HOTD quality control

1. 92

   LongTimeMotherposted 9 years ago

   Hello, Matt.
   
   I appreciate you have a small engineering team with lots of competing priorities, but do you think it might be possible to create appropriate software that will prevent a listed (potential) HOTD from actually 'featuring' until it has been signed off as checked and approved by one of your editing team?
   
   Active quality control of HOTD is a feature suggestion that will definitely be 'useful for a large number of authors'.
   
   - It will directly help the authors of each of the 365 potential hubs of the day each year, who may not have noticed typos and other errors.
   - It will increase the confidence of authors like myself who are currently reluctant to recommend HP to other professional writers. (Surely the Hub of the Day should be as near to 'perfect' as possible.)
   - And, perhaps most importantly, it will encourage all HP authors to be aware of the need for 'top quality' if they hope to have one of their hubs featured as HOTD.
   
   I haven't read all of this week's HOTDs, but the two hubs I did read have glaring errors.
   
   One had paragraph breaks within sentences. Not once or twice, but repeatedly. It was a fascinating topic - worthy of attention to correct it and make it easier to read.
   
   Today's HOTD has an obvious spelling mistake in the title. I've left a note for the author in the hope she sees it before too many other hubbers wake up and read it, but that shouldn't be necessary.
   
   Somebody should be responsible for Quality Control before featuring any hub as HOTD. If the editorial staff are not checking hubs as a priority, software might fix the problem. I'd rather see the same 'perfect' HOTD featured for a week in preference to seeing a changing display of errors.
   
   I'll leave it with you in the hope you can find a solution. Thanks, Matt.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      +1

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   2. 81

      Shades-of-truthposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      +2

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   3. 31

      Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      "Hubs of the Day are chosen by HubPages staff members from a pool of Editor’s Choice Hubs based on their interesting subjects, beautiful formatting, and high quality writing."
      http://hubpages.com/learningcenter/acco … d_22634413

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      1. 92

         LongTimeMotherposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Hi Fox. The link you provided clearly shows the criteria for selection.
         
         Because those criteria are not always met, I am hoping Matt's team will figure out a way for the staff members to actually check, then tick, each criteria before any HOTD is featured.
         
         If they also have to write their name before 'signing off' on it, admin will have a clear idea who not to trust with choosing HOTD if errors get through.

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   4. 87

      ESPeck1919posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      First off, thank you for pointing the typo out. I appreciate it. It would have been nice if the quality control folks would have pointed it out before featuring the hub, since I'd obviously missed it after however many times I read everything through.
      
      I also agree the need for more quality control, but I also agree with Millionaire Tips's idea of sending potential HODT recipients an e-mail beforehand, so they could take another look at their work. This is my second HODT, and the only reason I knew either one was featured was because of an explosion of comments in my inbox. There must be a way to send notification to the author upon nomination.

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         Shades-of-truthposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Excellent point, ESPeck1919! Had you had a "heads up", you would have had an opportunity to check it over minutely. We have seen this many times before, and you are not the only one who wished they had a warning.

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      2. 92

         LongTimeMotherposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         You're welcome, ESPeck1919. I'm glad you saw it promptly and had a chance to make the change.
         
         One of my HOTDs also had a typo, but I was away from my computer until the next day - so it was seen by viewers for the entire day before I spotted it. It was only when I saw the multiple comments and revisited the hub that I saw the typo. Felt dreadful for not having fixed it earlier.
         
         I have repeatedly requested a return to the type of email correspondence we used to get when hubs were selected for HOTD (in the days of Simone), but those requests have not been granted.
         
         So, I thought I'd try a different approach.
         
         Because I opted out of EC quite a while back, I'll not be in the running for any further HOTDs. Therefore there's no advantage to me from a 'saving face' perspective anymore, but I'd still like to be confident that HP's Hub of the Day (whichever hub it may be) is error free and worthy of 'representing' all HP authors on any given day.
         
         If a nominated hub fails to be cleared for featuring, I think it should just stay in the pool until it is appropriately checked. We're never going to gain a solid reputation for creating quality work if our HOTD efforts fall short of a high mark.
         
         I'd have been grateful if my typo had not slipped past 'quality control'.

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2. 90

   Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years ago

   I agree that potential HOTD should have the benefit of getting editing.  Even if it is only for people who have signed up for HubPro. This would help spread the HubPro benefits to a greater number of people, and even if you only do one hub for that Hubber, he or she can take what they learn from it and apply it to the other hubs in the account. This would increase the quality to the entire site faster.
   
   Even simply letting the Hubber know that their hub is a potential candidate for HOTD would be helpful, so the Hubber can look over the hub before it is put in the spotlight.
   
   This is not the first time we have made this recommendation.

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3. 82

   mary615posted 9 years ago

   I read the HOTD each morning.  I use that Hub as a guide in what HP believes to be a "stellar" Hub, and hope I can learn from reading it. 
   I saw the typo in today's HOTD.

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      LongTimeMotherposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      The typo is fixed now, Mary, which makes it look much better. (Although it will still remain in the hub's address, unfortunately for the writer.)

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         mary615posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         +1

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         1. 92

            Jean Bakulaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I agree Espec1919,
            It's always nicer if someone, either from staff or a friend, tells you there is a typo in your work, before too many people see it. Once they correct you in a forum, it just makes you feel bad.
            
            I read somewhere that when you proofread your own work, once you read the typo wrong once, your eyes will continue to see it that way. Sometimes I read old hubs to see if they need updating or if something major in them changed, and see typos I never noticed before. It's embarrassing. Don't let it get to you.

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