Oil Fields for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMCCLX

This ain't no desert, Jason

One of the staffers "quiet quit" the petroleum industry a few years ago (before everyone on the planet decided to switch jobs, for what it's worth), but still retains all the basic knowledge necessary to fact-check some of the rubbish our DotD nominees have pumped out over the years. Given the average person's ignorance of the petroleum  industry, it's no surprise that misconceptions and misinformation are the rule rather than the exception; which is why she's rarely surprised by freelancer dumbassery about the oil business. Once in a while, though... and today's one of those days. Back to take another bite of the oil biz apple, once again demonstrating complete ignorance of the industry, is Jason C. Chavis. This time he's answering (NOT!) the eternal question "What is an Oil Field?" for the WiseGEEK.com niche site AboutMechanics.com.

Horizontal Drilling for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMCCLIV

horizontal drilling

Staffers at the Antisocial Network realized years ago that some freelancers are just plain shameless. A case in point is one of the more frequent contributors to WiseGEEK.com, who we have determined is neither wise nor a geek. Partially due to her claimed educational qualifications but mostly to her obvious unfamiliarity with her subjects, she's become our "go-away-from" contributor at the site and its niches; with a back-list of crapola that rivals such greats as Joan Whetzel (eHow, HubPages) and Lacy Enderson (eHow). Here, making her sixteenth appearance at the awardee's podium, is Mary McMahon and her AboutMechanics.com post, "What is Horizontal Drilling?"

Directional Wells for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMCCLII

directional well

After years of scrolling through content farm rubbish, our staffers have codified the simplest method of determining that some freelancer somewhere was pounding out bullshit in hopes of collecting a few pennies for the "work." Ready? All you do is look for long strings of generic crapola tied together with tangentially related factoids. It's even easier when those factoids have been interpreted through the lens of ignorance. That's what we found when we did a deep dive on Christian Petersen and the WiseGEEK post, "What Is a Directional Well?" (firmly ensconced at AboutMechanics.com, for some weird reason).

Directional Drilling for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMCCXXXIX

slant drilling rig

Around the Antisocial Network world headquarters we are particularly irked by freelance writers who think they are smart enough to address a subject by simply rewording a source they found somewhere else and republishing it as their "new" information. These freelancers are most irritating when they tackle topics about which they know nothing, mainly because their readers know nothing – or worse, learn only misinformation – about the topic at hand. Keep that in mind as you meet T. L. Childree (Laurie) and her half-witted attempt to answer the question, "What is Slant Drilling?" for WiseGEEK niche site AboutMechanics.com.

Diamond Drilling for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMCCXXXIII

It is said (with good reason) that a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing; an adage to which we at the Antisocial Network are inclined to say, "No duh." Perhaps the only thing worse than a little bit of knowledge is no knowledge at all. A disturbing number of people who wrote for content farms, sadly, fell under the second category; yet they were more than happy to share their ignorance with the world for a few bucks. Let us take a look at one such self-appointed wordsmith, returning DotD Felicia Dye. This time out, we'll see what dumbassery Dye managed to pack into the WiseGEEK post "What is Diamond Drilling?" which lives in the niche site AboutMechanics.com.