I have no idea why I am still up or how that happened exactly. That actually wasn't the plan.

I think I actually have a good reason for not posting this time: I was accepted into that paid answer service web site.

I filled out their form, answered their ten fairly generic but-not-that-bad quiz questions about computers and then submitted some info to have my background verified. In this case my work experience and through LexisNexis. Some how I thought LexisNexis was something else. Or perhaps they used to be something else. Like some kind of subscription-only search engine that searched through normally paid-only sources like newspapers online. That's what I thought for some reason. Now I'm not entirely sure what they are.

Where was I? Right, the answer site. I started answering questions Tuesday evening and got my first accepted answer from a customer last night and my second this morning. I've made a grand total of an astounding $18. But then I think I tried to answer all of one question all of today. Not sure why, just wasn't feeling it I guess.

But then I also kind of wanted to finish re-installing my...sister's...father-in-law...which I don't think they have a name for how he's related to me. Anyway, even though I so thuroughly enjoy (or atlesat did) compiling a customized XP install disc for computers I just kept putting it and putting it off. I think probably my sister/brother-in-law are going to start getting impatient with me so I will most likely instead put off the question answering tomorrow and work on that computer. I think I'm actually almost done. It's not that bad. I've already had it about ten days or so.

I keep getting distracted. Probably because it's 12:15am and I'm tired-sort-of. Anyway on a less than positive note about that answer site I had my first question/answer session "hijacked" today as well. I was being stupid by actually asking QUESTIONS of the customer trying to get clarification on his extremelely generic, mysterious, single-sentence statement/question, you know like some kind of customer-service oriented "tech". But before the customer could respond at all some ASS HOLE comes in and pastes what really, really looks like a canned answer, pre-formatted and a page or so long cover EVERY POSSIBLE solution to just about every answer imaginable. Boy did I feel like a dick trying to pretend like this is some kind of job that required some kind of skill as opposed to a pre-canned copy/paste service.

I mean why bother having experts at all? Why not just use a server app to scan the customer's questions and generate a pre-canned answer with a bunch of generic links? I mean WHAT THE FUCK. So I complained to a moderator. That's about all I can do really. To make it even worse, rub salt in the wound if you will, the canned answer horrible spelling, what I thought to be an ugly formatting job and suggested a norious pirate live CD as one of the possible solutions. I mean come on now. It really makes me question the validity and ethics of this web site.

Also they only pay through paypal. That seems kind of stupid. What I don't actually WANT to sign up for stupid paypal? Well too late now, I guess I have to. I was going to set up a new savings account just for the money made through this site so I could keep track for tax purposes.

I will say one thing good that came out of the hijacking: it motivated me to propose some kind of "declaration of principals" to the fellow "experts" in the experts-only forums. I'm not sure it would have come about without the hijacking. I posted it tonight when I was still kind of pissed and so far no one has responded. But then for most everybody it was the middle of the night when I posted it. So I hope I get responses tomorrow.

I think I'll go to bed now. It's only 12:30...

Labels: wtf

  ¶ 12:01 AM