Can Hub Reviewers Highlight What They Consider Spammy?

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   iijuan12posted 8 years ago

   Would it be possible for Hub Reviewers to highlight what they consider to be spammy so that we don't have to stab in the dark at what is causing the infraction?
   
   I updated a minor item on one of my most visited hubs, and it was flagged as being spammy.  The hub isn't spammy at all.  It is a lesson plan with all relevant links, modules, etc. and far exceeds the marks we are supposed to aim for in terms of words, photos, and extras.  This has happened to me on numerous occasions with numerous well-written, not-spammy hubs.  I then spend many hours (as in 10-20 hours) stabbing in the dark at what in the world appeared spammy.  I delete one module after another to no avail.  Even after spending hours trying to delete any possible item that may seem frivolous, some of my hubs remain unfeatured because I never stumbled across the correct apparent spammy violation.   
   
   This seemingly random labeling of being spammy has deterred me from updating most of my hubs that have broken links, or adding new content to them. It has consumed a large amount of my time that I would have been using to create new hubs or improve my currently ones.
   
   I have submitted my question about what might appear spammy on some of my hubs to the hubpages.com forum.  Sometimes I have made the changes recommended.  Rarely have those suggestions made a difference in me getting my page featured.  It would appear that no one has clear ideas on precisely what is required to be spammy or not spammy when all the hubpages.com recommendations have been met -- at least in the eyes of me, the author, and the members of the hubpages forum who have attempted to help me in the past.   
   
   When I was part of squidoo.com, they made a change to the amount of amazon modules and links we could feature.  In order for us to more readily notice the extras we had on our pages, the squidoo.com reviewers highlighted them on our page.  This made it quite easy to recognize them, and it was a very simple process to remove those extra links or items. 
   
   Might it be possible to do the same here at hubpages.com?  Even if the highlighting option isn't available, a quick note from the reviewer of something such as, "Remove all web links on your page" would be a tremendous help.

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      calculus-geometryposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      You always have the option to email the reviewers/mods at
      
      team @ hubpages.com

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         iijuan12posted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you! I'll try that!

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      Au faitposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Here is an example from the learning center regarding what may be classified as spammy:  Another misuse of keywords involves overusing keywords - even legitimate ones - to such an extent at which they actually interrupt the flow of a Hub. Repeating keywords so much that they look obviously repetitive, or make a Hub look spammy, will neutralize the value of your writing, distract readers, and cheapen your Hub - all of this could hurt its long-term potential for both garnering traffic and earning money. Over-use of keyword-heavy words or phrases may also result in moderation, as it falls under the category of being deceptive to searchers.
      
      There is more.  Go to the following URL and then do a search and find under your 'edit' menu using the word spam.  That will speed the process up.  There are some 27 different explanations and I think you will be able to determine which ones may apply to your work.
      
      http://hubpages.com/faq/#mturk-article-is-spam
      The above URL gives instructions to people who review everyone's articles so you can see what we are looking for.

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         iijuan12posted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you! The above link was quite intriguing to read, but it unfortunately didn't hit on any areas that I felt were relevant to my hub pages that have been marked as spammy.

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      janderson99posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      It is interesting that if YOU flag a hub because it has spammy elements (such as too many affiliate ads) HP will ignore YOU because HP does not apply its own rules to old hubs - until they are edited by the author. Yet Hubpro basic is compulsory!!!!
      
      "Some content is grandfathered under previous site standards.
      Such Hubs are subjected to the current site standards, rules, QAP, etc. once they are edited."
      http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/131465#

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         Au faitposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         It isn't until an author has made changes that the hub goes into the hands of moderators again.  If there is something offensive moderators may deal with it through a report by another hubber, or a reader from outside, but when changes are made that is when it is given another critic by a moderator just like when it was first published.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I know what you mean, but I believe it's purely workload that makes it impractical. One of my friends used to do a similar job and she said it was hard enough just to moderate articles - if she'd had to stop and make explanations and highlight problems, it would've taken double the time per article, and she simply wouldn't have coped.
      
      It doesn't sound like much to us, but to her, taking an extra two or three minutes per article to provide details would've added several hours a week to her workload.  When you multiply that by the number of moderators employed by HP and the number of Hubs they have to get through, they probably can't afford it.
      
      So, your best option is to be patient and email the team to ask for specific information. 
      
      The most likely "spammy elements" are irrelevant or broken links.
      
      If you have ANY links on your Hub to sites that are not DIRECTLY related to the topic of that Hub, they are classed as irrelevant and not allowed.  For instance, I took a look at one of your Hubs at random (Circulatory system).  You have links at the end to a curriculum - what does that have to do with circulation?  Yes it's to do with education but it's not related enough.
      
      You also have links to your other lesson plans on completely different topics - again, not relevant enough. 
      
      You also have a couple of links to blogspot blogs - I suggest you change those links from a URL to a proper title (i.e."Highhill Education" instead of http:etc).  Also make sure the activities are still there - I checked some on your Genetics Hub and they were all 404'd.   
      
      You also have two links to valuemd.com for no apparent reason. If there is a reason, make it clear.

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   Kristen Howeposted 8 years ago

   Too many ad capsules, which aren't related to the hub.  Try to keep it 1-3. Grammar issues. Watermarked photos. It's all in the Learning Center too.  Like I said in previous forum answer, in-texted links is possibly considered spammy and should be relocated in the link capsule.

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   RTalloniposted 8 years ago

   I really need to read up on this spammy thingy in the Learning Center.  It has changed a bit since I first joined and I need to keep up with the revolutions, um, I mean…evolutions. 

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      Enelle Lambposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Viva la revolution!

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   makingamarkposted 8 years ago

   The return on effort employed needs to be factored into decision-making.
   
   Let's be very clear - what HubPages considers spammy is not necessarily the same as what Google considers spammy. 
   
   HubPages is only ever an interpretation while Google is definitive!
   
   I've moved hubs which HubPages have determined to be "overpromotional" to other sites and I'm now getting way more traffic from Google than I was ever getting for that content while it was on HubPages
   
   So - before you start work on trying to work what might be "spammy:" (in the total absence of any information as to specifics - i.e. it's a total "guessing game") just consider whether you'd actually really rather remove the content and locate it elsewhere - and see what happens.......

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      iijuan12posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for the suggestion!  I think I may follow it very soon if the issue persists.

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