OK...


wait, what? really?

for a debate, no one has put in much time addressing any of this. note that I didn't say "destroying," I said "addressing." in other words, feel free to tear parts down, as long as you put something else up.

for some reason, all of my posts in other threads come here. in another thread, Major and others are piling racist abuse on someone named Meo. you can go there and see for yourself.


don't make me laugh.

I don't want your excuses. my finances are none of your business, and I would never dare ask a stranger that question, even within the context of a debate on which it has absolutely no bearing.

I admit that my ideas aren't perfect-- I was hoping to stimulate some debate in this pit about better ideas, rather than initiate a witch-hunt/flame war. looking back over the history of this board and various members' contributions, this seems to have been rather over-optimistic of me.

I was taught that only trash ask that kind of question... nothing personal.

sorry, Meo, but, despite appearances, this board isn't the best place for writers to organize. it's dominated by racist, anti-social company owners. you can't even really blame them for their misbehavior... no more than you can blame rats on a sinking ship for theirs.

I'm sorry, what did you just ask me, trash?

I like your general drift, Meo, but it appears to be very unpopular here to talk about organizing writers. most of these people are company owners.

and now, the address of your company, please.

as long as you keep assuming you know things about strangers on the internet, you're going to look like a dimwit and a jerk.

since you like wordplay so much, I'm sure you've heard the "make an ass out of u and me" thing.


more tough talk on the internet...

you're not a burger-flipper, and you shouldn't be content with an unfair situation.

anyway, it's really disappointing that the 2 writers here who have responded are content with their fealty, and can't see a better way. I find it kind of surprising, too, because these are just ideas. most people have ideas about how a situation could be better for them. if you don't even want to think about better conditions, there may be nothing I can do here.


once again, I'd love to hear this from you in real life. I can only assume that you're one of those "internet cowboys/ IRL cattle," but if not, you need to watch your mouth, or someone's going to rearrange your teeth for you.

so, then, pheelyks, how do you feel about the above 4 points, and attendant 3 possible funding sources? do they seem unfeasible? insane?

"all?" hmm. I'll take it from you, a company owner, that my ideas threaten your bottom line, and are therefore "insane and unfeasible" to you. as for any legitimate writers here, if they exist, I assume that they can make their own posts, and that they don't need your presumptive interpretations.

why do you keep repeating yourself? are you dense? it just forces others to do the same.

once again: I am not here to get advice about business ownership. I am here to suggest a new way of treating term paper mills' most valuable human capital. I am suggesting that you, as a company owner, think about the applicability of these ideas, and treat your writers better than you are treating them now.

put in the first laugh, then. it frees up the last one.

so far, I've come up with a few ideas, which have been met with absolute fury from company owners (WRT, Writersbeware, Major, et al.), and tepid shrugs from their "satisfied" doofus pets (FreelanceWriter, etc.).

some of these are:

1. better CPP

2. bonus system for repeat customers

3. royalties system

4. paid sick days, from a formula based on the writer's average output

these ideas can be funded if companies

1. take less % of the cut

2. pay repeat customer bonuses from the advertising budget (customer loyalty is the goal of advertising, anyway)

3. put aside a fund for writers from pre-written paper income

any other ideas?

why should I? you apparently already know. someone smarter than you are has obviously opened your mind. I'm not surprised by your ingratitude.

do you have a 5th or 6th identity for me, or have you settled on RIC?

I came here with a bunch of ideas, and got nothing but a pain in the neck from you. why? you're a company owner. I represent a potential threat to your pocket. you can tell me to go away all you want, but it's not going to happen.

as long as there's a glimmer of hope that I can influence writers to question their situation re: you taking an exploitative cut of their pay for doing zilch work, I'm going to keep trying to wake people up. if you don't like it, you can kma, but you can't make me leave.

keep taking your disproportionate share of the profits, and doing none of the work. you're the same as all the other owners you're trying to disparage here (and whose business model is currently slaughtering yours). all you can do is react-- you've been on your heels since it started.

what is that, some kind of code? I'm just one person, you paranoid stooge. your "detection" of my "style" is a big, subjective mess. can you even count how many bogeymen I've made you create? I can't.

wow, you got me. I can't believe it. I guess you know everything.

1) it was me! please stop the torture now.

2) I have no idea.

3) I guess you're just really clever.

4) it hurts to say yes to this one, but, in the interest of a greater cause, sure. whatever you say.

you're a total d---.

show and prove, mf.

also, keep telling me to leave. it exposes just how little control you have; I love it.

right-- "as always." I have the feeling this went right over your head.

"it's not me! it's Mr. Hand!"

• 
  WritersBeware
  

more elitism, more denial. I like how you say "probably," though.


did you know that the more absolutes a statement contains, the more likely it is to be false?


I would have believed this, but, once again, the way in which you've phrased it makes it stink. don't ever become a salesperson.

it's a private club. note to new applicants: "go away."

I'm think I'm going to start a new thread called "bricks are usually red," or "the sky is blue," and wait for the spiteful retribution to come.

then again, what do I know? I'm just some IRS lawyer from India.

I was just asking. hypercritical and oversensitive much?

WritersBeware: ESL-like errors? wtf are you talking about? I'd pay money to see your medicine cabinet. good luck on your witch-hunt.

derr derr derr derrrs! what was that?

it's not race-baiting if it's a fact?

OK then-- for the last freaking time-- I was born in Dayton. it was boring. I moved to the East Coast. my only connection to India is a hazy urge to spend several years in Goa doing nothing. this is the end of story, as far as you're concerned. you're a racist, a bully, and generally, a sad, sad person. I suggest you get off your ass, stop living a virtual life here, and go teach phys ed.


it's a she??!

see what I mean by race-baiting?

WRT/WritersBeware: dey took ur jorrbs!
drr derr jrrbs!


it wasn't me; I was talking to Amons. since you're asking me, though, I think that it was 3 different people, and that they were probably all correct. this is my 1st username, and I'm increasingly sorry I ever got it.


love, revenge, a fast car... there are lots of other things. a few more weeks on this board, and I'm going to be hitting the vodka myself!


yes, taht's exlatcy waht I maen.

"no, it's not," as in, no, it's not cool. apparently you're also all set to detect denial, which is, after elitism and negativism, the third major snag of this hell.

negativism is word, btw, and I can see you're fitting right in here already, since ignorant grammar/spelling snobbery is a close #4, tied with race-baiting. good luck in your ongoing transformation.

Amons: no, it's not. and yes, negativism and elitism are apparently contagious.

united you stand, with your heads in the sand.

I'm not calling anyone stupid. I think you've been breathing the poisonous air in here for too long. I'm putting ideas out there, and asking for your ideas, regarding how companies can treat writers better. I'm also interested in how writers can increase their power to have companies meet their demands.

some writers might think they're receiving what they're worth, because they're content with the limits of their situation. the real problem here is not seeing past these limits, to discover that you deserve better for what you're doing. what you're doing is certainly not "nothing at all," and in fact, I'd wager, is more than what most office workers do.

you misunderstand the metaphor. I am not saying that the hamster spins on the wheel because it went to the wrong schools. it has nothing to do with how many degrees you have; it's about being self-aware and seeing your situation from a different perspective... and wanting what you're worth, especially if you're highly educated and experienced.

you're the bully.

the idea is that the hamster doesn't know that it

A. is in a terrarium

B. is running as hard as it can to stay in the same place

in other words, it's perfectly content within the parameters of its illusory freedom. it doesn't want any better.

hamsters are are also "very happy" in a spinning wheel, going nowhere. that's not to say that writers are hamsters, right? right?

so, here's what I've learned.

-this board is a foul place.

-there is no room for new ideas here.

-most people here would rather attack than say something constructive.

-most of the writers here have an offensively inflated sense of self-importance.

-there is a hostile and paranoid atmosphere in almost every thread.

-no one thinks anything needs changed, when it really does.

-the sky is falling.

scrambling like a madman to max out at a salary just above what those office people take for granted, doing much less (while getting, comparatively, scads of benefits)... it doesn't sound like something to be too proud of.

individuals have no power unless they organize into groups. pilots and doctors are doing OK, and have unions. freelance writers are as poor as church mice... although church mice are perhaps better organized.

Polly: I agree that F/T classification is a mixed blessing at best. as you point out, it's costly for the company, and many freelancers, because of independent spirit, won't really go for it. I'm just saying, they're doing F/T work, and generally aren't treated as well as their F/T compatriots in the 9-5 world. at the same time, a lot of these compatriots spend 8 hours staring at a stapler, and clock out. writers work. if reclassification isn't the answer, I think that a professional organization with teeth, perhaps, is. if organized writers can somehow get together and enforce work stoppages during a busy season, for example, they could really improve conditions for themselves.

true-- but if you go with a company, you will unerringly find yourself working for opportunists who treat you more like a serf than an expert, and will take the lion's share of your earnings to maintain their, ahem, overhead.

you will, on average, get a CPP rate... no perks, few if any bonuses, no raises, no sick days, no opportunities for advancement, etc. the company will press you to take as many orders as you can during busy season, which will often mean 60+ hour weeks, but will not consider you a full-time employee, or offer you any approximation of scaling up pay for those extra 20 hours.

I know that changing this status quo is a logistical nightmare, but it really needs to be done. writers act like they're putting on the Ritz when they make $10 a page, and can take a nap in the afternoon if they please. it's not enough for doing 100% of the work for these companies.

if professional writers can get together, they can change the situation. without writers, these companies are nowhere. sure, they can bring in unqualified replacements... and sink their own ships, ruining their credibility and souring their word-of-mouth advertising.

if writers are able to become empowered and effective, rather than isolated and content, they could really shake things up.

OK; it shouldn't be a problem, because for the umpteenth time, you thick-headed fool, I'm not centralpark. every time you make this dumb assumption, I'm a little more embarrassed for you.


as a whole, it tells me that centralpark is someone you're scared of, or obsessed with, and that you probably see them everywhere-- on trains, walking to the newsstand, etc. maybe you need a little vacation. who doesn't? anyway, I can't respond to past arguments you've had with centralpark.

what I can and do is say that writers in this industry do a lot more for the bottom line of these companies than they are being reimbursed for. they also have the capability to be very powerful, because these companies are nowhere without quality writers. but without organization, all we're left with is elitism and denial.

I'll take that as a compliment.