yes, Major, but I don't want to start my own term paper mill. you're right-- it's all theoretical, for now.

I obviously know what at-will employment is. if I'm using it in too colloquial a manner, excuse me for looking like an idiot-- although that seems a little harsh, doesn't it? ...especially if your opener is to explicitly state that I do know what it means. I don't think that you're an idiot for wanting to open a restaurant, even though 80% of them fail in the first year. I hope you succeed; I like sandwiches.

Major-- sorry; once again, I don't speak legalese. I would dare to guess that it isn't illegal to talk about setting minimum industry standards, whatever the employees in the industry are called. I will try to be more clear in the future-- when I said "at-will," I meant that writers are not bound to any one employer, not that they could be fired for no reason at all, without protection (which also happens to be true).

WritersBeware-- it's fine to get mad, but I would suggest that you either translate that anger into something more constructive, or exercise some restraint. this is my last response to your insidious malice-- in the future, unless you have something substantial to add regarding the topic thread, you will simply be ignored.

this is why there needs to be a minimum standard. that way, companies could still deviate and compete, but not below the standard. setting your own price is also not the same as setting the price the company charges-- is it?


no, but I would suggest that if this happens for you very often, you're a special case.


now who's the idealist? there's a lot more actual overhead for food service than there is for term papers. good luck-- let me know when you open up, and I'll come get a sloppy Joe.

thanks, Zander, but it's not really about me. it's about establishing minimum standards for the industry. I realize that freelancers are at-will employees, if they're considered employees at all, and that they value independence. what I think, though, is that some adjustment of terms is necessary industry-wide, to keep company owners from continuing to take an unfair cut of the profits, when they don't actually produce anything that is supplied to the customer. for those writers who are happy with your current situation, I understand that you want to justify your position. however, once again, I have to ask, couldn't it be better?

thanks, FW, but I think you're still responding to another thread. this one is about the nature of the "scam" in this industry, and where it begins and ends. if you have something substantial and interesting to say about this, now that you know what we're talking about, I'm sure everyone would love to hear it.

WritersBeware is such a charmer!

it's a good question, rootio. it's an industry based on deception and double-talk-- the customer, if the term-paper mill is incorporated in a place that has laws dictating it so, is supposed to receive a "research guide," which is not intended to be handed in directly.

(wink, wink)

in any case, a sense of entitlement accompanies most purchases, and, to add insult to injury, the average term-paper mill customer is quite dim. so, complaining about being scammed, while intending to scam the university, seems quite logical to them, even if, to you, it seems totally nuts.

welcome to the Bizarro World of the term-paper mill industry.

from now on, I will only respond to posts which address the thread title. all mere insults, jabs, snipes, attempts at character assassination, etc. will be ignored, as they should be. shame on those who befoul this board with such infantile nonsense.

see thread title.

I call writers employees colloquially, because they work for these companies. it's a basic definition that makes sense to me, even if it may not pass in legalese. if you'd like, I can call them something else from now on. "independent freelance contractors" takes a long time to type.

re: company managers and writers having an equal relationship, I don't think so. just because there is a dual benefit does not make it an equal relationship.

sticks and stones... I'm sure you feel the same way about your employees.

so, if it's just me and the peanut gallery left, this thread should probably come to a close. if anyone else is a writer or manager, and has some ideas about how to improve the status quo in this industry (or even if they want to state their contentedness with it), feel free to revive it.

I'm not going to just sit here and be insulted, though. WRT, WB: goodbye. you should both be ashamed of yourselves.

you do it all the time, because apparently you're a huge tattle-tale, as well as an obnoxious bully. a tattle-tale and a bully-- the worst kind of pariah. "MOD-- stop this thread," "MOD-- mark this as spam," "MOD-- why aren't you doing anything?!"

now, please answer my question-- when someone repeats something, do they deserve to be censored?

WB-- every time I post in other threads, the mod puts it here. if this is the same mod you keep crying to, good luck. to a certain extent, you're right-- it is a dead horse, at this point. so... that means I should be censored, right?

FW-- I'm sure you've made your share of contributions to this board, but that's not what I was talking about. I was talking about this thread.

it all goes back to how you feel about the status quo.


if you don't want it to continue, you should probably stop posting in it. you haven't contributed anything productive, anyway.


I'm just trying to troll up some ideas about improving conditions. it seems to me that the real trolls are the people who want to constantly disparage and demean others, rather than adding anything of value themselves.

it's not about "countering challenges," to me, it's about trying to build something together.

if you disagree with the foundation on which this hypothetical building is to take place, you're free to express your disagreement. you're not changing my mind; I'm not changing yours.

we're at an impasse.

is that what you think? I've been repeating myself because I keep getting challenged on the same points.

WRT-- whose collective time are you talking about?

and, megalomaniac? I've said again and again that I don't have all the answers, and that I actually came here looking for constructive feedback.

just because you haven't provided any, doesn't mean that no one else has.

if you think my ideas are stupid, fine. you've said so about a thousand times. it's obviously very frustrating for you to be in this thread, repeating the same childish insults, so may I suggest a simple solution? stop posting in it.

pheelyks-- I read your whole post. I don't think I took anything out of context, as I referred to your context in my response.


you were done before you started. as with many others, your mind is already made up; you've justified your compromise, and become content. to do this, you've overestimated the amount of work these parasites do for you, and have given them much more credit than they deserve.

once again, Major, it's quite a stretch from trying to get better, more equitable conditions for writers, to stealing from welfare mothers. maybe this works on the radio stations you listen to, but out in the clean air, it looks sort of crazy.

I'm not surprised that you're keeping up these ignorant assumptions. what else are you going to do-- answer my questions?


yep! so they can have a free piggyback ride for your tenure, just because they took the "risks" of incorporating. most small business owners aren't in it for risk and innovation-- they're there because they're otherwise unemployable, and greedy.

for proof, see above.

WRT-- I'll take that insulting, repetitive, paranoid filth as a, "no, I'm not paying my writers a 60/40 split."

and stop raising your hand and trying to tattle to the mods, while at the same time indulging in this playground taunting. it's embarrassing, and it should be obvious by now that they're ignoring you.

then again, what have you written that hasn't been embarrassing?

no one suggested this. where do you get this idea?

I am saying that employees who are treated better, tend to produce better quality work.


as long as you don't think you can change it, it will continue to be so.

smirk-- the returns are better motivation, quality, output, and loyalty.

re: saving wild animals, you and Major should get together and trade inappropriate metaphors. although writers do 100% of the work, I realize that managers do need to take some kind of cut for administrative costs and overhead. what I'm saying is that this cut, as it exists as an industry standard which is either held or deviated from, even as a standard, is too high.

smirk-- once again, this isn't about "begging for money." it's about changing the way the industry works and making it more equitable. if no one wants a better way, it's 100% certain that there won't be one. are you really so happy with the status quo?

WRT-- you seem to have settled on a 5th or 6th identity for me, and you still look like just as much of a paranoid fool as before. I hope Rusty haunts your nightmares, just like centrapark, Batul, et al. yes, writers do sacrifice-- they sacrifice a fair deal, good benefits, and the power to bargain with their employers, for a nebulous sense of freedom and the ability to work when sick. what a deal. if you or WritersBeware actually write for your respective companies, which I don't believe, I feel a great deal of sympathy for your clients. also, are you saying that you pay your writers a 60/40 split? I don't believe that, either.


I see you've been learning from the master of anti-social bullying, and this time, I'm not talking about Joe McCarthy. are you proud?

stu4-- good one. I would say, it's better to be looser. who needs to be uptight?

major-- lawyers? really? like company owners aren't parasitic enough; now you have to bring lawyers into it? I'm not talking about employment law; I'm talking about what's right.

...said the company owner, who doesn't write anything... who sells what others write.

writers do all the work, and have to listen to owners whine and moan about making the simplest accounting adjustments, which could result in a more equitable distribution of profits.

I know some writers are content, but really, it couldn't be better? at all? you're carrying these people on your backs, and smiling about how you can "do what you want."

most of these owners, as this message board attests, are too dumb to write the copy themselves. they need you; they're not going to outsource to $3/page illiterates, if they want their companies to continue to be respected.

owners: try taking a reduced cut, and starting a bonus program that actually pays significant dividends for measurable outcomes. try offering a feedback-based rewards system. cut out a little from advertising, and spread it around. don't be so greedy!

Major-- apples and oranges

Pheelyks-- freelancers give up a lot, to be treated a lot worse

smirk-- you've pointed out some daunting problems; how can we avoid them?

this is the exact status quo I'm questioning-- who says freelancers have to automatically downgrade their expectations? even if you're comfortable in the industry, you have to realize that you could be doing better. if management had to listen to your demands, rather than simply entertaining your requests, you could be.

we all have to start somewhere...or not. continue to be an ill-mannered biddy, then. it just makes people wonder why you're so unhappy-- it doesn't really threaten or intimidate anyone. I hope not, anyway.

speaking of hope, I came here with a few ideas, not to start an argument, or sling playground insults around. I have quite enough drama in real life.

the fact that you view all foreign firms as scams doesn't mean that the industry isn't global.

you apparently also view everyone who doesn't agree with you as a stupid pin-cushion. it doesn't make you very pleasant, and once again, I would advise against such behavior IRL.

btw, when I am addressing smirk and pheelyks, please don't answer for them. they appear perfectly capable of answering for themselves. it's just the tip of the iceberg, in terms of your general lack of manners, but we all have to start somewhere.

if you're sure, and you've got proof, then good on you. even if it is true, I don't think that you're indicative of any sort of majority.


I wouldn't think what? that it's global? I know disagreeing with me is popular, but we appear to be on the same page on these 2 points.

I would say a 60/40 split in favor of the writers would be a good start, seeing as how they produce 100% of the product.


you're not a fool, are you? you said "shouldn't," not "don't," so I assume you're not.

your answers:

#1 "not quite," but, essentially, yes.

#2 "actually," blah blah blah,


if you "actually" disagree with me, you should start by actually disagreeing.

A CPP increase is just one of the ideas I've put forth. it's about getting a fair % of money for writers, btw, not about taunting people with how much money I have personally.

you're so full of rage-- could it be because your competitors, whom you stereotype and label as "foreign fraudsters," are taking a significant chunk of your market share?


you think that's what it's all about? no wonder you're so unhappy!

it's not a typo. ty]o is a typo. I didn't make some kind of brain error; my fingers slipped.

your brain slipped. "peek" is very different from "peak."

I'd also like an answer to my question-- why do you assume I'm a failed writer, or a failed anything?

I think it's because you've formed a sort of mental image of me, onto which you're projecting your own inadequacies and fears. how does that sound to you?

haha! who's a moron?

also, you have no idea what I do for a living, and yet you assume that I'm a failed writer. why is that?

omfg, WritersBeware, I'm absolutely in awe of what an idiot you are.

1. this industry is based on deception and lies-- there is nothing honest about it, from go.

2. it's global, not American.

you've created a giant POS here, and climbed to the top to issue your commandments.
the doozie is that no one is listening.

keep laughing, and keep taking the lion's share of your writers' profits... apparently, they are fine with making 80K when they could be making 120K, defining a "bonus" as getting papers to do when they have the flu, etc. with saps like that, you can do no wrong... which, ironically, is all you seem to want to do. you and Major act like a couple of cackling scavengers-- it's no wonder, since you've built your thrones on pure profit, and don't produce anything useful. it has made your skills at expressing yourselves extremely atrophied-- you sound like a couple of fifth-graders.

don't flatter yourself.

keep digging yourself deeper. I'm going to go make pierogies. sweet dreams!

still sniping, I see. that's your style. mine is to put out ideas, and watch them get sniped by destructive people without anything better to add.

P-- a) the better question is, what's yours? b) people talk.

WB-- leaving me alone is the most sensible idea I've seen from you in some time.

yes, I'm sure you debated long and hard. as to why it doesn't matter, I'm not in the same industry as you are. as to your "response," as I said, if you're just going to snipe all of my ideas and not add anything of your own, it's hardly a productive debate, is it? or is that what you think a debate is?