The continuing saga of the Freelance Work Exchange

I have posted before about Freelance Work Exchange. In a post back in May, I shared stories I had heard about the difficulty of canceling FWE a membership, as I thought it was reason for concern. More recently, I complained about the frequency of FWE ads on the Craigslist boards - ads which, according to the Craigslist Terms of Service, classify as spam because they are promoting an outside site rather than advertising a job that any Craigslist user can apply for.

Tonight, however, I have a rant of a different nature. I stumbled across this WAHM forum thread about Write-From-Home.com, and was astonished to see the WAHM members' reactions to Amy Derby's ad. They attack her for paying by money order, claiming her payment rates are "too good to be true," but their posts quickly reveal that her affiliation with FWE is the real issue.

Before I get any further into my indignant blog post, let me state clearly that I am currently working with Amy on several articles for Write-From-Home.com. She paid me before I even started, and there was no problems whatsoever with the money order, which I deposited two weeks ago.

Let me also state that I didn't realize she was associated with FWE when I first queried her, but that knowing it now doesn't change my opinion whatsoever. Regardless of her website's affiliations, the site is a fantastic resource for writers. She provides informative articles written by experienced writers, links to publications' guidelines for writers, links to job listings, and other resources. And - contrary to what the WAHM members claim - I looked through several days' worth of job listings, and didn't find anything that led me to Freelance Work Exchange (although there were a couple of ads that had been removed).

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm still opposed to FWE. I don't need to pay a service to find me work, as I find enough for myself for free. And I still hate the way they spam the boards, with links to their sign-up page masquerading as genuine job ads. But regardless of what involvement Amy Derby has in this, that doesn't change the fact that she is providing an excellent resource for writers, not to mention paying healthy rates for other writers' work.

Furthermore, no matter how unnecessary or annoying I think FWE is, I don't think they are doing anything truly immoral. And therefore, I see no good reason to boycott their affiliate, who is providing a valuable (and free!) service to writers.