Creating a pool

A pool contains the settings of a set of task that are sent out for completion. The task interface is described in the project.

To create a pool, follow the instructions:

Pool parameters

Parameter	Description
Name	The pool name shown only to you (as a requester) on the project page.
Public description	Will be displayed instead of the project description in the task list for performers and linked training.
Private description	If necessary, you can add a private project description that will only be available to you.
Training	This field is only available if you have training pools in the project. Training pool that will be linked to the main one.
Pool type	This field should be filled in when you set tasks for 0 cents. Choose an option from the list: Examination — control tasks — to assess how well performers completed their training. Training — tasks with hints — for performers to practice before starting real tasks. Retry — control tasks — to give a second chance to performers who passed the training and exam but made a lot of mistakes while completing main tasks. Other — if none of the above apply.
Level required	This field is only available if you have filled in the Training field. Percentage of correct responses in training tasks (from 0 to 100) required to be admitted to the pool tasks. The calculation is based on the first responses the performer gave in each task.
Price per task page	Payment per task page in U.S. dollars. For cents, use the dot (".") as a separator. The minimum price is $0.01. For more information, see the Setting up pricing section. See examples of prices for different types of tasks here.
dynamic pricing	This parameter allows you to vary the task price depending on the performer's skill level. Learn more See examples of prices for different types of tasks here.
Adult content	Whether the tasks have porn content. Tasks with porn content are only issued to performers who are ready to complete these tasks. If you didn't check whether the tasks have porn content, select "Yes".
Users filter	By setting the filters, you choose performers that meet your requirements to complete your task. There are filter sets, filters by various criteria, and filters by skills that you can create yourself. If you are working with Russian-language texts in the task, you don't need to display the project for non-Russian speakers. You can set a filter for the Russian language. Similarly, you can filter performers by place of residence in a particular country or city, and so on. Learn more If you give training tasks to performers, you can add a skill to the pool to choose performers who already completed training. Learn more about skills.
Non-automatic acceptance	Turn on this option to review the completed tasks manually. Set the time period when you can check the tasks and reject them if the results are poor. Learn more about task review here and here.
Captcha frequency	The frequency of captcha display: “No” — Don't show captchas. “Low” — Show a captcha after every 20 task pages. “Medium”/ “High” — Show a captcha after every 10 task pages. To show the captcha to performers, set the quality control rule.
Review period	The number of days for accepting the tasks (max — 21). The performer will see the deadline for checking the tasks: In the task information on the Yandex.Toloka main page. In the history of completed tasks.
Overlap	The number of performers who should complete each task in the pool. Configure this parameter if you need several people to complete your task. It is necessary in the tasks that collect photo datasets, require audio recordings, or conduct surveys. Sometimes this improves the quality of results. To save money, you can set up incremental relabeling. Incremental relabeling (dynamic overlap) will help you save money. Learn more.
dynamic-overlap	You can use this parameter if you specify fixed values the input data fields. It lets you save your budget and avoid setting fixed overlap for all pool tasks. You set the range, the service analyzes the responses, their consistency, the level of performers' skills and, if necessary, increases the overlap within the range you specified.
Speed / Quality	Use this setting to select the most active performers by rating or to set the time limit for pool completion. This way you can choose performers for your tasks. If you want to get responses very quickly, the quality may be doubtful. If you want very high quality, be prepared to wait longer. It is important to find a balance that suits you. Learn more.
Time on task	The time allowed for completing a task page, in seconds. Uncompleted tasks are redistributed to other performers. We recommend spending no more than 60 seconds per task (including the time for page loading and sending responses). If you set the interval too long, the tasks will stay open for a long time. If it is too short, the tasks won't be completed and paid for.
Keep task order	The option is disabled (default value) The uploaded tasks are grouped in pages and given to performers in random order. Within the page, the task order is always random. Example If you specified 2 tasks per page when uploading the TSV file with image links to the pool, the system can generate them as follows: Tasks in the file Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Image 1 Image 2 Image 6 Image 4 Image 2 Image 5 Image 1 Image 3 Image 3 Image 4 Image 5 Image 6 Tasks in the file Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Image 1 Image 2 Image 6 Image 4 Image 2 Image 5 Image 1 Image 3 Image 3 Image 4 Image 5 Image 6 The option is turned on Tasks will be grouped in pages in the order they are in the TSV file. Example If you specified 2 tasks per page when uploading the TSV file with image links to the pool, you are equally likely to get pages where the first link goes first and the second goes second, and the other way round: Tasks in the file Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Image 1 Image 1 Image 3 Image 4 Image 2 Image 2 Image 4 Image 3 Image 3 or or or Image 4 Image 2 Image 4 Image 5 Image 5 Image 1 Image 3 Image 6 Image 6 Tasks in the file Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Image 1 Image 1 Image 3 Image 4 Image 2 Image 2 Image 4 Image 3 Image 3 or or or Image 4 Image 2 Image 4 Image 5 Image 5 Image 1 Image 3 Image 6 Image 6 If the pool has an overlap, the next task is distributed only when the previous task is completed by the necessary number of performers. Use this parameter to: Speed up collection of responses for majority vote check. Issue tasks by priority. Put important tasks in the beginning of the file. They will be completed faster and with the necessary overlap.
Expires	The date the pool closes. The pool closes automatically on this date, even if the tasks aren't marked up.
Waiting time for the pool to close in seconds	The interval during which the pool will remain open from the moment all tasks are completed. Minimum — 0, maximum — 259200 seconds (three days). For example, you can use this parameter if you need an open pool where you regularly upload new tasks.
Priority	Number from 0 to 100. Allows you to rank a pool within a project. First, a performer is assigned tasks from a pool with higher priority.

Parameter	Description
Name	The pool name shown only to you (as a requester) on the project page.
Public description	Will be displayed instead of the project description in the task list for performers and linked training.
Private description	If necessary, you can add a private project description that will only be available to you.
Training	This field is only available if you have training pools in the project. Training pool that will be linked to the main one.
Pool type	This field should be filled in when you set tasks for 0 cents. Choose an option from the list: Examination — control tasks — to assess how well performers completed their training. Training — tasks with hints — for performers to practice before starting real tasks. Retry — control tasks — to give a second chance to performers who passed the training and exam but made a lot of mistakes while completing main tasks. Other — if none of the above apply.
Level required	This field is only available if you have filled in the Training field. Percentage of correct responses in training tasks (from 0 to 100) required to be admitted to the pool tasks. The calculation is based on the first responses the performer gave in each task.
Price per task page	Payment per task page in U.S. dollars. For cents, use the dot (".") as a separator. The minimum price is $0.01. For more information, see the Setting up pricing section. See examples of prices for different types of tasks here.
dynamic pricing	This parameter allows you to vary the task price depending on the performer's skill level. Learn more See examples of prices for different types of tasks here.
Adult content	Whether the tasks have porn content. Tasks with porn content are only issued to performers who are ready to complete these tasks. If you didn't check whether the tasks have porn content, select "Yes".
Users filter	By setting the filters, you choose performers that meet your requirements to complete your task. There are filter sets, filters by various criteria, and filters by skills that you can create yourself. If you are working with Russian-language texts in the task, you don't need to display the project for non-Russian speakers. You can set a filter for the Russian language. Similarly, you can filter performers by place of residence in a particular country or city, and so on. Learn more If you give training tasks to performers, you can add a skill to the pool to choose performers who already completed training. Learn more about skills.
Non-automatic acceptance	Turn on this option to review the completed tasks manually. Set the time period when you can check the tasks and reject them if the results are poor. Learn more about task review here and here.
Captcha frequency	The frequency of captcha display: “No” — Don't show captchas. “Low” — Show a captcha after every 20 task pages. “Medium”/ “High” — Show a captcha after every 10 task pages. To show the captcha to performers, set the quality control rule.
Review period	The number of days for accepting the tasks (max — 21). The performer will see the deadline for checking the tasks: In the task information on the Yandex.Toloka main page. In the history of completed tasks.
Overlap	The number of performers who should complete each task in the pool. Configure this parameter if you need several people to complete your task. It is necessary in the tasks that collect photo datasets, require audio recordings, or conduct surveys. Sometimes this improves the quality of results. To save money, you can set up incremental relabeling. Incremental relabeling (dynamic overlap) will help you save money. Learn more.
dynamic-overlap	You can use this parameter if you specify fixed values the input data fields. It lets you save your budget and avoid setting fixed overlap for all pool tasks. You set the range, the service analyzes the responses, their consistency, the level of performers' skills and, if necessary, increases the overlap within the range you specified.
Speed / Quality	Use this setting to select the most active performers by rating or to set the time limit for pool completion. This way you can choose performers for your tasks. If you want to get responses very quickly, the quality may be doubtful. If you want very high quality, be prepared to wait longer. It is important to find a balance that suits you. Learn more.
Time on task	The time allowed for completing a task page, in seconds. Uncompleted tasks are redistributed to other performers. We recommend spending no more than 60 seconds per task (including the time for page loading and sending responses). If you set the interval too long, the tasks will stay open for a long time. If it is too short, the tasks won't be completed and paid for.
Keep task order	The option is disabled (default value) The uploaded tasks are grouped in pages and given to performers in random order. Within the page, the task order is always random. Example If you specified 2 tasks per page when uploading the TSV file with image links to the pool, the system can generate them as follows: Tasks in the file Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Image 1 Image 2 Image 6 Image 4 Image 2 Image 5 Image 1 Image 3 Image 3 Image 4 Image 5 Image 6 Tasks in the file Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Image 1 Image 2 Image 6 Image 4 Image 2 Image 5 Image 1 Image 3 Image 3 Image 4 Image 5 Image 6 The option is turned on Tasks will be grouped in pages in the order they are in the TSV file. Example If you specified 2 tasks per page when uploading the TSV file with image links to the pool, you are equally likely to get pages where the first link goes first and the second goes second, and the other way round: Tasks in the file Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Image 1 Image 1 Image 3 Image 4 Image 2 Image 2 Image 4 Image 3 Image 3 or or or Image 4 Image 2 Image 4 Image 5 Image 5 Image 1 Image 3 Image 6 Image 6 Tasks in the file Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Image 1 Image 1 Image 3 Image 4 Image 2 Image 2 Image 4 Image 3 Image 3 or or or Image 4 Image 2 Image 4 Image 5 Image 5 Image 1 Image 3 Image 6 Image 6 If the pool has an overlap, the next task is distributed only when the previous task is completed by the necessary number of performers. Use this parameter to: Speed up collection of responses for majority vote check. Issue tasks by priority. Put important tasks in the beginning of the file. They will be completed faster and with the necessary overlap.
Expires	The date the pool closes. The pool closes automatically on this date, even if the tasks aren't marked up.
Waiting time for the pool to close in seconds	The interval during which the pool will remain open from the moment all tasks are completed. Minimum — 0, maximum — 259200 seconds (three days). For example, you can use this parameter if you need an open pool where you regularly upload new tasks.
Priority	Number from 0 to 100. Allows you to rank a pool within a project. First, a performer is assigned tasks from a pool with higher priority.

To clone a pool, click  → Clone at the top of the pool page or in the list of pools on the project page.

If you need to change the pool settings, open edit mode.

• Add tasks to the pool.
• Learn more about how to set up a pool:

  • Setting up pricing.
  • Incremental relabeling.
  • Selective majority vote control.
  • Filters.
  • Speed/quality balance.
  • Setting up quality control.
  • Reviewed assignments.
  • Yandex.Toloka blog post.

What overlap should I set?

Overlap defines how many performers complete the same pool task.

The best overlap is an overlap that provides satisfying quality of results. For most tasks that are not reviewed, overlap from “3” to “5” is enough. If the tasks are simple, overlap of “3” is likely to be enough. For tasks that are reviewed, set overlap to “1”.

Can I change overlap after the pool is started?

Yes. Open edit mode for the pool and set a new overlap value. You don't need to restart the pool. Updating the settings is usually fast, but if there are many tasks, it may take several minutes.

What is the right time limit for the task completion?

Try completing the tasks yourself. Ask your colleagues and friends to complete them. Find out average completion time and add 50% to it.

How many tasks should be on the page?

The number of tasks depends on how difficult and time-consuming the tasks are. Don't make task pages too large. They are unpopular, partly because they are inconvenient for performers (for example, if the internet connection is unstable).

Should I create a skill for every pool?

It is better to use one skill in a project. You can choose the way to calculate the skill:

• Calculate the skill for each pool separately. The current skill value is the value of the skill in the pool the user completed last. This option is convenient if:

  • The pools are intended for different groups of performers (for example, there are filters by city or country).

  • Pools are started one by one and you don't want to take into account the responses in the previous pools to calculate the skill in the current pool.

  This calculation method is used by default when adding a quality control rule to a pool. For the control tasks block, leave the Recent values to use field empty.

• Calculate skill based on all tasks in a project This option is good if the pools are small and you don't need to have skill calculated for each pool.

  This option is available only for skills on control tasks. To use it, fill in the Recent values to use field in quality control rules in pools.

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