So here is my sob story. I used to work with CW waaaaayyyyy back in the day. I believe my last hit for them was in 2007 or so. I left mturk for years and then came back recently. Because I'd churned out tons of work for CW, all I needed to do was basically go over the style guide and refresh my memory. So I did a really long hit for them, got the highest bonus and everything on top of that (that's how well I was able to pick up where I'd last left off). But then I got a "nice" message telling me that because I hadn't worked for them for so long, I was being demoted from 90 right back to 82. I was really angry and just wanted to say FU pretty much, but then I said, "Well, what's the big deal? You're good; all you have to do is just knock out transcripts left and right like you did before." So I started looking for clips that I could do at Level 82, assuming nothing. But as it turned out, at Level 82 95% of the clips available to beginners are the obnoxiously bad ones with horrible, distorted audio; foreign language; or English speaking, but heavily accented. Literally. How bad are we talking? The type where in one clip, there's someone crashing what sounds like huge cymbals just a foot away from the mike as someone is speaking. Of the clips that aren't bad, when I turned them in, I would keep getting nitpicky comments and this issue with "filler words" where I'm sure that it's not that I left in any filler words; it's a grader I'm dealing with who thinks that every "and", "but", "you know" has to be removed, regardless of how integral to the context of what's being said. Or it's someone who, seeing that I'm level 82 is being super hyper-critical because he or she thinks I'm some n00b. Example: in transcribing something where someone said, "I like chicken, but I have my moments where I could do with a big, juicy steak," I will usually get the nitpicky comment that I "should have left out filler words." After going through a grueling week of alternatively fishing for "good audio" hits and having this frustrating grader to deal with, I'm still level 82. I'm also getting demoralized. So my question is: Can just knocking out a bunch mini-hits (1-2 minute audio clips) help raise my score? Like the really small ones that pay out 60 cents or a dollar and are no more than two minutes long? Or do I have to score Brownie Points by tackling the really long (and low paying hits) or the difficult audio clips?
From what I have seen, I think that knocking out a bunch of the shorter clips will help you raise your score faster. More HITs equals more chances someone to raise your score. I might sound like a broken record here -- I seem to say it every time someone mentions a bad grader -- but if you've ran into a rogue grader, REPORT HIM/HER to CW. Bad graders are bad for everyone in the system.
OK, that's a relief! I'll try and do just that (the small hits). As for reporting the annoying grader, I wanted to do that but I was afraid of rocking the boat and being labeled as a troublemaker. (I guess I've become timid ever since I was demoted). But I'll definitely make a complaint next time if I come across that "filler words" nonsense again.
I once had an issue with grades. The grader gave me an 8 or something, but my final grade (which determined my bonus) was a 6, so I emailed them. It was changed and my bonus was fixed quite quickly, so definitely email them if you have an issue.
Personally, now you've (presumably) established you're still able to stick to their style guide and produce high-graded HITs, I'd go to their support and ask for your grade to be raised to its previous level. But to answer your question, when I was trying to get my PPT those important last few points, yes, I took to doing all of the short HITs I could find. PPT contributions do not appear to be weighted by transcription length, so you're likely to increase your PPT faster.