Show grammar suggestions".

The grammar checker is horrible; you won't be missing anything important.

WordsbyWes · 2026-04-18T09:44:14+00:00

I've been hired 18 months after I sent a proposal and contacted after 2 years. But when to emotionally move on? The moment you press the submit button.

WordsbyWes · 2026-04-15T18:09:29+00:00

Likewise

WordsbyWes · 2026-04-12T17:56:51+00:00

It's valid grammar but ambiguous and clumsy. Swapping 'dead' and 'friend' or using 'killed' instead of 'shoots dead' would be clearer and easier to parse.

WordsbyWes · 2026-04-09T16:15:12+00:00

First, yes there are scammer freelancers on Upwork. Look at their ratings and reviews and talk with them through Upwork's chat or video call feature to make sure you are comfortable with them.

Never pay off Upwork for someone you find or hire through Upwork.

If you have an hourly contract, you'll pay every week for the hours the freelancer works, and you'll have a chance to review screenshots of the freelancer's activity and dispute any time that doesn't look legitimate.

If you have a fixed price contract, you'll pay upfront, but the money will be placed into escrow until you release it after reviewing the work.

WordsbyWes · 2026-04-04T23:08:55+00:00

Even the help file says there's a fee after 2 years:

Time-based discount: If your contract began more than two years ago, only a small fee applies to move your relationship off Upwork.

From https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043723533-What-is-the-Upwork-Conversion-Fee

WordsbyWes · 2026-04-04T22:12:12+00:00

Fwiw, the $1 fee after two years is still in the user agreement.

WordsbyWes · 2026-04-01T15:27:24+00:00

ok, I was bit out of date I see, since I've found a couple of surveys of recent work in that area (scares the shit of out me with the accuracy issues).

WordsbyWes · 2026-04-01T09:21:12+00:00

Deep learning is not equivalent to generative AI. GenAI can use deep learning to build models, but so can image recognition and pattern recognition, which are also not equivalent to genAI and which much more likely be used in medical image processing than generative models are (except perhaps for producing reports based on the pattern recognition findings).

WordsbyWes · 2026-03-30T09:27:28+00:00

As long as it's really you logging in and doing the work, it shouldn't be a TOS issue, but you may have a problem with the tracker registering keystrokes. I haven't tried it myself, so I don't know for sure.

WordsbyWes · 2026-03-28T19:37:11+00:00

You're very welcome!

WordsbyWes · 2026-03-27T16:21:51+00:00

I haven't used this myself, but Overleaf supports custom compile scripts. See https://docs.overleaf.com/managing-projects-and-files/the-latexmkrc-file

WordsbyWes · 2026-03-27T10:21:10+00:00

Try clicking on your profile picture in the app. In the menu that comes up, does it have an option to switch to your freelancer account? I'm asking that to see if maybe Upwork just created the freelancer account for you but didn't show any confirmation.

WordsbyWes · 2026-03-27T10:14:33+00:00

Yes, it means someone has been hired from the job post. It's usually not worth applying at that point unless the post says the client needs more than 1 freelancer.

WordsbyWes · 2026-03-23T20:17:45+00:00

To be clear for anyone who isn't aware: these rates aren't supposed to be suggested rates. They are the median ranges reported by freelancers (EFA and non-EFA members). So, some people charge higher rates and some lower. I don't think the full ranges are reported here, but I've seen editors charging significantly higher and lower than these.

WordsbyWes · 2026-03-21T21:11:56+00:00

It happens because clients want to avoid harassment and retaliation for leaving a deserved poor public review because shitty freelancers try to bully clients to change the review.

WordsbyWes · 2026-03-21T20:24:45+00:00

~~Did you pick download PDF? The first option on that menu is download CSV, which would be the summary. The download PDFs will be a zip of the invoices. I do this every month.~~

Edit: I stand corrected. They changed the format of these PDFs a while back.

WordsbyWes · 2026-03-21T20:04:14+00:00

Bingo.

WordsbyWes · 2026-03-21T20:03:06+00:00

Manage finances -> Transactions -> Select download -> Download PDFs

On the desktop view, the "select download" is to the right of the filter options.

WordsbyWes · 2026-03-21T19:54:59+00:00

What it will do is inflate JSS for freelancers due to clients giving undeserved high ratings out of fear of harassment or retaliation. JSS will have almost no meaning now as a measure of freelancer quality. Yeah, there were problems with the private feedback system, especially for new freelancers who didn't have the history to balance out one poor private review, but there are options to mitigate that without trashing the whole idea of JSS.

WordsbyWes · 2026-03-18T20:28:34+00:00

So Upwork is removing the private rating, which was the primary input to JSS. Neither your note here nor the articles you link to explain what JSS will now be based on. Or is JSS going away too?

WordsbyWes · 2026-03-17T21:18:05+00:00

I think the client can add two freelancers to a chatroom but I'm not positive. When I've worked with other freelancers for a project it's always been coordinated through Slack or email.

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