Rules on Second Account if you have two accounts please?

1. 87

   Marisa Wrightposted 9 years ago

   I know you can have more than one account on HubPages.   However in talking to someone recently, I realise I'm fuzzy about the rules.  Can a staff member comment on the statements below please?
   
   I know that when you're posting in a forum thread, you MUST stick to using one account.  It's against the rules to have a conversation with yourself!
   
   I believe it's recommended that you stick to one persona on the forums, but my understanding is that this means one persona at a time - it doesn't mean you  have to choose one account to be your forum persona, and can never post as your other account, ever.   
   
   I've been told that if you have two accounts, you cannot post on the same topic in both accounts.  So for instance if I write about ballet on my main account, I can't write about ballet on my second account.   This sounds like a strange rule - does it in fact exist?

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      relacheposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      People have been writing on the same topics in different accounts since the dawn of HubPages.
      
      Seriously, this site has major problems if this is what people are making up out there.... Major, major problems....

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      1. 86

         TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         relache:
         
         This is not made up, but rather a directive which I received in an email to the team when asking these same questions and those are the responses I received.

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         1. 87

            Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            TT2, the question is not whether that rule is in the FAQ, but how it should be interpreted.
            
            I don't think it means you can't write about the same broad subject area on both accounts if you want to.   Peachpurple is an example - recipes on both accounts and never any problem.  Relache now has Hubs in several different accounts on the same broad subject areas because of her imported Lenses.   And I know other people whose first account got Panda'd, so they opened a second one and wrote on similar topics without a problem.
            
            I think the rule means what I suggest in this post:
            
            http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/127187#post2683201
            
            ...which is why I posted this in a staff-monitored thread so hopefully, a staff member will eventually drop by and clarify it.

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      2. 86

         TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         This is not something someone made up...it came directly from the team when they were asked about it.  Later they backed up a bit on it, but nobody pulled this out of the air.

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         1. 87

            Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Perhaps Kristy and Matt need to talk because it sounds like they're giving out contradictory advice!
            
            You can see that Kristy says it's allowed, and I'm 99% certain the wording actually refers to paraphrasing the same article on two accounts, not writing on the same broad topic.

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   2. 95

      Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I have on occasion posted with both accounts on the same forum by accident. I forgot which account I was still logged into.  Yet, I am still alive.  I think the rule is, if you do it with the intent to deceive then you will get banned, and if you keep it up you will lose your account.
      
      They prefer that you use only one persona in the forums.  To make your other account known, you can visit hubs and comment on them. You need to do that anyway if you want to keep your hubber score up over 85.

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      1. 86

         TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I'm finding it hard to do that because the feed I see only has a few people on it, but if I want to read and comment I must do it while I am on my second site.  No way to do it on the other one.  I think this will really limit my opportunities to become known on that account and thus will limit my views.

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         1. 0

            calculus-geometryposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            If you want to make your other account known to other HP users, then use it to comment on others' hubs and share other people's hubs. That's really the best way to build a following for your other account because people like it when others take an interest in their writing and then are more likely to reciprocate.
            
            Building a following among other hubbers can bring in some views, but to make any money you really need to get views from outside the user base here.  High placement in search engines, social media, other sites backlinking to you because you write interesting/useful content, etc. all those things will bring in more views than making your account known to other hubbers.

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            1. 86

               TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

               I'm well aware of this, but the problem is that there are only a hand full of authors who appear on my feed for that account, so my opportunities for reading and sharing are almost nil.  It takes time to build up an account, so I cannot expect Google et al to notice me for awhile.  I wish I had the same feed there that I have here, that's for sure!  I don't remember it being this difficult when I came here 3 years ago.

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               1. 0

                  calculus-geometryposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  You aren't restricted to reading and sharing only what appears on your feed.  I've discovered many little-known hubbers who write interesting stuff just by clicking on the related articles that appear below my and others' hubs, or by searching the site for random things I happen to be curious about, (and sometimes by wading into the cesspool that is Q&A.) And then by interacting with them, they discovered me.
                  
                  I don't do this so much anymore these days, but I always found that wandering around the site on my own led me to more interesting and unusual content than what was pre-selected for me in my feed, and showed me more diverse authors than the usual crowd who hangs around the forums.

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                     TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     Thanks for this!  I had forgotten about doing this because my other account is so established...duh!!!

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               2. 87

                  Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  I think the point is that while the efforts at building a following within HubPages may be good for motivation, in the long run it won't make any difference to whether Google notices you or not.  The relatively small trickle of attention from other Hubbers isn't going to convince Google to feature your Hubs any faster.
                  
                  LiveWithRichard/Richard-Bivins proved that with his second account.

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                  1. 86

                     TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     I agree to a certain extent, but sometimes a hubber reads and then shares on FB or other places where people then reshare, etc.  With so few hubs right now, it will be hard to get Google to grab me up...at least for awhile...which is exactly what you warned me about!!

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               3. 85

                  rebekahELLEposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  If you want to see more authors and hubs on your newer account, follow more topics and you will discover many different authors and find interesting hubs.  Some of the best hubs I've read are by hubbers that are simply here to write, they are relatively unknown on the site.  I just read one now on my feed by a hubber I follow who rarely publishes but I just caught his latest.  I would never have discovered some of the people I follow if I didn't follow a variety of topics.  I like my feed full of interesting hubs/hubbers to discover.

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   3. 90

      Jayne Lancerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      According to the FAQ section: "Creating Hubs about the same or very similar subjects in different accounts is also prohibited." http://hubpages.com/faq/#multipleaccounts

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      1. 95

         Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I guess that is aimed at SEO pros that might open 30 accounts here and write on the same topic - How Great This Widget Is or something along those lines. The HP rule would pre-exist the Google rule that only 2-3 links from one domain are counted.

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      2. 87

         Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Interesting.   I guess it's all in the interpretation of that rule. 
         
         For instance, I can see why HubPages would not allow me to write an article on one account called "Discount Pointe Shoes" and then write an article on my other account called, "How to Buy Pointe Shoes at a Discount". 
         
         However I can't see why they'd object if I wrote an article on one account called, "The Ballet Sleeping Beauty", and an article on my other account called, "Pirouette Technique in Ballet".

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            Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            That is how I would interpret the rule. Don't write the same or similar things, but if you are writing different things on the same topic, you can.  I don't know why you would want two different accounts on the same niche instead of building authority, but I don't think HubPages would do anything if you did.

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      3. 72

         relacheposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         That's....a sign of just how much is going wrong here.
         
         HubPages just imported thousands of Squidoo accounts, many of which sort of mirrored accounts here, because I and a lot of other people wrote on the same topics on the two sites.

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      4. 89

         NateB11posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I saw that about different accounts not being about the same subject awhile back and wondered about it. Been wanting clarification on that for awhile, will be interested to see if there is an answer to that question.

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   4. 80

      peachpurpleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I write borh hubs on recipes but not the same, different recipes and style, still earning and alive

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   5. 77

      LuisEGonzalezposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I would just stick to one main subject per site. Although I have several articles on other topics I mainly concentrate on photography. However your approach could work for you so why not?

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   6. 92

      Christy Kirwanposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Marisa,
      
      You can have as many accounts as you want and write about whatever you want in those accounts. Writing about the same subject in different accounts is perhaps not a great idea, but you won't be moderated for it.
      
      However, we do ask that you stick to a single account (the same account) for posting in the Forums.

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      1. 86

         TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Kristy:  Would it be a problem if someone used one name for the regular forums and another name for the  topics forums?  I am finding that people cannot find me if I do not post in the forums under my second account, but feel that as long as I keep them separate this should not be a problem.  If it truly is, let me know and I will delete the comments I made as Dreamworker in the topics forums.

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         1. 92

            Christy Kirwanposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            In a situation like yours, I think it is probably ok to use one account in the HP Forums and one in the Topical Forums, but I'll check with the mods to be sure.

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            1. 86

               TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

               I would very much like clarification on this because there seems to be some confusion even among the team members.

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      2. 87

         Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks!
         
         I agree it wouldn't make sense to have two accounts writing about the same topic, HOWEVER there are situations where it might be desirable, e.g. where you suspect there is a problem with your first account (e.g. a Panda slap).
         
         You say that you "ask" people to stick to one identity in the forums, I take it that's not a hard and fast rule?  I know that posting as two people in the same forum is against the rules.

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         1. 92

            Christy Kirwanposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            In cases like timetraveler's, I believe it is probably ok to use different identities in different Forums (so long as the person doesn't start using different identities in any of the same Forums), but I will need to check with our moderators for confirmation.
            
            A single identity across all the Forums is always preferable, though.

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            1. 86

               TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Matt just emailed me about this issue and said I am not to use the forums with my second account name.  As I told him, this really limits my ability to communicate with people, especially since the feed I am seeing has just a hand full of writers on it...so how am I supposed to connect with that persona?

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            2. 87

               Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               If it's not allowed, then you had better ban Hubbers like Relache, LivewithRichard and many other established Hubbers who post with different identities depending on the topic - for instance, if they're discussing an issue that's affecting their second account, it would be silly to post in the name of their first account, wouldn't it?
               
               ...which, of course, means that we all need the freedom to post on the non-topical forums with multiple accounts depending on what we're reporting/discussing, and I'm guessing that's why HubPages decided not to prohibit that.

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               TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Christy:  Have you found out about this

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               1. 92

                  Christy Kirwanposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Yes-- Matthew's directions are the ones you should follow. If you are not causing trouble and/or misleading others with separate accounts, it is unlikely that you will be moderated, but strictly speaking, it is against the rules. Thanks for your patience while I looked into this.

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                     TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     Thanks for checking this out.  I will no longer post under my second pen name and have not responded to my first posts since finding out that this could be a no no.

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                  2. 87

                     Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     Can I suggest, then, that the rules are updated to say so.  That is not what the rules say now.
                     
                     And I must say, I think this is a backward step.  If a Hubber has two accounts and needs help with the second one, he/she is now unable to post using that identity to ask for help.

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   Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years ago

   I am confused about the rules for second accounts too.
   
   It is hard to be active on the site and mingle with other Hubbers if you cannot use the forums as a second account. (They can't find you if they don't know you exist).  I *think* it means that you can't post in the same forum under two different accounts, so you can't support or argue with yourself!
   
   My understanding is that you could write about whatever you wanted in each account.  I hadn't heard of that restriction.

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3. 83

   Venkatachari Mposted 9 years ago

   I even don't know that we could open two accounts. But, now I have learnt, I would say that posting articles on a same topic in both accounts shouldn't be allowed if the content is more or less same and the point of view supports the same theme and thinking line. But you may post on same topic, if you are presenting one element in one article and a different element of the subject in your other one.
   
   Regarding posting on forums and comments, one should stick to one account in each forum or while replying each question. He should not post with both accounts on same forum or question. This is what I think.

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   1. 86

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I agree about the forums, but not about the questions within forums.  What difference does it make if I respond on one forum as person A and another question on the same one about a different topic as person B?

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      1. 87

         Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I think it all comes down to the definition of forums and threads, because it can get confusing now we have threaded discussions.
         
         We have the "big" forum, i.e. the whole thing.  But when you start a new discussion, some people will call that a forum and some people will call it a thread. 
         
         Like you, I don't see any harm as long as you stick to one personality while you're participating in a specific discussion.  HubPages only "asks" that you stick to one personality, it doesn't mandate.  The only thing that's actually prohibited is participating in the same discussion with more than one account.

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            TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

            But are they "asking" or stating that they "prefer"...big difference there in my eyes.

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            1. 87

               Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               There is a difference, but there is also a big difference between "asking" and "telling". 
               
               If I ask you to do something, you have a choice.   If I tell you you must do something, you have no choice.

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                  TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Good point.  I am still awaiting Kristy's response on the forums...she was going to check with Matt about this.

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4. 78

   Lionrhodposted 9 years ago

   I can see why posting as two separate accounts in the forum who agree with each other is bad
   
   It might be fun though to let my varied personas war against each other.
   
   Oh well, I'll be good.

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