Enthusiasm understandable but poor solution
I can understand the enthusiasm for setting up a site like this, but it is definitely not the right way to go about it.
A site like this would be totally ineffectual because it would have zero credibility - you are asking people to 'take your word for it' when posting claims no-one can verify.
You are also opening up the possibility that honest companies could be 'sabotaged' by competitors anonymously trying to stop people from doing work for them.
The best solution is found in what the contributors to this thread were already doing - suggesting ways of avoiding the outcome of 'they don't pay' from the outset.
ehh... take it or leave it
I've begun working on the site. I intend to have disclaimers all over the place. It's merely a forum to rate your freelance clients. It will be completely automated. I don't imagine that anyone is going to put their name, e-mail address (and the ip address by as well, natch), unless they have really tried everything.
I know I have 2 clients who I've given up on after a year of attempts to collect my debts from them. One guy threatened me physically and said that he'd like to see me try to make him pay me. -Being a woman, I naturally felt pretty scared of the guy. He's a real jerk. But I have no doubt that was his intention.
This isn't blacklisting. I'm not a third party collector and am not governed by the FDCPA. (Federal Fair Debt Collections Act). As far as the law is concerned, if someone owes me money, I can hunt them down and call their neighbors if I want to go to that trouble.
As far as people posting things that aren't true, I would hope that you'd have to be fairly honest to be frustrated enough to post something like that. I don't think that most people are going to lie about something of this nature. Especially when it's so easy to track them down and the liability that would be involved on their part.
If you can call the BBB and find out if someone has filed a complaint against a business before dealing with them, I fail to see where this is all that much different.
Anyway--- I'm putting this out there for people to use or not use. Controversial as it may be.
-Alana
Re: I prefer chocolate nugat
You're bringing up some very interesting and worthwhile ideas. I really appreciate the input. Thanks! :)
I think for now, as a phase one of the site and not to make it a huge mountain for one person to pull together, I'm going to aim the usage towards singlular freelancers. -Those who have old debts that they know they will never collect out of straight refusal by a client.
--That's not to say that once it's up and running that I can't add all those other tools.
Disclaimers. Right now it seems to be all about disclaimers. All this site is is a centralized database of informationt that's already being posted all around the web.
-A (who doesn't really care for nugat right now. I'm pregnant and it repulses me.)
Let the heads start rollin'
I love this idea - well it made me laugh.
I understand the seriousness of getting into the legal wranglings but I would love to vent some of the frustration that comes with people who don't pay.
Call it theraputic!
I recently worked in an impossible environment and the only way to cope was to set up the WoW campaign in the office.
(****er of the Week)
When they didn't pay they got points, when they didn't deliver content and got p*ssed about the delay they got points, when they asked three people to work on one pc, they got points (you get the picture) after a month we gave the winner a certificate, we just put WOW on it and he didn't ask what it was for - he just hung it on the wall.
It really ought to include a hall of shame where the sad stories that hant our working existance can be aired and we can start to heal our wounds.
Plus cures for stress and post frustration munchies!!!!!!!
I prefer a big bowl of ice cream and something I can hit.
Good luck with the site - I will use it I don't doubt!