Crude Oil vs Oil Shale for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMCCLXV

Oil Shale Extraction

Know this up front: here at AN, we have great respect for those who operate professionally in a language they did not learn from the cradle. On the other hand, we find it incomprehensible that someone would pretend expertise in any discipline while operating in a second (or third) language. That is, unfortunately, often the case with the people who write/wrote for DifferenceBetween.com; an allegedly Australian site populated by south Asian freelancers like "Admin" (apparently "Olivia Dawson," probably a pseudonym). Here's admin's half-witted attempt to explain the "Difference Between Shale oil and Crude oil."

Sedimentary Rocks for Dummy Physicists - The Freelance Files MMCCLXIV

pretty sedimentary rocks

We forget just where we were when we saw the link; but someone, somewhere cited byjus.com as an "authority" on sedimentary rocks. We couldn't pass that one up, at least not after we'd taken a look at the text of an article simply entitled "Sedimentary Rocks" (and filed under "physics"). A little research showed us that Byju's is a massive Indian online learning company with thousands of employees, which renders is impossible to name the actual author of the content. Consequently, we'll just assign authorship to byju.

Repointing Masonry for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMCCLXIII

repointing stone

Like many homeowners in the era of YouTube tutorials, our staffers often research DIY home repairs before deciding to call in a professional. Unlike many of their neighbors, the majority of the folks who write for the Antisocial Network aren't afraid to tackle simple- or intermediate-level projects – which leaves out roofing and remodeling an entire kitchen. One of them recently looked into repointing some brickwork and, is their wont, decided to check on the topic at the mother lode of misinformation, eHow.com. As expected, the topic had been discussed, and by a familiar name. Let's see whether HomeSteady.com writer G. K. Bayne knew what she was talking about in "How to Repoint a Stone Fireplace." Here's a hint: based on her three previous appearances, we rather doubted it...

The Mohs Hardness Scale for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMCCLXII

talc (left) and gypsum (right)

Few occurrences are more frustrating for our scientifically competent staffers than witnessing a scientifically illiterate liberal arts graduate pretend to explain something in the reader's wheelhouse but botching the explanation... badly. Sadly, that's pretty much the business model of the website formerly known as eHow.com, at least the portion that now lives in Sciencing.com.¹ For your consideration today, we offer an example of such work: J-school grad Christina Martinez and her unsuccessful attempt to share "How to Tell the Difference Between Talc & Gypsum."

Flush Beams for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMCCLXI

flush beam in ceiling

Watching a freelancer who barely knows the difference between a hammer and a screwdriver attempt to explain framing carpentry is something like watching a slow-moving train wreck. We find that we just cannot look away, no matter how bizarre and/or useless the content. We've seen a lot of that useless content, as you can tell from the "framing" and "framing carpentry" entries on our topic list. Today's nominee adds yet another line to the list: meet "communications" grad Isabel Prontes and her misguided attempt to answer the question "What Is a Flush Beam?" for HomeSteady.com.

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.

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...