I'm a third-world country.
lol earlier I spoke about how he's approaching this in a way that screams "I am doing something wrong and I want to do something wrong, you can't stop me because you are desperate", the fact that people like that exist upsets me to my core
At least when I exploit people we all know what's what, with no pretense whatsoever.
A lesson in exploitative commissions:
These people operate under an ignorance policy. If they know that theirs is the only offer you may have ever received, they will offer you the lowest possible one because they believe you do not have the frame of reference to critique it. Which is why they frequent spaces that are not predominantly full-time, career labourers (i.e. creative writing forums that skew on the younger side, Upwork, free serialisation platforms etc)
They only thrive where they believe you do not have access to industry resources or advice to educate yourself with.
They aren't ignorant in their exploitation. If they want a proofreader, it is because they recognise proofreading as skilled labour that requires fair compensation. Problem is, as stated above, they do not want (and most often cannot) pay you fairly. As a result, they will look for this labour in places where they value it more than the person they are looking to exploit.
They rarely hold up to professional scrutiny. So many of you have done such wonderful work in breaking down the inconsistencies, inaccuracies, illegalities (my god so much of this is just straight up illegal in most well-regulated spaces) and straight up lies. Thank you for that. I know I've learned a lot.
Even when they are honest, they are lying. [Paid But Low] is meant to give the impression that they recognise this as exploited labour, but they acknowledge it to beat your own common sense to the punch. If they are clear about the deception, it's to remove your ability to work it out for yourself and set up that mental boundary.
Things to do when confronted with exploitative commissions/offers/contracts.
Report them. You are under no obligation to engage with a person, site, or company that you feel is being predatory.
Contact a profesisonal. Either to offer you advice on why the offer is bad or to help call out the offer in hopes of warning others. Contact them regardless, even if you think the offer is great. Always gain perspective before agreeing or signing anything.
Educate yourself on the value of artistic labour. Even if your webcomic or novel is only a hobby, you should make sure you know enough about your skills to understand their value, not just in case someone tries to explore you, but because it's also nice to know that your work can be properly valued if you ever decide to "go pro" with it.
And I cannot stress this enough - warn somebody. Remember how these people thrive on no one knowing they're being exploited? Yeah, they can't do that in an environment where they are known entities.
Your labour, your skills, and your intellectual property are yours first and foremost. Protect them first, even if you think you may miss out on an offer if you don't accept it quickly. These people thrive on making you feel like you have no option but them, and placing a time limit or any other kind of pressure on that is a known tactic for getting you to act without protecting yourself first.
Never accept $1 for any sort of labour. PayPal is gonna take 0.80c anyway.
Yeah I'm just gonna bookmark that, thanks.
Closing for now. Thanks for the very active discussion.
Please be very careful when accepting offers online or when signing contracts.