Q&A section: People think it's a help section

1. 60

   Ktooposted 15 years ago

   Go look at the Q&A section (used to be Request a Hub)
   More than half the questions are technical or advice about Hubpages type questions.  People aren't getting that it's not supposed to a help type question.
   
   I also thought it was a FAQ or help type question and was getting frustrated because I couldn't find the Requests section.
   
   I think the change is clearly not intuitive for all and Hubpages should look at clearing it up.  I don't want to dig through fifty "how do I get adsense on my Hub questions" to find a request, and I'll bet I'm not the only one.

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   1. 72

      relacheposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      That's pretty much been the problem since the get-go with the Hub requests. 
      
      I too was one of the people who was given a preview of the new layout and I gave admin feedback that I felt the name change to Q&A was not going to improve the situation.

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2. 79

   Uninvited Writerposted 15 years ago

   Even when it was named requests there were a lot of those types of questions.

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3. 82

   Whitney05posted 15 years ago

   I think it should be changed to something, maybe not requests since yea there were a few issues to start, but definitely not Q&A. I mentioned this before the new layout was implemented and the screenshots and video was first released the day before. No one responded or said anything about it (much less after the new layout was released and I mentioned it again).

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   1. 67

      WeddingConsultantposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Same. I also mentioned it before launch. I think "Q&A" is way too broad. Hubbers know (or should know) that it's the hub request link, but I think it should be labeled something less confusing.

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      1. 82

         Whitney05posted 15 years agoin reply to this

         It should have just been left alone. At first when I saw the screenshots, I thought it was going to be a FAQ page, but the video told me otherwise. Very confusing.

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      2. STAFF

         pauldeedsposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         For someone coming from outside of HubPages, "Requests" and "Request a Hub" are completely foreign.  Q&A may not be perfect, but we think it's more accessible to outsiders (who make up 90% of our visitors), than the alternatives.
         
         Since the change, the rate of questions/requests that end up being removed by moderation are actually a little lower (27% versus 25%), for whatever that's worth.  Unfortunately, a lot of people simply refuse to read the instructions regardless of what you call them.

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         1. 67

            WeddingConsultantposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks for your response. I should state that I'm not upset about it but thought I should mention it as a suggestion. I agree with what was said earlier that it appears as more of a FAQ or HELP section, especially for newcomers (non-hubbers).
            
            Are there any ideas that hubbers have for a better name? I read Idea Bank as one idea, but are there more? Maybe it would be beneficial if we came up with a better alternative.

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            1. 82

               Whitney05posted 15 years agoin reply to this

               I think Ideas would be perfect, since there is already an Idea Bank and Premium Idea Bank. It would blend in better. 'Q&A' just doesn't fit. Using 'Ideas' would blend in better with the other terminology that is on the page and section.
               
               Either, way there still needs to changes made to the section, because I mean the entire section still has 'Requests' all over it.
               
               * Request a Hub
               * What are Requests
               * Latest Hub Requests
               * 1-8 of about 7,600 requests
               * Answer this request

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4. 71

   sunforgedposted 15 years ago

   I dont think its very confusing it says Q % A, you ask a question, someone answers, kind of like Yahoo answers right?
   
   How is that confusing?
   
   Oh wait, you mean thats the section where you make suggestions of hubs that should be written, or requests for hubs!
   
   I never would of guessed that

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      Ktooposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Exactly my point

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   2. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, I agree completely.  Yes, some people misunderstood what "Requests" meant, but changing it to "Q&A" makes misunderstandings more likely, not less. 
      
      "Idea Bank" is by far the best title because it says exactly what it means.  I can't understand why HubPages doesn't use that title, since it's already used elsewhere. 
      
      As for other complaints - reading them, I can understand why the HP team isn't racing to address them. Some of us are probably just reacting to the fact that something we loved has changed.  We'll eventually get over it and realise there's a good reason for the changes.
      
      However, in the case of the Q&A, HP have definitely got it wrong.

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5. 56

   Dame Scribeposted 15 years ago

   omg..here I thought they were Hub requests, roflol...geezz I need more coffee,

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6. 79

   ProCWposted 15 years ago

   Agree that 'Q&A' isn't the best label...
   
   Maybe 'Idea Bank' should be the Top label and possibly have 'Hub Requests' as a sub-component?

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7. 78

   Sally's Troveposted 15 years ago

   I also agree that Q&A is misleading.  Especially when you get to the destination page where the "Request" verbiage remains throughout.
   
   Why not call it what it is:  Hub Requests.
   
   I also suggest removing "browse >>".  It's not a link and doesn't add anything.  I think the navigation would be much more intuitive if the options were simply:
   
   Topics (without the "By"), Hub Requests, Forums, Hubs, Hubbers, Hubtivity

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8. 60

   Ktooposted 15 years ago

   Well at least they know.  But apparently just ignoring it

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   1. 80

      ngurecoposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Maybe they can call it "Ask & Answer"

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   2. 82

      Whitney05posted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I think they're ignoring a lot of the complaints about the new layout changes. I've seen many complaints, with mine included, and very few, if any, replies by anyone on the staff. I'd love to hear what they think about the problems, complaints, and suggestions that have been posted since the change, even if they don't agree with them.

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9. 71

   AEvansposted 15 years ago

   I believe PRO as a wonderful idea and is there anyway possible they can somehow categorize that lengthy list, the same way we categorize our hubs? On occassion I answer request and digging through a mountain sometimes is annoying. Categorize for ex:
   
   Health Topics
   Family Topics
   How To Topics
   Recipes
   etc. etc. etc. and make a note somewhere that tells a new hubber it is not the comment section , please reference the forums if you are looking for Q&A to something you cannot find.
   It isn't organized in there, but it would give all writers a great opportunity to have their requests answered.

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   1. 56

      my-success-guruposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Hi AEvans

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      1. 84

         KCC Big Countryposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         *watches guru batting his eyelashes at AEvans*
         
         
         Q&A is confusing.

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         1. 56

            my-success-guruposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Hi Big Country!

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            1. 84

               KCC Big Countryposted 15 years agoin reply to this

               Just an observation on my part...not a prompt for my own hello....but, thank you just the same.

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                  my-success-guruposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                  Hope everything is going well. I wasn't sure exactly what to say so I thought if I said hi someone would take it from there

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                  1. 71

                     sunforgedposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                     how about how come an internationally acclaimed guru is so easily tongue tied, why hasnt google ever heard of you? renowned folks generally have a couple of references to them on the web?
                     
                     I still think q&A is kind of a silly name, but looks like the thread has deviated to a place to say hi?

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            2. 71

               AEvansposted 15 years agoin reply to this

               KCC, You are so funny batting eyelashes , oh my poor husband.

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10. 82

    Whitney05posted 15 years ago

    I like the idea of calling it "Idea Bank" or something similar to that. Even just "Ideas" would work better than "Q&A"
    
    I agree that many of the complaints are that they changed what wasn't broke, but most of my complaints have been appearance complaints of the overall site looking blank and airy. To me, it's the appearance of a new website that hasn't figured out what theme or design they want to set. It's very blank and everything is SOOO spaced out, with inch margins in so many places.
    
    
    
    
    I'm hoping to get this back on topic. Ha

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    1. 86

       Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       It occured to me that maybe it became "Q&A" because there's only so much space along that line.  So "Ideas" might be the only practical solution.
       
       I had the same problem on my Wordpress site, where the page names are listed just under the banner.  I had to cudgel my brain to come up with shorter names for the pages so they will all fit on one line!
       
       ..and thanks for getting us back on topic Whitney!

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    2. 72

       relacheposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       All they did really was take what was left justified and made it centered.  And they made the advertising wider.

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       1. 82

          Whitney05posted 15 years agoin reply to this

          Premium idea bank is similar to regular. I saw it this morning. Seems like the page wasn't touched. I think having 'article requests' or 'hub requests' would probably be too many characters for the tab at the top.
          
          
          
          Maybe so, but on pages like the account page or comments (when approving them), there is an inch difference between many spots. It's very empty.

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11. 84

    KCC Big Countryposted 15 years ago

    Whitney's "Idea Bank" is pretty good....or even "Hub Ideas"..."Suggested Topics" is a bit long.

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12. 79

    JamaGeneeposted 15 years ago

    Perhaps someone should write a hub on "How to Request A Hub"....

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    1. 86

       Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       The problem is that a lot of people who lob in and post a "Q&A" are newbies who would never get as far as finding that Hub.

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       1. 73

          Maddie Ruudposted 15 years agoin reply to this

          And the people who post those requests for help, or random conversational phrases, are not the kind of people who read instructions anyway.  There's only so much you can do to make things clear to someone, if they don't bother reading what you write--this is clear from people ignoring giant red warnings on the tops of their hubs.
          
          It's an ongoing problem.  I get emails to the team email box daily from people who think they've reached Oprah or Norton Antivirus, or even their bank.  They had to go poking around the site to find the team email address (it's not like it's at the bottom of every page), and still didn't realize they were on the wrong page.  Those types of people, there's not much you can do, except let them know, AFTER they've made the mistake, since they've ignored all the signs along the way.
          
          Of course, a lot of thought and research went into all the changes, but we are listening to (or, rather, reading) all your feedback, and we do appreciate it and take it into account, even if we don't necessarily respond.

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          1. 82

             Whitney05posted 15 years agoin reply to this

             I think 'Ideas' would be cool.
             
             
             
             It would be appreciated to hear what the staff thought of all the complaints and suggestions so far. Just to see what you guys think and why you did it the way you did. At this point, I pretty much feel ignored. :-/

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             1. 73

                Maddie Ruudposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                Sorry, Whitney, we're not ignoring you!  In fact, just around the same time you posted this here, James included your feedback in his new hub.  We're just all frantically scrambling around trying to respond to specific bugs and actual problems.  We're having an all-HP-staff meeting in a few hours, and we'll be discussing the feedback at more length at that time.

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13. 67

    WeddingConsultantposted 15 years ago

    Good thoughts Whitney. Oh and I knew we had an idea bank, but we also have a premium idea bank? Interesting.
    
    Yeah, "requests" shows up quite often on that page.
    
    Maybe hub requests or if you wanted to be more guest friendly, it could be article requests? Just tossing some ideas out there.

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14. 80

    ngurecoposted 15 years ago

    Whitney has a point here that "hub request" shows up quite often deep in this site.
    
    My opinion is that the top-most row, that of - "start a new hub-my account-my profile-help" has enough space for "request a hub".

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