Yes, what Hiu Chun L said.
There are times when instinct or more solid evidence tells me why my JSS or my "clients who would recommend" may have changed. There are other times it's a complete mystery, and despite my many questions and investigations, it remains so. I finally chose peace of mind - now (except for times I go off the rails, usually on a Sunday morning ... ) I just tell myself if I do my best, there's nothing more I can do, and JSS and other scores and calculations are what they are. Noting that if someone had told me that when I was beginning on Upwork, I wouldn't have adopted their attitude ....
The canned messages are especially used with questions about our success ratings in this forum, I think, because:
1. The topic is so frustrating that people don't read the REAMS of other Community posts about it.
2. The same attributes that make many freelancers successful (attention to detail, dedication) make our inability to understand and control JSS and other scores maddening
3. Those who have a somewhat official role on this forum (that would not be me) find themselves saying the same thing over and over in answers to these questions
4. Those with a somewhat official role on this forum understand the calculations to a point, but there are also mysteries about them Upwork apparently doesn't let anyone fully understand (except perhaps a mad millenial living on fast food in a dark room somewhere in the bowels of the Upwork building, fantasizing about taking over the world and, for now, settling for making freelancers crazy with the JSS and "would recommend" algorithms)
Some of what I told you above may be wrong - if so, someone will weigh in and correct it. The canned replies irritate me at times too - though they are often kinder than the ones written from scratch, and they are actually written by people with more knowledge than I have. However - since you asked for input from another freelancer ...
Very best wishes to you on your work on Upwork. For me, there was a learning curve to how it all worked, and I have figured more things out in time. What I haven't figured out frustrated me enough that it motivated me to get set up with some private clients, and that hasn't been a bad thing either.
Denise
