A Hot Tub Enclosure for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMCXXXVIII

hot-tub enclosure

Few freelancers are more irksome to our Antisocial Network Staff than the ones who repeat the same tired posts multiple times in a sorry attempt to collect more pennies. It's much, much worse, however, if the original was utter crap to begin with. Which brings us to today's nominee, an eHow.com "contributor" (that's what they called them back in the day) we'd already caught once, pounding out truly worthless instructions for a "cheap" gazebo. Let's welcome back Heidi Cardenas, whose "Cheap Way to Build Enclosure for a Hot Tub" somehow ended up at Synonym.com.

Geographic Research for Dummies

sample precinct map

We frequently find ourselves amused by the antics of the freelancers at the erstwhile eHow.com when faced with an ambiguous question. They weren't paid by the word and (usually) weren't paid by the hit, so it was to their advantage to pound out a simplistic "answer" to the question as fast as possible, even when it didn't make sense or was woefully incomplete. Today's nominee, Nellie Day, fell into the trap of tunnel vision when faced with the question, "How Can I Find What Precinct I Live in?" at Synonym.com.

Roof Construction for Dummies

Building a truss roof

It's pretty much our mantra here at the Antisocial Network: if you want information, you should ask someone who knows the answer or, at the very least, understands the subject. You don't ask your dental hygienist to help you identify silicate minerals, and you don't ask a plumber to help you design a formal gown. So why would you ask a freelance "journalist" like Catalina Bixler, "What Are the Parts of a House Roof?" (found at Synonym.com). You probably shouldn't...

UTM Zone Calculation for Dummies

UTM Zones of North America

It's sad to say, but the internet has made dumbasses out of just about all of us, even (occasionally) the staff of the Antisocial Network. As a general rule, however, people around here are a little more aware of what's going on in the world writ large than are the likes of eHowian Nick Botero. Nick, despite having completed coursework for at least two college degrees, apparently never learned how to think. We base that observation on his rather useless answer to some poor schmuck wondering "How to Determine the UTM Zone" at Synonym.com.

Your Home's Square Footage by the Dummy Method

Measuring Square Footage of a House

Many times our researchers come across an internet post with the unenviable combination of excessive verbiage and erroneous facts. It's no wonder that the bulk of these occur at content farms and other websites where amateurs were paid to write about topics that professionals have already covered (usually correctly, we might add). Yes, when we say "content farm," we mean HubPages, WritEdge, InfoBarrel, and the whole Demand Media Studio / Leaf Group stable of websites. Whatever... when you're buying or selling a home, the square footage is a key detail. Consequently, you probably want to know "How to Calculate the Square Footage of a Home" — but you may not want to take the advice of Carter McBride, which the three-time DotD published at the DMS¹ site Synonym.com...

Bible Searches for Dummies

Bible Concordance

If it seems that our research staffers here at the Antisocial Network seem to put most of their energy into the Demand Media (now "Leaf Group") websites – eHow and, increasingly, the "niche sites" into which they're shoveling their content like a farmer loading a manure spreader – it's sort of true. For one, many content farms have gone out of business and the other remaining farms are difficult to search. So eHow it is; no problem because it's such a target-rich environment.