Please persuade the editors that lists are not always competitons

1. 88

   Will Apseposted 7 years ago

   I recently had an ed say that one of my ten best product type hubs should have the products listed in order i.e. from best to worst.
   
   This can make for drama in some cases, but a lot of the time you are simply talking about ten products that all have something worthwhile to offer. Ordering them makes no sense.
   
   Ideally, there should be at least one product that will match the needs of every person who visits the page. That product will number one for them but not for other people.
   
   I will rename the hub 'Ten of the Best..............', rather than 'The Ten Best..............' to make things clearer but I don't really want to put in a lot of work if the page is going to be rejected on the basis of not being a sort of competition.
   
   This might seem trivial but I have a lot of pages of this kind and don't want to get boxed into a corner.

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2. 81

   earnerposted 7 years ago

   Yes, how editors view our intentions and the "point" of what's being produced can seem odd at times.  While they have their reasons, it can often not be known to us what that's based on.
   
   If they'd said "If you do it this way our stats have proven that you'll earn double ...." you might've received the information more favourably.  As it is you've been knocked back without a reason you can process and absorb.
   
   All the best.

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3. 88

   Will Apseposted 7 years ago

   Most editors are fine with lists and do not interfere, however you work them. I reckon I got a newbie.
   
   I'm tempted to just leave the page alone (it is one of my worst) but then I would feel guilty that someone had taken the trouble to critique it, and I had ignored them.

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4. 83

   psycheskinnerposted 7 years ago

   Maybe make the point your list actually has clearer, so they don't assume it is the usual default  point.

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5. 88

   Will Apseposted 7 years ago

   I currently have 4 pages that have been marked as suitable for moving to niche sites but need changes. They all have multiple issues. I will have to knuckle down and do my best with them for the sake of the common good.
   
   I just wish eds would choose some of the pages that are fine as they are. Revisiting stuff I wrote several years when I was still learning how to write online makes me squirm, lol.
   
   'Spose I could try being more professional.

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      Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Will,
      I was told a hub of mine could be moved to a niche over the placement of where one colon was! So by the time I resubmitted it, which was minutes later, they already moved a different hub. The original one with the issue of the punctuation didn't get moved for over a week, and then I had to argue to get it moved.
      
      I have some hubs with major issues. When I was a newbie, I wrote many hubs in one text capsule. Sometimes it takes hours to fix one. Also, I didn't read all the rules, my bad, and have a lot of pictures that need changing.
      
      But it seems to matter who moderates the hub. Many of mine were moved before I fixed the pictures. Other times they get checked by someone picky. The money is better when the hubs move to niches, but it seems like a short spike, maybe two months, and then it goes flat. So I wonder how much time it's worth to fix all of our hubs.
      
      Also, they get put in categories that they don't belong in. Just because I have astrology hubs, I've written a lot of greek myth and other topics. That doesn't mean everything should be in Exemplore.  I guess as long as it's moved and gets on the first page of Google, it doesn't really matter where they put it.
      
      But as you said, I have many hubs that are fine, and could be moved with no changes. They make it so difficult when it doesn't have to be. Now that more staff is working on hubs, they should agree on  the same things they think need to be changed.

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      1. 88

         Will Apseposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         I have a similar thing to your pics issue with Amazon capsules. Some eds move stuff complete. Some demand ads are braced with personal recommendations rather than simply being supported by helpful info that allows readers to choose. It's not a style I respond to, and I reckon others are wary of a hard sell, too.
         
         Also, choosing how to use time is important. I would rather put my effort into pages that I think that I can improve, or write new ones, rather than try to fix up pages which did not really did not work out first time round (despite massive effort).
         
         On the other hand, we should be glad eds want to move them, so I will try to wrestle the chosen ones into shape.

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         1. 92

            Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, I try to fix one a day. And it is easy to forget older hubs you haven't visited in a long time. Some of them have good bones, just need some work now that we are more experienced.

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6. 81

   Wesman Todd Shawposted 7 years ago

   Yeah, I'd definitely not want to rank things from best to worst with what I'm doing. With the guitar things I do the most expensive ones are often not actually better in any objective measure other than being maybe better looking. Basically, after a certain price point, things just get more gaudy, or have bells and whistles that should you not be inclined to use such things, can really just get in the way of ...playing said guitar.
   
   And who wants to buy the one listed as least good in a page about ten different ones? Ranking musical instruments from best to worst won't do what I want to do, and could easily bring in dramatic ire filled commentary from all over. No thanks on that.
   
   So I agree with you. Seems better to talk about features and prices, and let people decide what is best for them. It's the same deal whether you or I or anyone else is talking about a fiddle or a cordless drill, or any number of countless other sorts of products.

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   1. 88

      Will Apseposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      You certainly do not want the Reddit crowd on your back, lol.

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7. 85

   Marisa Wrightposted 7 years ago

   It annoys me, too.  It seems as though HubPages can't understand that for many products, there is no "best" brand or model - instead, different brands/models will suit different people.  They're intent on making us pick ONE Amazon product and that's that.
   
   I'm still smarting over my ballet DVD Hub.  In it, I found four DVD's - one for the beginning student, one for the intermediate student, one for the advanced student and one for pre-professional.   After a bit of wrangling, I was allowed to include a capsule for three of the four DVD's - but for the fourth one, the reader will just have to Google it for themselves.  Silly.

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