User:SHurley619

September 17, 2013
I Came across, and placed bid on the following job posting:



'''At this point I was completely unfamiliar with the Wikipedia editing process. I did use it when researching while in college, but since using as a reference was not permitted, my experience was limited.'''

Actual conversation:

Client: Thank you for your proposal. Have you ever edited a Wikipedia article before?

Me: To be honest no, I have never edited Wikipedia, but am quite familiar with it, having used it daily while in school as a research starting point. I do use HTML for Craigslist a lot, therefore I feel I would be able to carry out the job as expected. Thanks for the inquiry, -S

Client: Sounds good. If you’re interested in editing existing articles and publishing an article to Wikipedia, I think you’ll be a good fit for this job. Before we can begin working on this project, I’ll need you to complete two items of housekeeping. First, do you have an existing account on Wikipedia, if not, I’ll need you to create an account and send me your Wikipedia information. Second, as company policy, we have all of our contractors sign nondisclosure agreements. Will this work for you? Please let me know if you’re interested and thanks for your reply.

Me: Thank you, sounds like a great opportunity, and I accept :)

Let me know if you need anything else, and I will on standby until further instructed.
 * Basic information
 * Username:
 * User ID:
 * Member of group: Users
 * Number of edits: 0
 * Registration time: 20:42, 17 September 2013
 * Global account status: All in order!
 * Your account is active on 2 project sites.
 * Password:

P.S. I agree to the signing of your 'Non-Disclosure' -S

Client: Unfortunately, your user name will not work for this project. For this project, I'll need you to choose a user name that is more personal and generic.

Me: Thinking on it now it makes perfect sense, as the entire concept revolves around 'the individual", opposed to the more traditional knowledge base. Sometimes my brain needs jostling, as it tends to linger on auto pilot longer than need be. lol.

If it is all the same to you, I am going to use the Pen Name ---. was my dog, and. If you prefer I use my true identity than say the 'word', and I will oblige.

Back in flash with new info...

-S

Thanks Again,

'''(The "pen name" I was speaking of was taken, and SHurley619 was the username I opted to use) Keep in mind at this point I am still oblivious to what is "really going on", and I am actually thinking that all editors are paid, and that this is a job where I will be paid $20 per article. I also thought an article would take me a couple hours to write, I had no idea what the truth of the matter was, nor did i have any reason to investigate, I was taking the job at face value. Thus the comment "If I had known...I would have approach the situation differently" Reading my comments now, I feel silly.'''

September 18, 3013
Conversation Cont.

Me:


 * Username: SHurley619
 * (S - Hurley, not to be confused with Shirley, hehe!)
 * User ID: 19751811
 * Member of group: Users
 * Number of edits: 0
 * Registration time: 20:55, 18 September 2013
 * Global account status: All in order!
 * Your account is active on 2 project sites.
 * Password:

Client: Sounds great. Thank you.

Me: I finished the basic signup on W, and decided to take a test run. The article, in my opinion, was "a mess". and while I have no qualms about taking on a re-write, I did decided to abort the mission until I educated myself on proper procedures. Do you have a set of guidelines that I can reference, or are the instructions on W the standard in this case?

Thank you for time,

Client: Thank you for your user name information. I've attached a copy of the nondisclosure agreement. You can sign and return it using signnow.com (it takes about 3 minutes), or by messaging me a .jpg of the signed document. Either way is fine.

I'll send you all the details about the project once you've returned the NDA.

Looking forward to working with you.

Best,

NDA2013.pdf

September 19, 2013
'''Signed Non-Disclosure between myself and "the company" that contracted me. Disclosing certain details may breech said contract, which would explain why I am protecting certain details, names, etc.,'''

Conversation cont.

Me: I do not have an email for you and Elance did not accept the EchoSign document sent, therefore I relied on the second option, and have attached the EchoSign document.

September 23, 2013
Job was awarded to multiple bidders, myself being one them:



'''At this point I am still clueless, and I assume that I am working for a company that is contracted by Wikipedia to write articles, and that this company is outsourcing a heavy workload. Ya, I know, not too bright! But I had no reason to suspect otherwise, having no previous experience editing on Wikipedia. Further, I never really even thought to wonder "how it works", and perhaps I was blinded by the prospect of landing a job working for Wikipedia. Okay, I probably should have thought it through, but what was actually happening is so complicated, and I was caught up in the job itself. All the while I am not taking the time to explore Wikipedia, because I relying on "the client" for direction. I do not need to hear any comments about how it is my own fault for not reading Wiki guidelines etc., I am well aware of the what actions I SHOULD have take, but it a little late for that, and that is not the point here. I am risking looking like a complete ass, so that you can see how people are getting away with paid editing, and not to be put down any further for it, so please try to keep focus on the issue at hand.'''

Conversation Cont.

Client: Thank you for taking the time to sign the NDA.

Here are the details of the project:

The deliverable is a flag-free link to one formatted, uploaded and then published article on Wikipedia and the pay is $20. I will provide you with the article and give you all the instructions for completing the project. As this is your personal account, you may optimize your profile and establish yourself as an editor on Wikipedia if you'd like. You may edit any existing articles you want. When publishing your article, you might be communicating with other editors about your work. This is a relatively simple project that should be very quick to complete.

Let me know if you are interested and I will award you this milestone.

Best,

Thank you.

Me: Thank you, I accept your offer, and I am ready to begin.

Client:

Thank you. I've attached the article that I would like you to publish.

Instructions follow (please follow these instruction very closely):

Make sure you are logged into your account.

Go to the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCN_Technology,_In....

You will find the following on the page, please click.

"Start the PCN Technology, Inc. article"

Click this.

On the next page that follows, you will see a white box. This is the source for the article. Please use the text from the attachment that I sent you. In the summary, you need to write a description of what you have completed for other users to review, something like "Wrote short article, adding references" will work. Save the page and let me know when you have completed this.

Please let me know if you have any questions before you start.

Best,

'''PCN_Technology_Inc_code.docx
 * and this is what the above .docx contained'''



conversation cont.

Me: I am going to look over the material now, and I will get back to you before I begin.

I have no questions at this point, I will notify you once the article has been "saved".

Task Complete

Client: Thank you.

Please add these categories to the bottom of the text. Click 'Edit Source' to find the source code.

[ [ Category:Network_architecture ] ] [ [ Category:Technology_companies ] ]

Save the page and let me know when you have completed this.

Best,

Me: Clarification: [ [ Category:Network_architecture ] ] [ [ Category:Technology_companies ] ] < / ref >

task complete

fix reference 2?

Client: Thank you. Here are instructions to fix the error on the page:

Click 'Edit Source'.

Find this in the source code:

< ref name = " Reference 2 " >

In the middle of the reference, find this:

investors-put-525m-pcn/title=

Please add a vertical between pcn/title

That section should look like this:

investors-put-525m-pcn/|title=

You can write in the summary that you fixed a citation error.

Best,

Me: citation fixed as instructed

Client: Thank you! You can continue using your account if you'd like. I will monitor the page and make sure no flags appear. I really appreciate your work.

Best,

September 24, 2013
to be continued. ..