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Keeping our playing field fair

February 19, 2013

Dear professionals,

We write you today in response to reports of professionals using "scripts" to automatically lock questions.

We want to make clear how using scripts can get you removed from the site, as well as compromise your personal information. We regret that such actions were confirmed on our site, and we look forward to creating and maintaining a fair environment with your help.

Recent actions

The JustAnswer and Pearl.com team has been committed to tracking the problem and eliminating it. We have researched the problem and developed the technology to identify professionals using a script or program to automatically lock questions.

You should understand, as noted below and as explicitly stated in the Expert Agreement, using any program to unfairly manipulate our site is forbidden and may result in removal from all categories without redress.

By agreeing to this Expert Agreement and completing the online registration process, you are agreeing that:

(g) You will not use any automated programs to automatically lock questions that are posted on the website.
We have taken swift action and removed 26 professionals who had been practicing scripting.

We will continue to run testing at differing intervals and with different methodologies to catch professionals using an automated program or script.<br
We regret that such actions were confirmed on our site, and we look forward to creating and maintaining a fair environment with your help.

Your online safety is at risk

Our investigation thus far has indicated that the person or people distributing scripts may have used the script to collect your user information including username, password, email, and other profile information; while we are not certain how this information is being used, theoretically it could be used to change your PayPal account, allowing them to redirect your earnings.

If you have used a script even for a short time, you may be wise to:
Disable it immediately to help protect your identity and earnings, and
Change your email and passwords for both our sites and PayPal, as well as any other online accounts for which you may have used similar credentials.


Help us catch the distributors
If you have been contacted by anyone offering to sell a script or question-locking bot, report it here to Professional Support. Please forward the email you received and any other information that might be relevant. If you have used this script, help us catch and stop the distributor(s) and your case may be looked on with some leniency.

The entire Pearl.com Team would like to thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to resolve this matter.



Sincerely,
The Pearl.com and JustAnswer Team