"Translation industry's leading workplace"

Recently, again for the x-th time, I got a mail from Proz.com asking me to renew my membership, which expired 1-2 years ago.
> *Thank you for using ProZ.com*.
>
> *During good times and bad, as a smart business person, it is important to keep your client flow going, and maintain a high-profile presence in the marketplace--* even if you are fully booked at the moment. As the translation industry's leading workplace, ProZ.com is the number one source of new clients for translators. As you know, the best way to market your services on the site is to be a full member (the site is designed to promote members before non-members).

Well, my personal view is, that based on the very nature of sites like Proz.com, they are basically slave markets, where outsourcers from around the world look for "best rates" = cheapest labor.

So, I answered the lady, who sent me that mail as follows. I can speak ONLY for myself, but believe, quite a number of translators may harbor similar feelings ...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thank you for your mail, but ...
I heard all this before. Yet, 10 years of experience with Proz.com has proven beyond any doubt that Proz.com is basically a slave market, where the outsourcers always are looking for "best rates" (= cheapest). And since the market includes the entire world, there are enough places, where people can make a living on rates considered elsewhere to be signficantly substandard.
As far as I can remember I got NEVER ANY job through Proz.com.
That includes the period of my paid membership (waste of money!).
The founder of Proz.com, with a little luck Henry remembers me, has lived and worked in the past in Japan.
I refuse to believe, that HE would ever work for what is offered on Proz.com.

ALL offers - no exceptions - coming through Proz.com have ALWAYS considered me to be too expensive.
Fine. But living in Japan I cannot afford to work for peanuts.
If I were to accept jobs through Proz.com at the offered rates, I would be working (maybe even overtime) and still starving with my family to death.
No thank you.

There has  been no satisfaction with my last membership.
It is highly unlikely that a renewed membership would suddenly produce any mirracles.
None of the funny calculation Henry offers, like if you get one big client in 10 years, even the membership for 10 years would pay off, do work.
I have never ever seen any glint of hope, that this may actually happen.