are there any general purpose scripts?

Discussion in 'General' started by ryanbeed, Jan 25, 2009.

  1. ryanbeed

    ryanbeed Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2009
    Messages:
    13
    Likes Received:
    0
    Has anyone written anything that just generally streamlines the interface or maybe helps one snarf up the choice jobs?
     
  2. SuzyQ

    SuzyQ User

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2009
    Messages:
    80
    Likes Received:
    0
    Good question ..... I have no idea!
     
  3. aronga

    aronga Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2009
    Messages:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    I have not seen any though I think that something which allows for better search functionality or custom sorting hits could be excellent.
     
  4. Xombicide

    Xombicide Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2009
    Messages:
    27
    Likes Received:
    0
    That would be a great advantage on other members.
    I hope no one actually does this. =/
     
  5. aheismann

    aheismann Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2009
    Messages:
    19
    Likes Received:
    0
    I have noticed on some hits they get pounced on really really quickly. If they are using a script though, they must be keeping it to themselves as I've not seen anything else on it.
     
  6. dhockney

    dhockney Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2009
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    0
    How would you go about writing such a script? What would you look for?
     
  7. testing123

    testing123 Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2009
    Messages:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    I wonder if Amazon might actually be interested in this--it seems like a good project for them to look into. While they want human intelligence to work on these tasks, any automation is helpful.
     
  8. spiritwind

    spiritwind Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2009
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    I really don't think this is a good idea. I think that some people keep a keen eye on the hits. I know I check for new hits several times a day
     
  9. nospam33

    nospam33 Member

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2009
    Messages:
    21
    Likes Received:
    0
    I'm also on fairly constantly, checking for new hits and choice jobs, so I'm sure others are as well.
     
  10. DanDectis

    DanDectis Member

    Joined:
    Jan 29, 2009
    Messages:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    I think this sort of talk is really detrimental to the whole idea of MTurk. If scripts start proliferating then the whole thing will really go down the tubes fast I feel.
     
  11. ergo

    ergo User

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2009
    Messages:
    358
    Likes Received:
    0
    There was something of a "script boom" for a little while back in the early days, which definitely had a harmful effect on the MTurk ecosystem. People were using scripts to automatically fill out certain HITs, then completing hundreds or thousands of HITs at unhuman speeds.

    Amazon's first response was to introduce rate-limiting, so that people who completed too many HITs in a short period of time would be temporarily banned from doing that HIT for a while. That helped, but people simply slowed down their scripts a little to compensate.

    Next, Amazon introduced CAPTCHAs. Every certain number of HITs (I've never really counted how many), you have to type in a word that appears above the HIT before you can continue. That finally annoyed a lot of the script users enough that they lost interest in MTurk, though a few stuck it out for a while longer.

    Then, specifically in Amazon HITs, they started setting up traps. Every now and then on the quick HITs like Are These Things Different, they'll throw in something to catch people who aren't paying attention. For example, you'll see Winnie the Pooh Plushed Toy and Ethernet Cable. Obviously these things are different, but if you're not paying attention and say they're the same, you'll automatically receive a temporary ban from Amazon HITs. Mess up again in the future, and the ban could become permanent. Naturally, one could make an honest mistake (happened to me once when I accidentally hit the Enter key too soon), which is why the ban is only temporary at first. Honestly, I'm surprised that very few other requesters have ever tried the same tactic on their own quick HITs. Done properly, it has the potential to catch some of the cheaters, and affects the average person very little since you get paid for the test when you answer correctly.

    But one reaction had some really unfortunate consequences for every worker: after so many people tried to cheat the system, requesters started paying less than they had before, because it's simply not worth paying more money if so many of the HITs are going to be done by people who don't complete things accurately.

    Of course, some kinds of HITs are harder to cheat on than others; and quite often, those pay better than the others do. But lots of HITs will pay less than they should, and part of the blame for that lies with those who don't do honest work.
     
    #11 ergo, Jan 31, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 1, 2009
  12. ergo

    ergo User

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2009
    Messages:
    358
    Likes Received:
    0
    EDIT: Added a section about traps to my post above.
     
  13. cheepskater

    cheepskater Member

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2009
    Messages:
    19
    Likes Received:
    0
    Thanks for posting this, I am new to Mturk since December and was curious about its history.
     
  14. bobby

    bobby Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2009
    Messages:
    12
    Likes Received:
    0
    I thought the whole point of mTurk was to not be using scripts. It seems as if this is just a clever way to cheat the system.
     
  15. Lsunny

    Lsunny Member

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2009
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    0
    There are people who use scripts, and there are people who use bots. From what I have heard and read in Turks terms and cond. If you use a bot to take hits or fill in u will get banned .. But I think some get around amazons "scans" and spot checks for that , for a while. then they just seem to make a new way around it. I know there are many scripts that are used and turk knows this . to do diffrent layouts for cetain hits , so they can be done faster. i think these are used in diffrent ways than just that. And from time to time and seems to be in clusters people will start complaining they where banned from the site and cant get to there money. Well no proof but I do think this is when amazon has done there round up of this along with the idiots who try to scam in other ways ...
    I do know there are bots being used and I wish Turk would put a stop to it. Those who play by the rules and try hard are getting to do less work and those who cheat are getting the most , somehow my sense of fairness for the workers and requesters [ gettin quality work , I know I have found most workers who take short cuts dont give me the best work in the long run] just doesnt sit right with me.
     
  16. ergo

    ergo User

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2009
    Messages:
    358
    Likes Received:
    0
    Amazon definitely understands there's a huge difference between scripts that improve the user interface and bots.

    As long as one is not having a script/bot/whatever automate the filling out of HIT information, Amazon isn't going to care. A few examples of the kinds of scripts they don't mind:

    • hiding/shrinking the header area in order to show more of the HIT on screen
    • inserting an inline MP3 player for previewing transcription HITs
    • playing an audio warning when the timer is running out
    • opening related websites in a new tab (eg., snooth.com for wine pricing HITs, or Google for answering Askville stuff)
    • i'm sure people get the idea...

    Basically, simple tools that make an honest person's life easier aren't going to be a problem. If people would only do this kind of stuff instead of cheating, MTurk would be a much better place for workers and requesters alike.
     
    #16 ergo, Feb 13, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 13, 2009
  17. xeroblade

    xeroblade Member

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2009
    Messages:
    23
    Likes Received:
    0
    well if you could do this, i few months ago i found a site that listed all the legit requesters and told you how many hits they had, sec, well if you turn it into a RSS feed that might give you a edge, thou it becomes a pain to keep up with it if you have a lot.
     

Share This Page