We're working on a blog post about writing AI prompts and we'd love to hear directly from the people doing it. What are your top prompt writing tips? From super obvious to "why didn't I think of that?" share them down below!
We're working on a blog post about writing AI prompts and we'd love to know: what are your top prompt writing tips? From super obvious to "why didn't I think of that?" share them down below!
Hey all! Thanks to everyone who dropped their questions on the last post. After looking through (and scouring social media), I’ve decided to do this in several parts. This one will focus mostly on getting blocked, the support team, and payment rates. Here we go …
1. Why do users get blocked?
Blocking or removing contributors from the platform is not something we take lightly. There are a couple of reasons someone might get banned, including:
That’s why it’s super important to read our Platform Terms of Use thoroughly. Do accounts get blocked accidentally? Yep — technology sometimes fails us as well, which is why we try to conduct manual reviews when possible. If you feel you’ve been locked out/removed/blocked without reason (again, please read the Terms of Use before raising a case, I’m begging you), reach out to our support team for guidance.
2. Can you withdraw previous earnings if you’re blocked or locked out of your account?
This is a bit of a complex question because, yes, technically you should be able to, but also, sometimes no. Let me explain …
Say the reason is quality issues. Maybe you rushed through your tasks, made careless mistakes that our QAs caught, and now you’ve been removed from a project. You have the right to withdraw your earnings for all approved tasks — the keyword being approved. If you spent 30 hours submitting low-quality tasks that don’t meet the guidelines, we can’t pay you for those.
Now, if the reason is something more severe, like fraud, then there’s a high chance you won’t be able to withdraw your earnings. Mindrift takes fraud very seriously and does not reward individuals who try to scam the system.
3. How long does it take the support team to respond/resolve a case?
I wish I had a concrete answer for you guys. I wish I could say “It takes 3 to 5 business days,” but I don’t want to make promises we can’t keep. If the support team is going through a busy time, it might take longer to hear back. If they’re not dealing with a lot of issues, it’ll be faster.
Just to put it in perspective, our support team is responsible for supporting over 20,000 AI trainers at Mindrift. That’s why you sometimes get a template response to your initial query — it’s an acknowledgement that we hear you and we’re looking into it, not that we don’t care about you.
Pro tip: I’m on the marketing side, so I really can’t help you solve your issues but DMing us on LinkedIn or Reddit increases the chances of me seeing your message and passing it on to the support team. I’m also one human, so be a little patient with me.
4. What should you do if the support team hasn’t responded to your case?
The first plan of action is to file a support ticket through the platform. That way, your issue is officially recorded, you get a support ticket number, and it’s easier for us to track what’s happening. Please only file one support ticket — multiple tickets for the same issue create confusion. Now, what happens if you do exactly that and hear nothing? Like I said above, a bit of patience helps — and DMing us on social media is also a good alternative.
5. Why am I seeing low-paying tasks and not the rate I was told?
This question … [insert crying face]. I’ve seen this pop up across different social media platforms and it’s what often leads to a sense of mistrust in Mindrift. I get it — you put in effort to apply, pass the tests, onboard, and then you get to the dashboard and see low-paying tasks.
Here’s why this might happen: if a project fills up, is put on hold while you're finishing the tests or there's a short lag before we close intake on our end so the domain you tested for isn't live yet, your dashboard falls back to these open tasks. It's not on you, and your profile stays in line for the next project in your domain.
These tasks have lower payment rates because they’re open to everyone — no specialization, degree, experience, or domain knowledge required. They’re typically “easier” and “faster” than the domain-related tasks you complete on major projects. If a task takes 30 seconds to complete, you won’t get paid the regular project rate of $36/hour (or whatever it may be).
Why are these tasks there? We added these all-access tasks, let’s call them, to your dashboards so that you can still make a bit of money, maintain consistency, and have something to do while there’s a lull in more complex projects in your domain.
There's also a longer-term reason behind it: we're building toward a platform where contributors of all backgrounds can find opportunities that fit them, not only people tied to one specific domain. These open tasks are an early step in that direction.
6. When will tasks related to my domain appear?
Ah, the million-dollar question. The honest answer: domain tasks appear when a client launches a project in your domain. That happens once a client comes to us with a need and we take the project through all the steps to get it live. So the exact timing isn't fully ours to predict. What I can tell you is that bringing more of those projects onto the platform is exactly what the team works on every day.
We published a more in-depth article on the blog on how projects go from idea to launch to better explain the process. So, that’s not a great answer, I know, but how do you solve this?
Never put all your eggs in one basket. Explore several online earning platforms and focus on the ones that have opportunities as they come up. This “cycling” method is what many of our happiest AI trainers do to make sure they have a consistent income coming in.
Make sure your profile is up-to-date. Skipping fields, especially about expertise, makes it really hard for us to match you with new projects.
Keep your expectations grounded. This isn’t a job. You’re not employed by Mindrift. Contributors get access to “work” on a project basis, meaning you’re likely not going to make consistent earnings year-round and will need to find other sources of income.
7. What does “per task” payment mean?
Mindrift pays per completed and accepted task, which means you’ll only accrue earnings when you submit high-quality work that meets the guidelines/criteria for the project. If your submissions are rejected or incomplete, you don’t get paid because we can’t submit them to our client.
8. Why does Mindrift advertise an hourly rate if we pay per task?
Hourly rates are an easier way to show your earning potential. Per-task rates vary widely depending on time requirements, complexity, etc. For the sake of brevity, we state this as a per-hour figure on the Mindrift website.
There's also a practical reason for this. We list projects on a number of platforms where people are looking for earning opportunities, and most of them only have an hourly rate field. Since leaving the field blank isn't possible or logical, we use a per-hour figure.
9. What should you do if you don’t see any opportunities in your domain?
If you’d like to apply and you don’t see your domain listed, follow us on social media to keep up with updates. Opportunities are constantly changing and your domain might pop up sooner or later.
10. Does Mindrift offer simpler projects anywhere else?
Mindrift is part of Toloka AI, which focuses on data annotation tasks. This is your best bet for “simpler” projects if you’re looking to join the Mindrift ecosystem.
I hope that answers some of your questions! I’ll be back next week with another instalment — in the meantime, feel free to leave feedback, questions, and thoughts below.
Just a reminder: if you’re looking for help with a specific case/issue, I can’t help you with that. The best way to get answers is to DM us and someone from the support team will look into it.