Still doesn't make sense to drag every other Kenyan site or writer you see even before you have proof. Clearly, Denis here is a Kenyan and it is obvious that the company is his or he's a stakeholder in it. I know he's a Kenyan because of the not-so-clever choice to include the country's calling code as part of his username. Did that prove that he was a scammer? No. Which is why I have an issue with Major's reply. Denis254 can be a scammer, or he can be genuine, so far we do not know. If being Kenyan is what makes him not genuine, then you're all lost in your beliefs.

Well, I have searched this forum for the keyword Kenya and other variations including Kenyans dozens of times both before and after joining the forum. I have learned a lot about them and I cannot say I did not already know any of the things I learned, being a Kenyan myself. However, I want to challenge your line of thinking. When you say that even a 90% discount is not worth it from a Kenyan, do you really mean it? Do you genuinely believe that you could never meet a genuine Kenyan? Do you really that all Kenyan freelance writers, and perhaps even all Kenyans are scammers? Does the thought that someone could be a Kenyan disgust you? Do you know it is something we do not choose? Where do you even get the 80% figure?

Maybe disclosing that I am a Kenyan will make you trust me less but maybe it's about time I stopped caring about that.

Why do hate Kenyan freelance writers Major?

Yes, I have heard about it. I actually just heard about it right now from your post. So I clicked on it to see what's up with it.

I did not notice anything weird about it so I thought it was a perfectly safe company. Actually no, I noticed that the site is relatively new and has not had too much traffic. I would not take it as a red flag because I think everyone needs to start from somewhere

Then I came back here to answer this and I have answered it to the best of my ability and knowledge.

I may have some few questions for you though. If you are a company representative, why do you need the discount from the company?
Again, if you are a company representative, why do you need to know about the legitimacy of a company I assume you do not represent?

Supposing you represent it, then why do you need to know how to get the 40% discount? Wouldn't you have that information already?

For some reason that sounds like me. Fortunately, I got to understand how Enotes works. However, upon understanding, I decided not to work for them mainly because they seem to think the points/rewards would be more important than the money. I won't leave the company, I'll just have it on hold for a rainy day.

I believe they can.

If you're an ESL writer, then you probably speak another language as well. Are there dialects in that language? If there are, then haven't you seen people completely change the way they speak the language so that it sounds like the dialect that is not native to them? I've seen this happen with my mother tongue. I do not think English is so different from these dialects that someone who natively speaks or writes it one way could never change and start writing or speaking it another way. In my opinion, it may even happen faster with English because luckily, English grammar rules are so well-documented. FW gave the example of British and American English language differences.

I think that if an American were to live in Britain for a prolonged period of time, then they would be able to speak more like the Brits than the Americans especially if they were trying. To me, it is the same thing if a Brit decided to live in America for a prolonged period. Furthermore, I think it is different with writing because you do not need as much time to 'sound native'. A year is enough for anyone actively trying to change their English language style to do so up to a point where their original dialect is no longer detectable.

I think the first step for any ESL person seeking to change their writing style is to recognize where the differences in language expression come from. For many, awkward and noticeably ESL phrases come from the interaction between native tongues and English. If you really want to improve your English, you should try as much as possible to think in English rather than thinking in your mother tongue then translating it to English.

In this forum, I come across these question more than I want to admit. I have even posted something similar myself. I think the answers from some ENL speakers, especially those who admit to not knowing another language are misleading. The reason I think this way is because the label ESL is something that could never change no matter how good your language command became. I mean, even if I were to become an English professor, I'd still be ESL. At that point, however, I think I would stop advertising myself as ESL and letting everyone know that English wasn't my native language. The advice from some ENL members here seems to suggest that I would still need my work proofread by native speakers even at that point. Of course that is false and misleading, not to mention too pessimistic for anyone seeking to improve.

NB. This advice is for people who have already used the language long enough to express themselves understandably. I doubt it would work for someone who is just learning English

Making $1000 a month as an ESL writer? Umm, yes it's possible and not hard in my opinion.
And if you're in a third world country like me, then $1000 a month places you somewhere in the middle class, possibly upper middle class.

Honestly, I would say it is actually a very difficult task to dumb down something. I'm speaking as an ESL writer. It takes longer than writing in my usual writing style and I have to constantly think about the choice of words and phrases. I also think there are levels to ESL writing. In my experience, the clients who require me to dumb down their writing are often from China.

I think it is because the Chinese clients I have worked with have only had a year or two writing, reading, and speaking in English. ESL speakers and writers who have had more time with the language usually do not ask for papers to be dumbed down. However, I still think that if they hired an ENL writer, the chances of being found out by their lecturers or instructors increase. Some institutions also allow students to proofread their work and consult when it comes to grammar and require them to submit work that is grammar free (even if they are ESL). Other institutions will not even check for grammar (again for ESL students, depending o the material). In some cases, the instructor/lecturer will not take out marks for some grammar errors but will advise the student to correct them in the future. I have worked with students where at least one of those cases was applicable. I would say it is not always possible to dumb down your writing.

About writing at a higher level, I would say that one cannot a paper at a higher level on the first try. For example, if a student asked me to write using vocabulary more sophisticated than what I'm used to and wanted the paper within 12 hours, then it would be better for me to decline. However, over time, the level of writing can improve greatly. I don't think I write the same way I did two years ago. I am sure there has been some improvement. Again, I don't think I will write the same way in two years --my writing will be by far better. I am not in any way suggesting that the improvement is automatic. It takes a lot of dedication, reading, practice.

This sounds like practical advice except for the bit about writing in your native language until you can perfect your English skills.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), due to globalization, most ESL countries (Kenya, India, Nigeria, Pakistan) actually have their curriculums in English throughout high school and college (sometimes right from the start of education in primary school). However, the standard of writing in these institutions is lower given the teachers are ESL themselves. This is what sets ESL writers back. They know their native languages well but have never written anything formal or substantial in these languages. On the other hand, no one told them that the standard of English in their countries was different (lower?) compared to that in countries that speak English natively.

Again, due to this fact, there are simply no customers for ESL writers in their native languages.
My advice here would be to work with ESL customers until your English language skills are perfect. I have found that working with ESL customers when ESL is great because it reduces chances of suspicion from the lecturers. In addition, it is not fraudulent when compared to lying to native English speakers about being native.

The payment arrangement was PayPal when I signed up. This is already confirmed. Like you said, the payment seems to be tied to the number of points. Before answering a question on the site, one can see its worth. The one I answered was worth $6. After answering it, I did not see anything to indicate that payment will be received. However, the number of points in my account increased by 10 points. (You get 35 points as soon as you are accepted on the site).

I'll try and reach out to them and see how it works

The rules say that answers are automatically accepted, and can only be rejected later if they do not follow the guidelines.
I have written two answers but one was a test. There was a confirmation email response on the test, but they had specified that it would not be paid.

The second answer was accepted to my knowledge since the number of points increased in my account and the answer is visible on the site. However, I don't see any information regarding the payment. This is my main concern. I just want to know how the system works. It might be that I have to claim after a certain number of points. I'm sort of confused and I don't want to do any more work on the site before I figure out how it works.

I think Google is lying and will never really stop promoting these websites. On top of that, I don't think Google is under any obligation to stop promoting them. Google's incentives are mainly financial and not moral. In my opinion, the only way Google could stop promoting these sites is if it was more beneficial to Google, financially, to discourage Academic fraud compared to encouraging it.

I'd think the safest is a company or writer referred to you by a friend you trust. Then the rest of the list flows just fine.

@FreelanceWriter
Your answer sems to suggest that it is completely impossible to eliminate evidence of being an ESL writer from one's writing. If that is the case, then should people like me, fluent in English but ESL only stick to working with ESL students? I have to admit, I work with native English speakers from time to time. Usually, I admit to being an ESL writer, either directly by stating that English is not my firsl language or indirectly by stating my country of origin.None of them has expressed concerns about my quality of writing or language style. However, sometimes I feel like admiting that I am ESL holds me back and prevents me from working with many students who care so much about whether English is the writer's Native language.

@Smiley73
What are the crimes? Trying to improve their language skills? Trying to get scholarships? I don't get why you have an issue with their actions.