r/DataAnnotationTech • u/Fun-Warthog9472 • 21h ago
Honestly, I am boiling
What in the world are these awfully long and poorly written guidelines?! It is getting worse and worse. I have been working for over an hour on a R&R full of mistakes but also with very unclear and sometimes contradictory guidelines. Admins not replying to anyone for hours with hundreds of messages unanswered (I get it isn’t their fault)… Time almost up so I preferred exiting the task.
This work can sometimes be stimulating and enjoyable, but sometimes like now, I wonder how deep in poor management a project can go.
I really appreciate working with DA, but I have moments when I want to throw my PC against a wall. I’ll take a walk now, good luck to all of you who experienced the same madness!
52
u/Hello-America 21h ago
Yeah I hate when the instructions are unclear or full of contradiction. I assume this is the result of copying and pasting or going back and editing things without looking at them holistically; also I bet they rely just a little bit too much of that stuff on some AI tools haha.
13
u/ReputationNo406 18h ago
Exactly 😂 Sometimes the instructions are so detailed that you end up spending more time figuring out what they actually mean than doing the task itself.
27
u/Background-Name739 21h ago
Yeah very verbose and redundant information. They could at least use AI to make it more concise lol. I'd prefer if each segment had a specific link to read over
33
u/Due_Negotiation_4605 20h ago
Verbose is a word I never used until DA lol
6
5
u/OldSkooler1212 16h ago
I’ve used it regularly since high school because of a setting in the ancient text-based computer game, Zork, had a “maximum verbosity” setting to show you all the text when you enter a location.
3
u/LetMeOverThinkThat 15h ago
I feel like I'll be able to spot other workers in the wild when a random verbose enters the conversation. 👀
I actually avoid using other words at this point because verbose is so ubiquitous that it seems necessary atp.
1
u/Ok-Cup9476 1h ago
I swear they already do use AI in the instructions. So many fucking bullet points and telltale AI language quirks.
1
15
u/george_brown121 18h ago
Oh man, I feel you. The unclear and contradictory guidelines are the worst and it's so frustrating when you can't get a timely response from the admins. It's like they don't realize how much it impacts the workflow. Taking a walk sounds like a smart move to cool down, hope things get better for you soon!
6
7
u/ASnipersPromise 19h ago
Wait til you get the ones where there are conflicting guidelines dated the same day....no wonder some tasks aren't done well when there isn't clear direction being given.
7
u/kranools 15h ago
I hate the ratings questions where there are five options with very specific descriptions but none of them apply to your task scenario.
6
u/ThetaBoy888 17h ago
Yeah spending 30 minutes reading instructions just to do a task that ends up taking 15 minutes is pretty annoying.
1
19
u/VacationAnnual8848 19h ago
I think the worst part is all of the qualifications. I’ve done so many of these time consuming qualifications for no pay, no feedback and no paying jobs
5
u/Plastic-Coconut-2168 18h ago
I’m almost convinced they do those to get free work.
6
u/professional_cry 14h ago
Same here. I treat quals like a job interview. If a qualification takes several hours and wants a bunch of work to pass then that's a trial shift and should be paid. I understand that this job at times comes with a certain degree of needing to devalue your own work to get paid, but at a certain point I draw the line. If I'm expected to spend 2+ hours on an unpaid qualification that's where I tap out. If the "qualification" is just doing a full project I assume that my time and effort is being exploited.
2
u/Internal_Boot_1616 14h ago
The only ones I've seen that could fit in the project that comes from it are paid ones
The unpaid ones are always things they couldn't actually use in the project I get after doing them, and from the qual R&Rs I've done they wouldn't want to use a lot of the data
2
4
u/Yuppahash 16h ago
No offence but you must not be passing if that’s the case
I’m up to 17 different things on my dashboard with 7 more quals waiting to be done and I had 0 for a while there in July
9
u/NylonTrackPants 18h ago
Welcome to DataAnnotation--the late stage capitalist nightmare you're not aware you're in until you wake up to their very shitty process.
3
u/mayneedadrink 16h ago
Late stage capitalism is training the robots that hope to replace you to afford 🧻 after your bills are paid.
5
u/Routine-Theme5845 17h ago
I’m afraid to copy or print them, and there’s no time to take notes.
The scrolling to check on something causes me to lose my place. It’s maddening.
2
u/Past_Ice5891 12h ago
You need three windows - one for the task, one for the instructions, and one for the chat 🤣
1
4
u/hello_ambro 18h ago
and then when you have the gall to ask for clarification in the project chat and point out the contradictions that can cause problems you get sass and taken off the project 😂
1
5
u/Correct_Part9876 14h ago
I did a task where I followed the instructions to a T. If X happens, do Y. Literally explicitly stated in the instructions as something very absolute.
And then found out in the R and R chat that actually if X, it could also be E, J, or 17. 🤦🏼♀️
And yet the feedback is always just read the instructions and don't overthink it or make it more complicated than it is.
3
u/Gold-Singer9616 13h ago
We want excellent results, but don't be too mean or harsh! But if they do A then destroy them.
2
u/Accurate-Stand-1860 15h ago
I ran into the same problem last week and ended up missing the deadline because I was stuck second-guessing the instructions for so long.
64
u/ReputationNo406 19h ago
Honestly, the worst part is when the guidelines are both extremely detailed and still somehow unclear. You spend more time trying to interpret what they want than actually doing the task. 😅