A note on suspensions

[Constant]

Hi everyone,

There have been several threads about account suspensions on here recently with a lot of different points brought up, so I wanted to post and clarify the situation.

First, I want to express that we take account suspensions very seriously and aren’t eager to suspend a writer’s account. Our hope is that we’re able to work with every writer that signs up with us.

There’s been a lot of talk on here about the three strikes rule. This has actually been updated and mention of the three strikes removed from the Signup Conditions. Truth is, this is not a hard rule and suspensions can happen with more and fewer submissions. Our guiding rule on this is that if a writer seems like they can write within our requirements and is working with the editors in making requested revisions, there is no cause to issue a suspension.

I also want to point out that the three strikes rule was never meant to apply to established writers. Mistakes happen to everyone, including us, and we don’t want anyone to think that if they’ve made a few small errors that they’ll be receiving a suspension.

Earlier this year we changed our writer signup process to include an application and writing sample. This made it easier for editors to assess new applicants, and also prevented writers who aren’t the best fit for our site from making multiple submissions that may result in a suspension. This has substantially reduced the number of suspensions we issue.

That covers the new writers. Established writers generally have less to worry about. It’s very rare that we suspend an established writer and it’s usually under fairly extenuating circumstances. Here are some examples that could result in suspension:

-plagiarism
-violation of the Terms and Conditions
-sending unprofessional messages to staff and editors
-refusal to cooperate with editors

Even if one of the above occurs and results in a suspension, we will talk it over with the affected writer and have in the past repealed suspensions.

One of the common concerns I’ve seen here is that an account may get suspended and all of a writer’s content is removed from sale in the catalog. This is the default way a suspension is applied, but I am planning to change that in short order so a writer will still have control over content that has been accepted in the past. If you want to arrange this in the meantime, please contact me at Support.

I hope that this post clears up some of the concerns surrounding suspensions. I’m happy to answer any other questions you may have, but generally we don’t like to talk about the specifics of any one suspension on the forum.


Eric

[Lysis]

Thank you for the comments, Eric. Cool to know. I was getting a bit worried myself. Thanks for putting our minds at ease.

[JasmineStone]

Thank you for addressing this and clarifying things.

[ReneeF]

Ah, thanks. This helps some writers here. Hope others are less afraid to work with editors. A diplomatic and kind approach works well both ways.

[PaulMaplesden]

Agreed, I have been nervous about posting more articles due to the concerns on the forum with strange rejects from editors and did not want to run afoul of that. Just out of interest Eric, what do you consider to be an 'established' writer, in terms of number of articles accepted etc?

[Constant]

Agreed, I have been nervous about posting more articles due to the concerns on the forum with strange rejects from editors and did not want to run afoul of that. Just out of interest Eric, what do you consider to be an 'established' writer, in terms of number of articles accepted etc?

Once you've had 20 or so articles accepted in a reasonably short period of time I think you're fairly established. This isn't a hard number though and it's not part of any official policy - just my view on it. Out of curiosity I looked up the numbers behind this, and so far this year we've suspended 3 accounts that had more than 20 articles accepted for reasons that weren't due to plagiarism, violating the terms and conditions or sending offensive communication.

[LauraGinn]

It's good to see that established accounts aren't at an imminent risk of suspension, and that you are looking into ways to keep articles in the catalogue by suspended writers. If the 3 suspensions this year to established writers weren't due to professionalism, plagiarism, or violating the terms & conditions, does this mean they were due to not working with the editors correctly? You have some really nice editors on here, and my writing has certainly improved since I started writing for CC, but on occasion some (or maybe one in particular, I'm not sure?) can seem very stressed and a bit rude to be frank. What worries me is that my account could be suspended by an editor who is having a bad day. Is this something that I should be worried about? I did say on here that I wouldn't be submitting any more work after Renee was banned, however after reading the recent posts on here I have decided to try using the site again. I am still very wary though and I think it will take time to feel a bit less on edge.

As a side note, I also think it would be helpful to have style guidelines clarified. I understand the need for perfect spelling, grammar, and punctuation, but style is so subjective that what one editor likes, another may hate, and this seems to have been an issue for quite a few writers recently.

I do appreciate you speaking to us writers, and restoring a bit of faith.

[ReneeF]

It's good to see that established accounts aren't at an imminent risk of suspension, and that you are looking into ways to keep articles in the catalogue by suspended writers. If the 3 suspensions this year to established writers weren't due to professionalism, plagiarism, or violating the terms & conditions, does this mean they were due to not working with the editors correctly? You have some really nice editors on here, and my writing has certainly improved since I started writing for CC, but on occasion some (or maybe one in particular, I'm not sure?) can seem very stressed and a bit rude to be frank. What worries me is that my account could be suspended by an editor who is having a bad day. Is this something that I should be worried about? I did say on here that I wouldn't be submitting any more work after Renee was banned, however after reading the recent posts on here I have decided to try using the site again. I am still very wary though and I think it will take time to feel a bit less on edge.

As a side note, I also think it would be helpful to have style guidelines clarified. I understand the need for perfect spelling, grammar, and punctuation, but style is so subjective that what one editor likes, another may hate, and this seems to have been an issue for quite a few writers recently.

I do appreciate you speaking to us writers, and restoring a bit of faith.

I still don't know why I was suspended. But they did unsuspended my account and even let me have my articles back.

I too understand the issues with grammar and punctuation. After the suspension I even installed Ginger on my browser and After the Deadline into Open office to hopefully catch any mistakes I might have overlooked the first dozen proof reads. I plan on making macros of that horribly long list of banned wordy words to help clean up my writing against modifiers. I agree that working with the editors, when they point to something specific, has improved my writing considerably and I now feel like a grammar Nazi when reading other peoples blogs and Facebook posts. But this doesn't excuse the times when the editors are having a bad day or are tired and choose to be unprofessional here. It scares me to think that any little mistake I could make here could lead to being banned again, and that freaks me out enough not to submit stuff. I've always viewed editors and writers as a team working together to make it happen for the customers, but it doesn't feel like that here very often.

[LauraGinn]

It's good to see that established accounts aren't at an imminent risk of suspension, and that you are looking into ways to keep articles in the catalogue by suspended writers. If the 3 suspensions this year to established writers weren't due to professionalism, plagiarism, or violating the terms & conditions, does this mean they were due to not working with the editors correctly? You have some really nice editors on here, and my writing has certainly improved since I started writing for CC, but on occasion some (or maybe one in particular, I'm not sure?) can seem very stressed and a bit rude to be frank. What worries me is that my account could be suspended by an editor who is having a bad day. Is this something that I should be worried about? I did say on here that I wouldn't be submitting any more work after Renee was banned, however after reading the recent posts on here I have decided to try using the site again. I am still very wary though and I think it will take time to feel a bit less on edge.

As a side note, I also think it would be helpful to have style guidelines clarified. I understand the need for perfect spelling, grammar, and punctuation, but style is so subjective that what one editor likes, another may hate, and this seems to have been an issue for quite a few writers recently.

I do appreciate you speaking to us writers, and restoring a bit of faith.

I still don't know why I was suspended. But they did unsuspended my account and even let me have my articles back.

I too understand the issues with grammar and punctuation. After the suspension I even installed Ginger on my browser and After the Deadline into Open office to hopefully catch any mistakes I might have overlooked the first dozen proof reads. I plan on making macros of that horribly long list of banned wordy words to help clean up my writing against modifiers. I agree that working with the editors, when they point to something specific, has improved my writing considerably and I now feel like a grammar Nazi when reading other peoples blogs and Facebook posts. But this doesn't excuse the times when the editors are having a bad day or are tired and choose to be unprofessional here. It scares me to think that any little mistake I could make here could lead to being banned again, and that freaks me out enough not to submit stuff. I've always viewed editors and writers as a team working together to make it happen for the customers, but it doesn't feel like that here very often.

I agree with this. Professionalism works both ways, and without writers, CC would not have a platform. I don't claim to be the best writer in the world, but my articles do sell on here, and I shouldn't have to feel panicked every time an article is sent back for a rejection. But on occasion this is exactly what has happened. When working with clients outside of the system, I am always happy to complete edits if required and I have never worked for someone who has spoken down to me or treated me disrespectfully like one of the editors on here. I feel like I am professional in my conversations, but this has to work both ways. If writers and editors can get on together, work can be passed through the system much more quickly, which has got to make the experience better for clients too. I do have respect for the quality of articles on CC, but writers are human too, and we shouldn't be disrespected, or be on the verge of a panic attach every time a rejection email lands in our inbox.

Another thing that I think would help CC is different editors for the new writers and the established writers. There is surely (I would presume) a lot more going back and forth for new writers to this platform, whereas established writers can pretty much get on with content as they know the guidelines to stick to. Not only would this cut down editing times for established writers, but it may also lower the stress levels of editors who are having to reject multiple articles at a time. Clients would also benefit as content from established writers (that are often searched for) would appear on the platform more quickly.

[Constant]

It's good to see that established accounts aren't at an imminent risk of suspension, and that you are looking into ways to keep articles in the catalogue by suspended writers. If the 3 suspensions this year to established writers weren't due to professionalism, plagiarism, or violating the terms & conditions, does this mean they were due to not working with the editors correctly? You have some really nice editors on here, and my writing has certainly improved since I started writing for CC, but on occasion some (or maybe one in particular, I'm not sure?) can seem very stressed and a bit rude to be frank. What worries me is that my account could be suspended by an editor who is having a bad day. Is this something that I should be worried about? I did say on here that I wouldn't be submitting any more work after Renee was banned, however after reading the recent posts on here I have decided to try using the site again. I am still very wary though and I think it will take time to feel a bit less on edge.

As a side note, I also think it would be helpful to have style guidelines clarified. I understand the need for perfect spelling, grammar, and punctuation, but style is so subjective that what one editor likes, another may hate, and this seems to have been an issue for quite a few writers recently.

I do appreciate you speaking to us writers, and restoring a bit of faith.

I still don't know why I was suspended. But they did unsuspended my account and even let me have my articles back.

I too understand the issues with grammar and punctuation. After the suspension I even installed Ginger on my browser and After the Deadline into Open office to hopefully catch any mistakes I might have overlooked the first dozen proof reads. I plan on making macros of that horribly long list of banned wordy words to help clean up my writing against modifiers. I agree that working with the editors, when they point to something specific, has improved my writing considerably and I now feel like a grammar Nazi when reading other peoples blogs and Facebook posts. But this doesn't excuse the times when the editors are having a bad day or are tired and choose to be unprofessional here. It scares me to think that any little mistake I could make here could lead to being banned again, and that freaks me out enough not to submit stuff. I've always viewed editors and writers as a team working together to make it happen for the customers, but it doesn't feel like that here very often.

I agree with this. Professionalism works both ways, and without writers, CC would not have a platform. I don't claim to be the best writer in the world, but my articles do sell on here, and I shouldn't have to feel panicked every time an article is sent back for a rejection. But on occasion this is exactly what has happened. When working with clients outside of the system, I am always happy to complete edits if required and I have never worked for someone who has spoken down to me or treated me disrespectfully like one of the editors on here. I feel like I am professional in my conversations, but this has to work both ways. If writers and editors can get on together, work can be passed through the system much more quickly, which has got to make the experience better for clients too. I do have respect for the quality of articles on CC, but writers are human too, and we shouldn't be disrespected, or be on the verge of a panic attach every time a rejection email lands in our inbox.

Another thing that I think would help CC is different editors for the new writers and the established writers. There is surely (I would presume) a lot more going back and forth for new writers to this platform, whereas established writers can pretty much get on with content as they know the guidelines to stick to. Not only would this cut down editing times for established writers, but it may also lower the stress levels of editors who are having to reject multiple articles at a time. Clients would also benefit as content from established writers (that are often searched for) would appear on the platform more quickly.

Writers shouldn't feel panicked about rejections - the editors are always just trying to provide constructive feedback and help everyone make more money. As I said, if that's ever not the case we want to hear about it. I do believe that's much more an exception than it is a norm. We want there to be a collaborative relationship between writer and editor, so please think of it like that. At the other end of that rejection email is an editor who is working really hard to get through a lot of reviews in a day and is trying to help make your writing more marketable to our clients.

Funny you should mention having different editors for new writers, because we do use that setup to an extent

[weagle87]

Thank you for explaining the policy for suspensions. I feel more confident about submitting articles now, especially the less expensive ones. Before, I would weigh the risk of suspension against the payout. Now, if I need some extra grocery money, I'll feel more confident of writing whatever comes my way.