Out of the blue - fired from DS

[Blair Girl]

Yes, I've heard they fire people en masse and then give them a ridiculous reason like "we found an article that we think you plagiarized two years ago." Two years ago? That's a new one!

You're better off without DMS and yes, TB is less stressful even though they can be a bit ridiculous and the pay is "meh."

[daytonjenn]

My DMS "firing" came about because I challenged a bad editor. The same editor would claim a number of my articles every time I submitted a new batch and send them all back for silly reasons. He/she always used the same language and phrases too, which is how I knew it was the same person. Like I would do two similar articles. One would go through with a different editor with no problems, but this editor would always send it back. Whoever it was liked using phrases like, "this isn't what I would do" or "I doubt this would work."

I got sick of the constant rewrites and contacted DMS for help. Went to my family reunion, came back, and had a dismissal email from them. According to DMS, when I filed a complaint, it triggered an audit of my account and the editor's account. Despite writing 2,000+ articles over 4+ years, they sided with the editor. The editor frequently went against the style guide, injected his/her personal opinion, and added stuff to articles with no resources to back up the claims. That editor still works there.

As for being rude, they were certainly rude to me. I sent an email to ask about checking my account again because I had a low rewrite/rejection percentage. The woman agreed to give my account a fresh audit, but never did. When I sent an email a week later, she completely changed her mind! She said that they never did a second audit and that they were permanently banning my account. I can never write or edit there again.

On the plagiarism side of things, I was banned from Trails.com because of an article I wrote for that site. DMS said that they received an email that the article contained factually incorrect material and was potentially dangerous for readers. Even though everything in the article was backed up by a fact/reference, they refused to change their mind. I double checked with a friend of mine who does the topic professionally, and he agreed the article was true, but DMS stood by its claim. Gee, guess which article is still up on that site years later only without my name on it?

[Jonelle]

Sorry this happened to you; that would be very upsetting.

[Blair Girl]

DaytonJenn:

Lordy.

But I'm not at all surprised.

[AG1976]

Originally Posted by Blair Girl

DaytonJenn:

Lordy.

But I'm not at all surprised.

Me neither, sadly. They are ridiculous.

[TjCharles]

Originally Posted by daytonjenn

My DMS "firing" came about because I challenged a bad editor. The same editor would claim a number of my articles every time I submitted a new batch and send them all back for silly reasons. He/she always used the same language and phrases too, which is how I knew it was the same person. Like I would do two similar articles. One would go through with a different editor with no problems, but this editor would always send it back. Whoever it was liked using phrases like, "this isn't what I would do" or "I doubt this would work."

I got sick of the constant rewrites and contacted DMS for help. Went to my family reunion, came back, and had a dismissal email from them. According to DMS, when I filed a complaint, it triggered an audit of my account and the editor's account. Despite writing 2,000+ articles over 4+ years, they sided with the editor. The editor frequently went against the style guide, injected his/her personal opinion, and added stuff to articles with no resources to back up the claims. That editor still works there.

As for being rude, they were certainly rude to me. I sent an email to ask about checking my account again because I had a low rewrite/rejection percentage. The woman agreed to give my account a fresh audit, but never did. When I sent an email a week later, she completely changed her mind! She said that they never did a second audit and that they were permanently banning my account. I can never write or edit there again.

On the plagiarism side of things, I was banned from Trails.com because of an article I wrote for that site. DMS said that they received an email that the article contained factually incorrect material and was potentially dangerous for readers. Even though everything in the article was backed up by a fact/reference, they refused to change their mind. I double checked with a friend of mine who does the topic professionally, and he agreed the article was true, but DMS stood by its claim. Gee, guess which article is still up on that site years later only without my name on it?

I did that too. Their editors were horrible. They would send stuff back for tiny revisions just so they got a paycheck. Even if work you submit to DMS is perfect, you will still have to do revisions.

As far as plagiarism, this is why I always use CopyScape. It's 5 cents per search, but I like it for the peace of mind it gives me. It's possible to plagiarize without realizing it. Unintentional copying is especially an issue when writing a product review. If a client is demanding complete originality, you'd better run your work through a good plagiarism checker.

[Miss Aurora]

I write for one section there and haven't had any real problems. DMS kept my bills paid when TB flatlined last fall, so I can't complain much, though I do sympathize with those who get the psycho eds.

Who knows what's going to happen with this new ehow revamp, though.

I agree with those who've said that it's more likely that the OP's content was copied than the other way around, particularly since it's just showing up now.

[VeronicaM]

Miss Aurora,

What section do you write for?

[Katlara]

So I'm guessing that there's no way to appeal this, then?

I am still so sad! Anyone have any suggestions for life after DS?

[Success19]

Originally Posted by Katlara

I've been writing for DS for the last few years. The last year and a half I've had other irons in the fire, so I've only written a handful of articles.

Today, however, I got a surprising email. It said that an article I wrote a couple of years ago contained plagiarized content and that my writing privileges are revoked -- effective immediately.

I am feeling really sad about this. I would never knowingly copy a source. I have a BA in writing -- I know how to write! I had excellent scores and had written dozens of articles for Demand. The article in question passed through the editors with an excellent score. I had absolutely no warning.

Any one else have this happen to them?

They waited three years to decide it was a copy?

Did they keep the article up on their site to keep making money from it?

This is very unfair.

Reminds me of Helium moving everything to a new site and not allowing writers access but keeping the work.