i didnt get rollback connects yet

[deepakrorain1983]

In last few days many jobs has been close by upwork and client but i didnt get any roll-back connects yet
about 10 jobs has been closed from my proposals but rollback is not comming to me.

please check issue and credit rollback connects in my account.

[petra_r]

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Deepak A wrote:

about 10 jobs has been closed from my proposals but rollback is not comming to me.

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You don't get connects back when a job post is closed, only if it is canceled without hire by either the client or Upwork.

[keith_rettig]

The policy needs to become more nuanced.
If the project closes because of inactivity then it would seem the connects should be returned.  If the owner of the project reviews every freelancer's proposal and decides against hiring any of them, then of course no connects should be returned.  I have responded to quite a few projects that have sat unattended prior to the job being closed (this was prior to the new connects policy, so I did not care then because I had more than enough connects per month).  Given the new policy of connects costing actual money, returning connects due to inactivity (and maybe a few other scenarios) should be far more liberal.

[tlsanders]

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Keith R wrote:

The policy needs to become more nuanced.
If the project closes because of inactivity then it would seem the connects should be returned.  If the owner of the project reviews every freelancer's proposal and decides against hiring any of them, then of course no connects should be returned.  I have responded to quite a few projects that have sat unattended prior to the job being closed (this was prior to the new connects policy, so I did not care then because I had more than enough connects per month).  Given the new policy of connects costing actual money, returning connects due to inactivity (and maybe a few other scenarios) should be far more liberal.

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The thing is, returning connects is very, very bad for Upwork (and clients, and many freelancers). It's the last thing Upwork wants to do--the whole new policy is about further limiting the number of connects freelancers have and making them think twice (or more) before bidding on jobs. 

If you always had more than enough connects when they were free, then you probably don't realize how serious this problem is, and how many clients leave Upwork without hiring because they are bombarded with junk bids.

[keith_rettig]

I carefully used the word "nuanced" to cover the scenario you seem to be describing.  Yes, by all means clear out the junk bids.  But the system also has to clear out the junk projects.

The scenario I made up in my head to explain the projects that I have seen is thus; it is late in the afternoon and the project owner needs to get something done that they don't quite know how to do and they sort of panic and decide to go to Upwork to find someone to help.  They put up the project and then go to home.  They awake in the morning and find that a co-worker knows how to solve the issue (or they slept on it and figured it out themselves).  They then neglect the Upwork project for whatever reason.  [I know I have responded to several projects that the description very much conveyed a great urgency and then no response despite my bid being part of the first five (I have the top talent badge so I am going to go with I am not one of the junk bids we both dislike).]  I commonly see such projects then get 20+ bids over the next few days.  X days later it closes with "last viewed x days ago".
This is where I think the freelancers should get their connects back; if not all, then at least the ones that were not viewed by the project owner.

I understand I am asking for a potentially complex algorithm to decide when to give back connects and when only some should get them.  But this whole system is on a computer and computers are quite good at carrying out complex algorithms.  So in that sense, it isn't hard to be nuanced.

Upwork could put more responsibility on the project owner too.  The project owner could indicate junk bids.  With such info, the connects could cost $1 each (to stop the junk bidding) and the system could give back the connects to freelancers that weren't considered for whatever reason (but were also not junk bids) [I don't win every bid, so there must be some of these 🙂 ]
Again, we are on a computer so it is quite easy to use a complex, very nuanced algorithm to decide who appropriately deserves their connects back and who very appropriately does not deserve them.

[mtngigi]

I'm pretty sure "a complex, very nuanced algorithm" would be considered by many to be an oxymoron here in Upwork land.

[keith_rettig]

That's a whole different post.  🙂

[datasciencewonk]

But this whole system is on a computer and computers are quite good at carrying out complex algorithms.

Yes and.....no. Interdependencies galore!

[keith_rettig]

Please expand...

IF project_status = "closed" AND freelancer_bid_status = "Unread", THEN do script = "refund unread connects" END IF.
Super easy, probably covers all of my scenarios, but also maybe some scenarios we don't want refunded.  Make the IF statement more complex to eliminate the unwanted scenarios.

Again, I am not saying there won't be some complexities.  That is fine.

By the way, I am totally fine with the new connects model.  I have marked many many projects as "too many applicants".  Acknowledging I lean towards believing in a meritocracy and also understand there are unfavorable aspects of meritocracies, there could be a policy that those freelancers with a "top talent" badge get discounts on how many connects they have to pay.  There could also be pruning of the freelancers via a "junk bid" score (too many bids where project owner marks freelancer as "junk") by raising the cost of connects to them.  Much like Amazon.com pricing is not transparent to the shopper, the connect cost could be the same sort of non-egalatarian approach (fair enough if they also report your "junk bid" score).  [I am writing this reply free-form and I have come up with many other possible algorithms; seems fair to expect Upwork to be able to come up with a nuanced policy.]

Just in case Upwork is reading this...I am quite happy with Upwork.  I have worked on a good number of projects as a result.  That said, every system can be made better.