Disallowed project posting policy

Disallowed Programs (typically only applicable to software related projects):

• Scumware/malware/stealthware
  Any programs that hide on the user's machine without their knowledge are not allowed. Typical products of this kind secretly monitor actions and report them to a central server, or pop up intrusive ads over a web browser (or at any time).
   
• Virus
  Any program that infects machines and can spread from machine to machine are not allowed. This range from just taking up space (harmless) to deleting files and wiping out computer systems (dangerous). Persons requesting virus project will be reported to the proper law enforcement authorities.
   
• Trojan:
  Any program that disguises itself as something else (it may act like a game or other program), but underneath it is really a virus, key-logger, or other similar sort of program, is not allowed.  Persons requesting a trojan will be reported to the proper law enforcement authorities.
   
• Key-logger:
  Any program that logs keystrokes that the user is typing without their knowledge is not allowed.  These can be used to steal a person's password or other private information and usually form the basis for one of the other types of 'bad' programs.
   
• Cracker:
  Any program that tries different combinations of letters and #s (or other algorithm) to "crack" a password is not allowed. Additionally, any program that attempts to break any copyright protection is against the Digital Millennium copyright Act and not allowed
   
• Exploit/Hack:
  Any project that encourages discovery or use of an exploit or hack to gain unauthorized access to another system is against United States law and not allowed.
   
• Proxy abusers:
  Programs that attempt to cloak their true identities using proxies and attempt to fool another site or program into thinking that the program's outputs (HTTP, Chat, IM, etc.) are coming from multiple real legitimate users, when in fact they actually come from a single user.
   
• Spam (e)Mailer/ Spamming program
  Any programs used to send or post unsolicited messages are not allowed. This includes (but is not limited to) email spammers, chat room spammers, bulk messenger spammers, blog spammers and bulletin board spammers.
  
  However, you can post a project for a program that sends legitimate messages. To differentiate between the two, you must append to your project: "I attest on penalty of perjury that no messages will be sent in violation of the CAN-SPAM act, or any other U.S. law”. Click here for more information on the CAN-SPAM law.
   
• Contact Information Harvester
  A harvester is a program used to gather contact information (such email addresses, fax #s, physical address, IM addresses, etc. from web sites, newsgroups or other public information sources. Harvester program are not allowed if the gathering source prohibits their use, or if the information will be used to spam.
  
  However, harvesters are allowed for legitimate purposes. To post a harvester you must also append to posts: "I attest on penalty of perjury that no information gathered will be used in violation of the rules of the source of that information. I additionally attest, that the information will not be gathered or used in violation of the CAN-SPAM act or any other U.S. law". Click here for more information on the CAN-SPAM law.  
• Clones of this site:
  We realize imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but this type of flattery is not allowed.  This includes clones of sites that are competitors, or work on a service that would be a competitor.
   
• Postings Requiring Terms of Service (TOS) Violations of Other Sites:
  Any project which requires violating the TOS of another site is not allowed. For example, Google does not allow submitting automated queries of any kind to its search engine in their terms of service. So any project asking to automate Google searches is not allowed. vWorker.com can't presume to know the TOS conditions of all sites on the Internet, so if you are a site owner and see a project violating your TOS, then please send a link to your TOS along with the project URL so it can be removed.
   
• Final grade projects.:
  Any project which would determine a final grade in an academic class (high school or university) is not allowed. This includes test taking, quiz taking, and the writing of final and thesis papers. However, research assistance for use by a student on such papers, as well as tutoring for both classes and homework is allowed.
   
• Certain types of adult material:
  Any project involving pornographic material that is either non-consensual or involving minors is not allowed. Projects involving other types of adult material are allowed. However, to protect site users who may be offended, these other types of projects must be preceded with the following: "WARNING: This posting involves adult/pornographic material. If you are offended by such material then please STOP and DO NOT CONTINUE READING."
   
• Non specific projects:
  Any project that isn't specific as to what it is asking for. This includes (but of course is not limited to):
  • Projects that say essentially "I will buy any software that you've created",
  • *Projects that are so vague or open-ended that a worker cannot place a legitimate or accurate bid on them
  • *Projects that do not establish concrete enough goals and/or cannot be arbitrated on, if a dispute arose
  These projects can frustrate workers who may find it difficult or impossible to bid, and may also expose one or more of the parties involved (yourself, the worker and/or us) to a liability problem should arbitration be required, as there would be no way to compare what was actually asked for with what was delivered.
  
  Note: all of the above types of non specific projects are allowed in a new type of project posting. Please see the Bulletin Board Auction Info page for more details.

Disallowed Other

• Services for disallowed programs:
  If something is disallowed above under “disallowed programs”, then it also cannot be done as a manual service (rather than a program). As an example, you cannot create an email spamming program. It is also not allowed to hire someone to manually mail people spam emails.
   
• Non work related
  Any non project specific related project, such as just attempting to contact someone, test bids, etc.
   
• Profit Sharing "Opportunities" and Pro-Bono work
  vWorker.com is a marketplace, not a discussion board. Projects that do not include monetary compensation are not allowed. 
   
• Copyright and other legal violations
  Any project that violates copyright or other law is not allowed.  This includes posting a project asking a worker to "Please send me the code for the project you just did for person XYZ".  This is a violation of the copyright the original employer purchased and is not allowed.
   
• *Postings in non-English
  While we have plans to expand vWorker.com to other languages in the future, we currently do not have the expertise to be able to handle disputes and arbitrations over projects in non-English languages. For this reason, only English projects are currently allowed.
   
• Job postings for permanent in-house positions
  These types of postings are not allowed as normal project postings. However, they can be posted as a Bulletin Board Auction for a small charge to the Employer. Please see the above link for more details.
   
• Inappropriate content
  Any content which vWorker.com deems inappropriate (including unprofessional or racist language) is not allowed. Additionally, posting personally identifiable information about a 3rd party (for example, name, email address, phone #, etc.) or vWorker.com without their permission is not allowed.
   
• Outsourcing restrictions: The following restrictions apply only to outsourcing projects. If you want to do the below, you can bypass the restriction by posting it as crowdsourcing or trialsourcing project instead.
   
  • *Postings that link to an offsite requirements document
    These types of postings are not allowed in case a dispute arises and vWorker.com must interpret the contract. Allowing them would allow the contract to potentially be accidently deleted or to be changed without the full knowledge of the other party. For these reasons, it is not allowed.
     
  • Asking for work in advance from all workers before escrowing any funds to a "chosen" worker
    This is not allowed as it does not guarantee that all workers who do the work will be paid.
    However, you can request the following:
    • On programming projects: A prototype or functional demo...as long as source code is not requested.
    • On graphics projects: A watermarked and low-resolution version of the work.
  • Quick questions/ quick advice
    vWorker.com hosts auctions that involve bidding, escrowing of funds while the work is completed and then later acceptance of the deliverables by the employer. Since quick questions/ quick advice don't work that way, and do not allow us to receive any compensation, they are not allowed to be posted as normal auctions. However they can be posted as a Bulletin Board Auction for a small charge to the Employer.
     
  • *Unarbitratable (misc.)
    Any project which is unarbitratable (for example, where deliverables cannot be uploaded to the site to definitively prove delivery or not) is not allowed (unless posted as a Bulletin Board Auction).
     

Miscellaneous

• CAN-SPAM act of 2003
  CAN-SPAM is a United States law governing the legal (and illegal) sending of electronic commercial messages. Click for:
  • An informational pamphlet on CAN-SPAM from the Bureau of Consumer Protection.
  • The text of the entire law from the Federal Trade Commission.