Hello!

[Dragonfly]

Hello!

I just started using OTTO. It is nice in that I can step away but my main concern is not seeing PREs. This makes me very nervous. I have kept OTTO set at 1, however, if I have PC running and HIT Forker as well my PREs are too much. So I turn off PC and then just have OTTO running, but I am unable to see anything regarding PREs.

I took a look at the calculator on here but it makes no sense to me. The number that comes back is a basic divide by the same number you are using, what am I to do with that number? How am I to use that number? I am sure I am overlooking something straightforward, but if I am using PC, HIT Forker and OTTO and they are all set at 1 it says my effective page request rate is 0.3333 (1/3). And what do I do with that number? How do I see what my current page request rate is to make it effective?

I have been Turking for 2 years and was anxious to give this a try but I am a tad leary too because I enjoy MTurk and don't want anything that raises red flags.

Thank you for your help!

Dragonfly

[Fisherman]

You need to keep your Effective Page Request Rate above 0.8. You should adjust your PC, HF, and Otto rates to produce an overall rate greater than this.

To keep this short...you're making the mistake that most experienced turkers do with Otto...you're viewing Otto as an addition to the tools you are used to using. Otto is geared more as a replacement for those tools.

Quite a few workers still keep PC running at a slower rate, some keep HF running too at a slower rate. However, most turn Otto on and that's all they need...and that's what I do.

Now, that being said..as to PREs...The version of Otto you are trying is "Otto Lite" . We are currently in beta testing of "Otto Heavy" which, among many other upgrades, has a PRE counter, and a PRE braking feature that directly reduces PREs.

[Fisherman]

By the way, inexperienced turkers make exactly the opposite mistake with Otto. They turn Otto on with nothing else...and not having gathered a lot of qualifications yet...complain that they're not getting enough Hits.

So, the correct procedure for a new turker should be...run hit forker...PC....for at least 6 months gathering quals...then switch to Otto....then take a day or two once a month to search for and acquire new / updated quals.

It's very, very hard to talk them into this.

An experienced turker's correct procedure would be...switch to Otto...then take a day or two once a month to search for and acquire new / updated quals.

[Dragonfly]

So since I am getting .333 with the calculator (having my three apps at 1) I want to get that up to at least .8 if I am understanding you correctly.

[Fisherman]

correct...at .333 you're way too fast...resulting in the PREs

[CrazyCatLady]

So I use Otto at 1 and PC at 2.5. It's faster than .8 total, but it works for my setup. Sometimes I have to go to 3 on PC because of PREs, but not often. I only run 2-3 pandas at a time - mostly for batch requesters I know post regularly.

[Dragonfly]

Thank you both for your help!

[witch1]

Hi Dragonfly! I don't understand the ins and outs of how Otto works or what the timers affect so I'll tell you how I run my stuff.... PC at 1 second, Otto at 1.5 second, and Hit Forker I only use rarely.