How is this not against the TOS?

[28425c32]

I've reported these posts a ton. This person is posting Freelancer ads that are actually a sales pitch for teaching you how to make your own courses. 

Maddening that this is allowed. They're having people pay them for their course building template through Upwork, but this post is totally not hiring anyone for anything.

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[fe9b8d82]

LOL, I've reported this same posting some months back and nothing happened there either.  But hey, I appreciate you reporting them!

[28425c32]

They post these fake jobs a ton. I guess because they're selling their course template through Upwrok it gets allowed so the money keeps flowing.

[25005175]

An advertisement-disguised-as-a-job does not an Upwork sale make. There is no mechanism for Freelancers to pay Clients on this platform. So any money that the "Client" receives cannot be "taxed" by Upwork. Almost certainly, any actual transactions for these alleged "courses" are off-platform.

[28425c32]

They aren't actually. They direct you to their Loom video and their website directs all payments to Upwork. It looks like they have people create a job on Upwork for $297 and hire them for it. 

[25005175]

Huh 🤔

[lysis10]

I got invited to that once too. Reported it IIRC. They won't do anything since the client spent on the platform.

The articley.ai spammer had all his jobs pulled that were posted on fake accounts, but his main account's jobs were left alone.

[6bfcdaf8]

I'd report as "this is a freelancer ad and not a job post"

[28425c32]

I've reported it plenty of times. They post across tons of categories. 

[celgins]

The thing Upwork must consider is the authenticity of the job description. Upwork uses pattern-matching algorithms to detect unusual behavior on the platform, including the detection of certain "bad" words/phrases. I have no proof of this, but with the high volume of job posts, proposals, and other content being created by freelancers/clients every day, I’m guessing Upwork relies on its algorithms to detect unacceptable job descriptions before turning to manual reviews.

The problem with the job you posted -- there is nothing highly unusual about the job description (unless a human reads it or Upwork has a trained AI tool that reads it and looks for "ad speak"). A pattern-matching program wouldn’t detect anything in that job description to flag it and alert a Support Team member. To me, this job description requires a manual review, and I’m not so sure manpower isn’t an issue right now.

As Jennifer noted, the client has spent $30K on the site; has posted over 350 jobs; and has a good feedback rating. Even though you, Miles, and Jennifer (and probably 500 other freelancers) flagged it, I don’t see Upwork rushing to do a manual review of that job.

I’m not advocating for the job and saying it should stay; rather, I agree that it should be a TOS violation and kicked out of the job listings. But if it’s generating income—even a little—it might be difficult for Upwork to manually empty its own pockets.

[25005175]

I don't understand how it would produce income. The job poster is requesting payment from freelancers, almost certainly off-platform.

[celgins]

I agree... I'm not sure how it's producing income either. Even though $30K isn't huge, I'm guessing Upwork might be reluctant to remove a job if the client has generated income through its other jobs.

That would be interesting: (e.g., great client, good feedback, and 40+ legit jobs posted, but 10 spammy-type jobs that violate the TOS.) Would Upwork remove the spammy jobs or remove the client altogether? Would Upwork consider "upsetting" the client by removing the spammy jobs?