Hunting Dinosaur Fossils for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMCCLIX

Dinosaur fossil (Mesozioc, Wyoming)

One of the more irritating habits of the freelancers who plied their "trade" at eHow.com and its many niche sites was a pair of diametrically opposite tendencies: either they turned simple questions complex or they turned complex questions simple. Being ignorant of the answer is, at least to us, no excuse; for eHow it was just "minimum word count" plus "SEO" equals cash. Sadly, some of eHow's (now Leaf Group's) freelancers are still at it: witness marine biologist and small dog trainer Marina Somma attempting to answer the question, "In Which States Are Dinosaur Fossils Found?" for Sciencing.com (with her usual little help from biologist Sylvie Tremblay). It's a rewrite of a 2011 post by Craig Colin Smith...

Glacial Landscapes for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMCCXLVII

Continental glacial features

Few habits are more irksome to the staffers here at the Antisocial Network than faking expertise. As someone¹ once said, "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." Unfortunately, a significant number – feel free to read "significant number" as "all" – of the people who receive our coveted Dumbass of the Day award have done just that, although in print rather than orally. Be that as it may, it's time to trot out another awardee who pretended to know quite a bit about earth science, much to the displeasure of our staff geologist. She's Sciencing.com contributor Lindsey Taylor who, along with reviewer Sylvie Tremblay, M. Sc., tried to pull the wool over the public eye in "How Do Glaciers Change the Landscape?" Sadly, she failed...

Estimating Countertop Prices for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMCCXLV

Sink cutouts in quartz countertops

We vaguely remember a college professor – it might have been in English Composition 101 – who opined that when someone responds to a query by saying, "That's a good question..." you aren't likely to get a good answer. That was, however, before people started verbing nouns and littering their language with "biz-speak." Whatever the case, we are firmly of the belief that when one is asked a question, one should a) give the best answer possible or b) admit to ignorance. Sadly, neither is the custom of some freelancers; especially those who are paid to "answer" questions for content farms. Take, for example, Leaf Group cleanup team member Rachelle Dragani and her attempt to tell people "How to Estimate the Cost of Quartz Countertops" for Hunker.com.

Seafloor Spreading for Dummies, the Rewrite - The Freelance Files MMCCXXXVI

Convection and seafloor spreading

While we applaud the fact that someone at Leaf Group has A) realized that a large fraction of the company's content is bogus and B) enlisted "experts" to review new and rewritten content, we truly wish that some of their rewrites corrected the content instead of merely rehashing and expanding on the dumbassery that was already there. Unfortunately, that's not always true. A case in point is the work of rewrite "expert" Marina Somma and her reviewer, Sylvie Tremblay, M. Sc. Take, for example, the Sciencing.com post "What Is the Primary Force That Causes the Seafloor to Spread?"

African Geology for Dummies, Redux - The Freelance Files MMCCXXVI

East African triple junction

Over the years, we've noticed that the nice people at Leaf Group (formerly Demand Media Studios, or DMS¹) have enlisted freelance writers with (more) pertinent backgrounds to rewrite some of the rubbish visited on the former eHow.com by J-school and creative writing grads. You'll note the "more" in that last sentence: it strikes us as unlikely that someone with a long-ago degree in ecology would be the right person to explain plate tectonics... but that's where J. Dianne Dotson comes in. J. Dianne took on the task of rewriting the dreck originally published by Chris Burke on the topic of "Facts About the African Plate" for Sciencing.com. As usual, a "review" by molecular biologist Sylvie Tremblay did not appear to help.

Minerals in Indiana, a Dummy Speaks - The Freelance Files MMCCXXV

"Panning for gold," Indiana-style

Fans of the television show "Big Bang Theory" are probably well aware of the low regard in which main character Sheldon Cooper holds the science of geology. That's probably because of the introductory college course "rocks for jocks" that so many liberal arts majors take when the meteorology classes are full and they still need a science elective. Unfortunately, most of said liberal arts majors – and more than a few science majors – are remain ignorant of even the most basic geology. One such self-described "scientist" (now a dog trainer) is Marina Somma, and she managed to utterly botch a simple assignment in the earth sciences when she rewrote "Gems & Stones Found in Indiana" for Sciencing.com. Biology type Sylvie Tremblay, who supposedly reviewed the science, was no help...

Deltas for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMCCXVI

Ganges delta

Whether it's because the "information" they contain is often bogus or because the format no longer fits the SEO guru's specifications (more likely the latter), the nice people at Leaf Group have begun assigning a team of rewrite specialists to update chunks of their niche site content. So far, most of the work appears to have taken place in the sites Hunker.com and Sciencing.com. It's in the second that we ran across history/anthropology grad John Peterson attempting to explain "What Is a Delta Land Form?" In doing so, he was sprucing up a 2010 post by fellow historian Claire McAdams (with a little help from genetics fan Sylvie Tremblay).

Oil Wells for Dummies, Redux - The Freelance Files MMCCVIII

Production Tree

A few of our staffers were listening to a talking head on the radio recently and heard someone claim that "Everyone understands the oil business" (or words to that effect). As Thin Lizzy once said, "man, we fell about the place"! Damned near no one understands the oil business – especially radio talking heads. We've had more than a few laughs (and more groans) at some of the bogosity published by freelancers around the web pretending to explain hydrocarbons and their exploration, but few people have been as... amusing as Kevin Beck, cleanup team member for Sciencing.com, and his attempt to tell the world, "How does an Oil Well Work?"

Convergent Boundaries for Dummies, the Rewrite - The Freelance Files MMCCIV

Continental island arc with trench

For some bizarre reason, a not-insignificant segment of scientifically illiterate society seems to think that the mere possession of any degree that includes a "science" designation makes one an expert on all aspects of all science. This rather strange notion is, apparently, the logic behind the recent appearance of the byline, "Reviewed by: [name] M.Sc. [discipline]" on posts at Leaf Group's Sciencing.com. Staffers who've written peer-reviewed articles, which this pretends to emulate, note that the reviewer is always someone with an advanced degree in the science at hand. That's not, however, the case in "Facts on Convergent Boundaries" as rewritten by Meg Schader and reviewed by Sylvie Tremblay, with a degree in "Molecular Biology and Genetics."

How Dummies Find Gems in Indiana - The Freelance Files MMCXCV

rough emerald

If you're interested in accurate and reliable information, there's real danger in assuming that the "information" you receive from the people who till the manure-rich soil of content farms like eHow.com or its many niche sites. The business model of this particular farm is to "scrape" internet search queries and then pay freelancers to "answer" the questions. Unless you're lucky enough to find content written by someone with real knowledge of the topic, you're likely to find boilerplate bushwa. For an example of that sort of content, we direct your attention to the Sciencing.com post "How to Dig Your Own Emeralds in Indiana," recently rewritten by Marina Somma.

How Dummies Install Sliding Door Locks - The Freelance Files MMCXCIII

sliding door lock

Maybe it's just us (we hope not), but here at the Antisocial Network we think that when you hire someone to fix something that's broken or redo a substandard workman's job, you should expect the updated job to be an improvement. Let's say your deck is leaning because the original builder did a lousy job of building the supporting structure. If you hire someone to fix it, you expect the results to be strong and sturdy. In the case of  "How to Install a Key Lock on a Sliding Glass Door," the job Michelle Miley performed would, sadly, not meet those expectations.

Gasoline Octane Explained for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMXC

Octane Rating

In what appears to be an effort to fool the public into believing that their content is more authoritative, Leaf Group has recently begun to include a "reviewed by" byline on the content created (we use the word loosely) by their rewrite team. We would applaud the effort if, in fact, the reviewer's presence improved the quality of the work, but that isn't necessarily the case. Our previous DotD award was based on a rewrite by Rosann Kozlowski that was reviewed by Lana Bandoim, B.S., in which the pair proved ignorant of basic geometry. They're back today with a post that should be in their wheelhouse, since both have chemistry degrees, but they still had problems with "What Is the Difference Between Grades of Gasoline?"

Hexagon Diagonals for Dummies (Again) - The Freelance Files MMLXXXIX

nine hexagon diagonals

We recheck the content we've given DotD awards on a semi-regular basis, mostly to see if someone has been so ashamed they deleted it or the content farm hosting it has decided it is so bad it needs to be rewritten. A while back, we noticed that a geometry post (by Jess Kroll, proud possessor a MFA in creative writing) had been deleted by Leaf Group. We didn't pay much attention until we realized that it had actually been sent to the "cleanup team" for a rewrite. The problem? rewrite specialist Rosann Kozlowski did little more than reword and lengthen Kroll's version of "How to Find the Diagonal of a Hexagon."

Shower Systems for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMLXXVIII

three-knob shower control panel

No one can know, of course, but sometimes people Google search terms that are more complex – or perhaps we should say "less basic" – than the uninitiated might think. When the uninitiated in question happens to be a contributor to eHow.com or the niche sites that have taken its place, our staffers' DotDdar¹ trips quite readily. take, for instance the query, "How to Turn on a Shower That Has Three Knobs" that Damon Koch attempted to answer back in 2015. The powers that be at Leaf Group apparently decided that his submission was subpar (probably because of length), and so sent it to cleanup team member Rachelle Dragani for a rewrite. The result was... not an improvement.

Fossil Fuels and Pollution for Dummies

Acid Rain Generation

The nice people at eHow.com (a subsidiary [perhaps the only one] of what is now known as Leaf Group) have long provided biographies for their contributors, ostensibly to demonstrate their qualifications. We had to wonder, however, what item in the bio of cleanup team member Melinda Hill Sineriz qualified her to write "How Fossil Fuels Create Pollution" for BizFluent.com. Was it her specialization in "business, personal finance, and career content"? we somehow doubt it, given some of her more egregious misstatements.

Oil Wells: Plus and Minus for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMLXV

Groundwater vs. oil reservoir depth

We know, we know: this has to be the gazillionth time the Antisocial Network has taken another English major to task for holding forth on science and technology they didn't understand. The problem is, they never learn! Back in 2012, some yutz by the name of Mitchell Brock (wonder what his last name is?) pretended to write about "The Positive & Negative Effects of Oil Wells."¹ Wonder of wonders, Leaf Group recognized it for schlock, and asked cleanup team member Melinda Hill Sineriz to rewrite it for BizFluent.com. The problem? Sineriz's version was only a slight improvement (even after a "review" by three-degree holder Michelle Seidel).

Placer Gold Deposits for Dummies

placer gold deposits

No matter how many times we come across their work, we are regularly amazed at the level of dumbassery pounded out by ignorant freelancers attempting to help other, just as greedy, people find gold. We haven't checked, but we suspect that we've already featured more than a dozen exposés of clueless prospecting hints written by people who've never searched for gold anywhere except a flea market. To their number, we now add returning DotD June Kane and her bizarre attempt to list "Gold-Bearing Soil Types."

Exterior Outlets on Vinyl for Dummies

exterior outlet box on vinyl siding

The nice people who publish all those niche websites that used to be eHow.com try to make their content look "authoritative" by adding a writer bio to each post. Back in the eHow days, most bios bragged about "communications" and English lit degrees, which tended to be a dead giveaway that the writer knew little or nothing about science, plumbing, or electrical work; despite having published hundreds of eHow articles on those same topics. In the new era, Leaf Group's "cleanup team" members have crafted bios for each of the niches in which the writer claims related experience or training... but are they any more qualified? Let's have a look at one post by someone who claims that, "She developed an affinity for home renovations at an early age, when her parents constantly renovated the family home." It's Mackenzie Maxwell, whom we found writing "How to Add an Exterior Outlet to Vinyl Siding" for HomeSteady.com.

Fossil Fuels for Overly Confident Dummies

fossil fuels

Someone here, usually an intern, regularly checks our nominees to see whether the content is still live on the net. The folks at Leaf Group have pulled some of their more egregious crap (especially at HomeSteady.com), and at least one HubPages.com freelancer became ashamed of how many awards she'd collected. The nice people at Leaf have taken to sending some of their content to a cleanup team of "experienced freelancers" in hopes that the dross will be culled. As we've noticed, it isn't always... Here with another example is "noted environmentalist," if he does say so himself, David Sarokin with "What Are Three Examples of Fossil Fuels?"

Steps in Dirt, a Dummies Method

steps dug into slope

The nice people who now run Leaf Group (formerly Demand Media Studios, parent company of eHow.com) have been paying a small cadre of freelancers to "freshen" bits and pieces of their content. Their biggest problems is apparent lack of vetting of those freelancers, for several of them have proven woefully inept in their rewrites. Most of the time, it's been because the original was written by someone unfamiliar with the topic and the rewrite specialist merely reworded what was already there. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. That's pretty much the problem with "How to Cut Steps Into a Dirt Slope," a rewrite of a David Robinson post at Hunker.com by Danielle Smyth.