Interesting earnings problem...

That's good to know! Maybe I will start uploading images so that they can be used. Is there a way to find out if you have any referrals? I am pretty sure that I don't, but it is possible that someone signed up. Would I get a notice of that?

Yup, I don't have any referrals. If I did, I would likely have written the change off as being a result of referral activity.

Good going jonesy, That is most likely the answer. I have seen many discussions started right before the earnings update because a few cents are lost or gained. As mylot deletes spam posts or threads that money earned from them is passed around to the member. And if you posted on the deleted thread you may see a drop in earnings.

There was a response to one of my discussions that was deleted. I started a discussion that is still active but one of the responses was removed. I didn't reply to that post because I had a feeling that it was not in compliance with TOS. Is it possible that I earned a penny because that poster's response was deleted? That seems really odd but, given what you are saying, that is the only thing that makes sense. I know that myLot doesn't want us to figure out the payment algorithm, and that is not what I am trying to do...I was just confused as to how I could possibly be credited with that penny. Like I said, I could understand a decrease... Thanks for the reply!

That is the most logical conclusion. It is nice of them to redistribute that revenue to all of the other members. I would hate to be the admin responsible for figuring that out, though... Just picture it: Discussion A was deleted and had generated $1.00 for the participants. We need to redistribute that $1.00 among all of the members that didn't participate in Discussion A. So, Persons 1, 5, 20, 92, 100, 8,295, and 22 all had their posts deleted and lose money. All the remaining members divide the dollar resulting in one-thousandth of one cent each! I can't imagine THAT admin nightmare! Thanks for sharing, and confirming the earlier post. Your explanation was very clearly written.

I don't think it quite happens like that, my friend. I think maybe it's automated and instant calculation. lol. You're very welcome.

Doesn't this whole thing just scream of being a scene straight out of 'Office Space' though? :) "Let's make a program that funnels all of the partial cents that are rounded down from each myLot account into one master account. We'd make a fortune!" I can just picture it... :D

Ha! And I just trimmed that beard again, yesterday! That explains it all. Thanks for posting!

Nope, that isn't it. I was online last night with $3.10. I logged off and went to bed. Logged on this morning with $3.11. At some point between then and now, the earnings posted and I now have $3.54. I think that I am going with the ghost theory for now! :) I will be sure to let you know if I ever find out, but for a penny I am not going to dig too hard.

That does happen too but mylot has also confirmed in the past that it happens before they pay us out at months end

Anything is possible, I suppose. Earlier, a couple responders suggested that the revenue earned by deleted posts and discussions is redistributed among the myLot members. That seems to be the most logical reason.

That is entirely a possibility. I am glad that I am not the only one seeing these increases. Thanks for the reply.

See, and usually hiccups are annoying. I have no problem with this case of the hiccups, though!

Well, let's hope for more such phantom pennies, shall we? :)

Well, that is the attitude that will keep you here. A few pennies here and there take a long time to add up to anything really exciting (sorry folks, I just can't be excited by $10 a month), but it is fun and that is what has be coming back whenever I can!

$10.00 may not be very exciting, but to some people it can make a huge difference. For me, anything I earn via programs like this go into my PayPal slush fund. It enables me to buy things that I would otherwise not bother with - a DVD, book, or CD that I really don't need, but might want. It is money that I don't put into my regular budget, so it is all good. I'd do this either way, though. :)

Yes, I would much rather see unexplained increases than to see decreases. So far, I have tried to avoid replying to discussions that I think will be deleted. Hopefully that strategy will keep me away from losing money. Ah well, it is all in fun anyway. The earnings are just an added bonus.

Yeah, losing cents would have made sense. I would have written it off as a deleted post or discussion that I replied to. I wouldn't have liked it, but I would have understood the cause. I'll just chalk it up to an 'Office Space' moment. See the movie if you don't understand the reference...very funny stuff!

Nice! Yes, it is a very happy occurrence to get money when you don't expect it.

Oh, I am sure the support team could help, but that wouldn't be as fun as having this discussion about it! :) Welcome to myLot!

Yup, definitely not going to complain over an added penny. :) Thanks for the well-wishes! That was certainly my best earning day yet, but more importantly - I had fun. Have a great day!

Yeah, I am not doubting the legitimacy of the penny - I only called it 'phantom' because it seemed to materialize from nowhere. Trust me, I am thankful for any earnings I get here at myLot. It is a blessing to be able to get paid ANYTHING while doing something that I enjoy. I was mostly under the impression that myLot only posted earnings once a day, so I was confused as to why they would add a penny sometime between 2:00 AM Eastern (when I logged off) and 8:00 AM Eastern (when I logged on) and then post the previous day's earnings around 9:00 of 10:00 AM Eastern. Thanks for your thoughts!

True, we definitely get paid more when our posts are longer and more detailed. I know that myLot does not want to encourage simplistic, one-word answers. I am not even going to TRY to figure out the algorithms, that's not why I am here. I am grateful for the opportunity to earn money by doing things that I like to do - write and help people. I try to provide detailed answers whenever possible. I don't try to respond to every discussion just for the sake of responding. If I don't think that I can provide a beneficial answer, then I don't answer at all. Thanks for your input!

It sounds like you are doing exactly what it takes... When I started ten months ago, I was far from being a regular visitor. I didn't see too much come my way in earnings. When I started adding friends and responding to the discussions they started, I noticed that more people were responding to mine as well. I started getting more friend requests. The effect is like a snowball rolling downhill, it gets bigger as it goes. Don't be discouraged early on. Keep doing what you are doing and the results will come. Welcome to myLot!

At this point, I am not too worried about getting an official answer. I think that the responses here provide a pretty good picture of all of the potential reasons for the added penny. Thanks for the tip, though!

How much you earn is directly related to how much activity that you and your referrals have. It is not a function of the time that you are logged in, but how many discussions you start or reply to. You also get paid when enough people respond to your discussions, so it is a good idea to start discussions that are interesting to a large group of people. There is no way to predict how much you can earn daily. I suggest that you make the most of the time that you spend on myLot by finding discussions that interest you and responding to them. Be as detailed as possible. Also, find people on myLot that share your interests and send friend requests. You can see what discussions your new friends have started, so it is nice if you reply to their discussions. This helps your friends earn money, and encourages them to respond to the discussions that you start thus helping you to earn money. The nice thing about myLot is that your earnings are not limited to the time that you are actually posting. When I woke up this morning, I found that I had about 12 new responses to my discussions (including your response!). All of these new responses help me to earn money. Welcome to myLot, and feel free to add me as your friend. I will help you out by answering your discussions when I see them.