Of course every business can run how it plesaes - and workers have a right to push back and call out unfair practises. Just because a 'business' says x and x, it doesn't make it fair or correct. Even you must agree with that, surely? Or are you happy and willing to accept anything?
Relying purely on platforms will eventually see freelancers end up cornered, just like on Upwork. You don't need 'magical' spaces, but to work directly with clients. That can be done in several ways. It isn't easy to achieve, but it is possible - and cerainly more viable and sustinable than hanging around on hollow, investment-backed platforms waiting to be ripped off. Yes, there are other more mangeable costs associated with freelancing - phone bills. tools, internet, sometimes travel costs etc. - but you'll notice this list does not include rip off fees and costs to a company that views freelancers purely as a money-maling opportunity.
I have not used this platform in months, and only sporadically come on here to check up on old info/possible updates from old clients. So yes, I am here on Upwork, responding to you, calling out nonsense, but certainly not handing over money to Upwork for it to disappear into a black hole. That's the trick they are playing on way too many freelancers and hopefully more are seeing that it's a waste of their time.
Platforms like Upwork did provide a space for me to build my porforlio and establish myself as a freelancer. But I have always been ready to use them in the same way they use me - as a commodity. That means ditching them when they start to further encroach on my earnings and affect even more of my income. The setup here has never been fair, but until this year it has been tolerable. That is not longer the case - as this and other threads overwhelmingly reveal. People are not complaining for the fun of it.
