Fanbox omg



  • argg. So I interviewed at this company which is aspiring to be more than the next facebook and microsoft combined. Their CEO told a group of 14 of us at the interview (yep, 14) that if we wanted to make more money and work for less hours we could walk down 2 blocks and work for Qual-com... (I should have been like... "word...?" but, I couldn't do much, like get the hell out of there since well, they were paying for my return flight as they are located in san diego and im not).  So I get an offer after their interview and "fanbox challenge!". Oh and this fanbox challenge is somewhat like a reality show like competition where me and 10 others work to fix bugs (not real ones, its basically simulated). They will get rid of people after the interview as well as the challenge I mentioned. However they pay for hotel and a stipend of $200 so I agree and had a good time in San Diego (drank everynight, sure). They give anyone who had a degree and some expereince an offer as a software developer or QA (which was 7/14 individuals). They are constantly hiring like this every week etc.... Their offer to me was $52,000 + and a whopping $25,000 BONUS!! for a 60+ hour work week (the bonus kicks in on month seven, but they clearly state that "I or Fanbox can terminate this employment at anytime". Obviously I took an offer from someone else but here is what gets me: I have to call California's Labor Board and prove to them that this cheap company which is not paying what was signed and agreed to. Additionally I couldn't file for unemployment that week because I would have got in trouble for earning almost any money and claiming in the same week.

     

    Oh right so they are: fanbox.com and appently the future of desktop computing is.... WEB 2 POINT FREAKING OH! Can't wait to move all my files, work and career to a trend... man, if only scrolling marques and blink tags could have done this in the ninities then my hobbiyist webpage I made when I was 14 would have landed me a few million, easily, lulz.



  • I tried the guest login, only at first I was redirected to http://www.fanbox.com/socnet/Desktop.aspx?changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1&changeMaster=1

    So I enabled some more scripting and cookies and got to a splash.gif of a progress bar apparently logging me in. First it woul assemble spambox protection system, then it would log me in, then it would assemble the spambox protection system, then log me in, then assemble... etc.

    Why does every 2.0 site feel they must use js and cookies on as many different domains as they can for a single page? Maybe this is what distributed computing is - all your files are scattered between several different web based desktops.



  • "A Web-based desktop"



    Why? for the love of god. Makes as much sense as a road-based toilet.



  • @Daid said:

    "A Web-based desktop"

    Why? for the love of god. Makes as much sense as a road-based toilet.
     



  •  Ha!  I went there a few weeks ago for the same thing.  It would take a few months of TDWTF posts just to scratch the surface of the horrors at that place.  



  • haha, I was also there a few weeks ago. What a joke. It was well worth a free trip to san diego, though.

    they told us that no one had ever gotten more than 15 bugs. Myself and my friend both got over 20. It really was not hard, it just hurt my head looking through all that retarded code. 

    What a shitty job... all everyone there cares about is getting rich off of their company stock. Too bad they hate their developers. 



  • @wickedr said:

     Ha!  I went there a few weeks ago for the same thing.  It would take a few months of TDWTF posts just to scratch the surface of the horrors at that place.  

     

    LOL remember this?

    <%= epicString %>



  • @daysunknown said:

    @wickedr said:

     Ha!  I went there a few weeks ago for the same thing.  It would take a few months of TDWTF posts just to scratch the surface of the horrors at that place.  

     

    LOL remember this?

    <%= epicString %>

    Perhaps you could pop over to the sidebar sometime and tell us? there could be some good laughs there.

    Thanks



  •  now this is interesting... others having intereviewed there as well. I got my check now. I interviewed there back in april... man it was like a really retarded reality show, where the only winners are those who went home early.

     

    protip: threaten to contact the CA labor board if they don't mail you your stipend within 1 month



  • @Vechni said:

    protip: threaten to contact the CA labor board if they don't mail you your stipend within 1 month

     haha that's freaking hilarious! I pretty much gave up any hope of ever seeing that stipend check. 




  • I think without a doubt that the most retarded thing I saw there was the fact that every single one of their components was contained within its own solution, and their code base is huge. So, you had to navigate their code via the file system, opening up 20 different VS solutions to find what you were looking for.

     Honestly... I couldn't believe it when I saw it.



  • Hi to all I just graduated from college and I posted my resume on monster.com. Then I got a call from fanbox. I was kinda interested in the company so I completed their code test and passed. Ofcourse I been searching for the good and the bad of the company. I got to say their is alot of dirt. So Then the recruiter calls me and lets me know that I passed the test and that they want to interview me. I ask her "do i need to provide my own means of transportation?" she said that I pay upfront for the plain ticket and the hotel and that latter fanbox would reimbure 200 for the hotel and up to 40 dollars for the flight. I believe that is what she said. Well anyway I told her that I cant afford to pay for transportation since I am a recent college grad and currently unemployed. I told her that I could get some money around August and if I got the money earlier that I would give her a call. This forum has kinda made me turned down her offer because the truth is that if I wanted to go I am sure that I could find a way to get the money. So I need some advice from you guys. Should I go to san diego for an interview. What is this fanbox challenge and what does it consist of? lets say that 20 people are in this challenge  out of those 20 people how many of them acutally get hired? I get an impression that only about 4 or so actually get hired. If that is so its not worth it to go waste around 400 dollars to go down there. especially if there is no garuantee that theyll actually reimburse you.



  • here is the problem mate:

    they paid for my flight to and back upfront. you should not go there unless they pay that. they are hoping you are very good, but won't risk it and its because gas prices have jumped... they will hire all 20/20 (2/3 into dev, and 1/3 into QA) people as long as they didn't go to devry/paid attention in college to at least know what foreign keys are.

     

    and here is TRWTF: Your offer will consist of a low salary for the fact that they expect you to work at least 60 hours a week or more, and this contract will state that they can terminate you at any time for no reason. Part of their offer will be a bonus that makes your pay increase by 50% past the 6th month, and lasts for 6 months (which means they will terminate you at this time unless you are a top-notch developer/gifted, some people just are and they do look for those ppl). They don't mail you any checks like the $200 stipend unless you threaten to contact the california labor board... all of this shade alone is enough to not go accept an offer or go there unless they pay for everything. save yourself and follow up with a real company that can actually help you start a good life instead of crooks who are looking for cheap labor.

     

    The fanbox challenge consists of a hit the ground running, task to hunt down old bugs in past versions of their app. passing the challenge means that you can pick up their development tasks asap to replace whoever else either left the company or who was unconditionally terminated.



  • I actually just got back from this interview (was there 7/17-7/18), if you have any questions, don't hesistate to AIM me: MARVELOUS kesh or email Keshstud at g mail dot com

     

    I'm going to start asking around for anyone that has called / threatened to call the labor board to get my stipend back.

     

    I dropped about a grand to go to this interview with false hopes.         



  • @Kesh said:

    I dropped about a grand to go to this interview with false hopes. 
     

    Why? This thread has been up for a while and you knew about it. Why would you have tried it for yourself?



  • Actually If I decided to go. I would have been there with you. How was it? Did they pay for your plain ticket or did you have to pay for it. They told me that I had to pay for the ticket and letter ill get reimburse a fraction of the cost. Which, was one of the main reasons I decided not to do it. Can you tell me about your experience there? like how was the interview and is the fanbox challenge really retarded? Do you know how many people actually got hired?



  • @MasterPlanSoftware said:

    Why? This thread has been up for a while and you knew about it. Why would you have tried it for yourself?
     

     

    Check the date that I joined. I only joined after my plane/hotel tickets were booked, it was foolish of me, but then again, I'm only 21 :P.

     

    And if you'd like to talk about FanBox, e-mail me, I can't/won't discuss matters here.     



  •  FanBox wants me to pay to fly out to San Diego next week.  I saw that most of you flew out there at their expense.  Should I push for a free flight and hotel deal?



  • yeah.. i'll be there next week too.. the interview was supposed to be tomorrow but it got postponed... they're giving me a $100 rebate (after 90 days) for hotel stay but travel is my own expense.. i guess with the rising cost of gas they changed their offer.. :P maybe if i get hired they'll reimburse the whole amount.. :D



  • @DuoShin85 said:

     FanBox wants me to pay to fly out to San Diego next week.  I saw that most of you flew out there at their expense.  Should I push for a free flight and hotel deal?


    Yes.  Honestly, if you have to pay any part of it then it isn't a good deal.  The trip to fanbox is, at best, a learning experience.

     

    @cookie said:

    maybe if i get hired they'll reimburse the whole amount.. :D

     

    You'll probably have to pester themmany times for the rebate, with a 90 day grace period I bet that they are hoping you forget about it. 

     



  •  Apparently the whole "paying your own way thing" is a new policy they have to weed out the people that just want to go for the free trip to San Diego.  Weird.



  • It's been two weeks since I initially contacted them about giving me my stipend money, and so far all they've told me is that they've "forwarded it to their financial department". I just sent them an e-mail today saying that if I don't hear anything back before Friday, I will contact the CA Labor Board.

    Let's see what happens.



  • @daysunknown said:

    It's been two weeks since I initially contacted them about giving me my stipend money, and so far all they've told me is that they've "forwarded it to their financial department". I just sent them an e-mail today saying that if I don't hear anything back before Friday, I will contact the CA Labor Board.

    Let's see what happens.

     

     

    I'm kind of worried. We have no physical proof (e-mail) that they will cover costs. All of it was said over the phone. If we are to contact the CA labor board, we need to do it together.

     

     

    That sounded way too romantic for what I was going for :\         



  • @Kesh said:

    ...we need to do it together.

    @Kesh said:

    That sounded way ... romantic ... what I was going for



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    @Kesh said:

    ...we need to do it together.

    @Kesh said:

    That sounded way ... romantic ... what I was going for

     

     

     

    Internet ADD has gotten the best of me =(         



  • @Kesh said:

    I'm kind of worried. We have no physical proof (e-mail) that they will cover costs.
     

    I had my plane and hotel fully paid for... I'm trying to get the 200 dollar stipend that they promised myself and 3 friends that interviewed with them. I know I should have asked for a copy of the paper they had me sign, but I definitely have proof that FanBox flew me out there... just no proof that they promised me 200 dollars for doing their Fanbox Challenge. I hope that they don't try to sink as low as denying everything, because I guess some people on here received their stipends.

     Any suggestions on how to move forward on this? They didn't respond to my e-mail today... they have 2 more days.

     



  • This place is way screwed up. Fortunately I didn't have to travel very far so I had no travel expenses, but I did actually get hired. I don't want to discuss it more here since I don't want to get in any sort of trouble that they claim employees can get into for "defaming" the company. Reply to this post with an email address and I'll email you personally about my horrid experience. Bottom line: DO NOT WORK THERE. TRUST ME.



  • sup guys, they want me to go to san diego for interview next month,i am starting to wonder if i should go, after seeing all these bad reviews...

     I kinda wanna get into web programming but i dont' know anything about it, so when i was contacted by fanbox,

    i thought it might be a good opportunity for me to go there and learn...what do u guys think, or should i try my luck on other companies

     also can u guys give me more details about the working conditions there...i heard something about a 60+ hr working week...



  • @sandiegosun said:

    This place is way screwed up. Fortunately I didn't have to travel very far so I had no travel expenses, but I did actually get hired. I don't want to discuss it more here since I don't want to get in any sort of trouble that they claim employees can get into for "defaming" the company. Reply to this post with an email address and I'll email you personally about my horrid experience. Bottom line: DO NOT WORK THERE. TRUST ME.

     

    hey sandiegosun tell me about your experience



  • send me your email and or aim addresses and i will be more than happy to. I would send you mine, but they have my name on them and I don't want anything to happen to me legally...



  • oh yeah my bad my email is precado999@yahoo.com 



  • @precado999 said:

    oh yeah my bad my email is precado999@yahoo.com 

     

    Are you just goddamn retarded?

    This is like a 'plz send me teh codez' version of a job forum. 

     

    Here is a tip for all of you: You are all too stupid to be employable.

    Seriously, anyone who would subject themselves to the conditions mentioned here for an obvious scam of a company is just too fucking stupid.

     

    Go about your normal lives (I doubt any of you have any) and become janitors or something.



  • @MasterPlanSoftware said:

    This is like a 'plz send me teh codez' version of a job forum.

    I came to this realization a couple of weeks ago, but then I realized that if they are busy posting here they won't be posting as much in other threads.  Additionally, any time spent interviewing with Fanbox is time they aren't spending interviewing with a legitimate company which reduces the chances of them slipping into a real job and making our lives miserable.  I think of this thread as Nature's self-regulation of WTFs.  Now if Nature can only find a way to keep their genes from spreading as well...



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    I think of this thread as Nature's self-regulation of WTFs.
     

    I always figured the Java forums were taking care of that.



  •  MasterPlanSoftware I have reached the conclusion that I wasnt going to go to the interview weeks ago. There is nothing wrong with wanting to know more about what actually goes down there.  I really dont see why you are getting so pissy over a forum. Obviously someone who has a live wouldnt let a forum ruin his day. Anyway im not here to get into arguments. I have been nothing but respectfull to everyone in this thread.  



  • @precado999 said:

    I really dont see why you are getting so pissy over a forum.
     

    I am not being pissy. I am calling everyone in this thread an idiot. Which is just stating fact.

    @precado999 said:

    Obviously someone who has a live wouldnt let a forum ruin his day.

    Not sure where you got the idea that you 'ruined my day', but this is simply a PSA. Stop being stupid, and go get jobs you can handle. Seriously. There is a reason why this flock of idiots is ready to try out for Fanbox.

    @precado999 said:

    Anyway im not here to get into arguments.

    Your bold text would indicate otherwise.

    @precado999 said:

    I have been nothing but respectfull to everyone in this thread.  

    No one questioned this.



  •  wow this discussion took an ugly turn.. some people just had questions and were searching for answers.. thats all.. if anyone has problems with this or any other discussion then there's absolutely no need to keep returning to it just to post nasty comments.. plain and simple.. no further comments about that.. 



  • nice... trolling a fanbox thread... listen, there is nothing wrong with interviewing with ANY company that is willing to fly you out to San Diego and pay for everything. the key is, when you get there, realizing that the pile of dog shit that they call code is exactly that... dog shit. if you can't do that, then may God have mercy on your soul.

    anyway, the only people here without a life are the ones that troll TDWTF Forums.



  • @daysunknown said:

    listen, there is nothing wrong with interviewing with ANY company that is willing to fly you out to San Diego and pay for everything.

    This whole thread is about how they won't pay for your trip. Also, any googling of 'fanbox' returns countless scams.

    You are stupid, and so is anyone else who bought into this, especially if you did so after the OP was done.

    @daysunknown said:

    anyway, the only people here without a life are the ones that troll TDWTF Forums.

    If only you actually knew what 'trolling' meant.



  • ok whatever, I don't give a damn. I interviewed with them and didn't accept their shitty offer. I got a free trip to san diego out of it, and all I had to do was debug their crappy code. I don't see what the big deal is. I can agree that If this company tells you they want to interview you, but you have to pay for travel expenses, you'd have to be crazy to go out there. unless you just really love california....



  •  the thing is that the economy isnt doing too good right know. Plus it is kinda hard to get a job when your fresh out of college. Because all the companies out there want people that have experience. I think that alot of people in this forum are in my shoes. There are companies that offer entry level positions, so far I have only ran into a handfull of them. That is why I think alot of people are kinda considering FanBox. Even though the job may be crapy, youll gain some experience from it which will hopefully open more doors. FanBox would be the last option for me.



  • Listen, bottom line, the point of this thread is to spread awareness of the fact that Fanbox doesn't care about the users OR its employees. A lot of us are naive and stupid, but we'll learn and get over it, but I wanted to post here because I did make a mistake, I gave the company the benefit of the doubt even after I Googled them because finding a job right now that is relatively interesting, or pays even decently, is hard to find. But this job isn't worth it, for any money, because you go home feeling really horrible about yourself, that you are working for this horrid company, and getting out of bed each morning gets harder and harder.

    With the way this thread is going, I'm sure someone will attack me or call me stupid, so bring it on, because I really don't plan on checking it after this post.



  • heres my 2 cents on the company. i used to work for fanbox untill i quit for another job. Either way theres a lot of going back and forth about the company and its procedures so i hope i can clear this up. These are just my experiences so take it as you may. Ill try to be as objective as possible

    1. Quite frankly, the hours are long. 12 hours a day pretty much your standard day and more often than not, youll be there longer to finish some projects. For some people its fine, for others not so much. To each their own right?

    2. Google fanbox and I'm sure youll find no shortage of people complaining about how much they spam and all that stuff. Fanbox's "marketing" is composed primarily of lots of emailing which untill you get to the point where it turns into spam which is pretty much what fanbox has done. To be safe, just dont give them your email and if you do, the worst that'll happen is that youll get a shitload of email you dont necessarily want. They arnt trying to scam anyone or steal anyones money, its just their way ( i dont agree with this method) of getting word out.

     3. Believe it or not, they actually do care about the employees even if they make you work long hours. They cater lunch and dinner (dinner cause they want you to stay past 6 pm haha). They subsisize gym membership (50%) and encourage everyone to go even if it is during work hours and everyone walks around there in jeans t-shirts or gym clothes. 

    4. All in all, the company is a startup and most of us know that with startups its got its ups and downs especially when it comes to money. For the people who flew out and havnt been paid back yet, keep haggling them. This is actually a legit company so I would hope that they would have the decency to pay back what they owed. For those of you considering employment or just flying out for an interview just keep everything I said. Paying 400 dollars out of your own pocket for a roundtrip "just to check it out" probally isn't worth it

    anyways, hope that helped place some perspective guys.

     



  • @MasterPlanSoftware said:

    @daysunknown said:

    listen, there is nothing wrong with interviewing with ANY company that is willing to fly you out to San Diego and pay for everything.

    This whole thread is about how they won't pay for your trip. Also, any googling of 'fanbox' returns countless scams.

    You are stupid, and so is anyone else who bought into this, especially if you did so after the OP was done.

    @daysunknown said:

    anyway, the only people here without a life are the ones that troll TDWTF Forums.

    If only you actually knew what 'trolling' meant.

     

    You know, it is possible to let people know about scams and the dangers of posting email addresses and such without calling them stupid and insulting them.  Try to behave like an adult, if possible.  Thanks!



  • @Jeff S said:

    You know, it is possible to let people know about scams and the dangers of posting email addresses and such without calling them stupid and insulting them
     

    No, because they are stupid.



  • you know what they say "arguing on the internet is like the special olympics even if you win your still retarded"



  •   @precado999 said:

    With the way this thread is going, I'm sure someone will attack me or call me stupid, so bring it on, because I really don't plan on checking it after this post.

    @precado999 said:

    you know what they say "arguing on the internet is like the special olympics even if you win your still retarded"

     


  • You win MasterPlanSoftware, nice way of twisting my words. by the way the first quote is not even mine but whatever your still the winner. lol you just cant drop it.



  • If this company paid for all of your travel expenses UPFRONT then I can understand why someone would go through with the interview.  As far as even considering a job offer from them....WTF?

     

    $52,000 @ 60 hours/week is $16.67/hour.  I'm pretty sure you could make more than that working at Costco in San Diego.



  • I am rather interested in those who HAVE or do work there... come on this is a forum post your secretz or send me teh secrets at ... erm, lol jk.  Please though, if you have any WTFs then do post them in the sidebar. This is like, the united states of america you can post that here. Plus, it's not even libel when it's true... also, in america the prosecutor has to prove that the defamtory statements are false, whereas in say, the UK the defendent has to prove that their statements are true.


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