Notices of Overly Promotional or Substandard Hubs

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   tillsontitanposted 12 years ago

   Wouldn't it be nice if some explanation about the hub came with the above mentioned notices.  All you get is the general notice that you hub is overly promotional or substandard and it needs to be fixed.  If it is re-submitted and is not fixed properly you could be banned from hubpages.
   While I understand the need to keep hubs of the best quality, sometimes, it is difficult to determine why the hub has been flagged that way.  Perhaps a little note stating....you mentioned shopping at Macy's too many times or you promoted Macy's products more than twice...some clue as to why your hub is overly promotional.
   The same thing with substandard!  "t may be empty or unfinished, poorly formatted (including having a disallowed capsule in the first full width position), contain broken links or videos, low quality photos or videos, use all capital letters or contain grammar or spelling mistakes that interfere with the readability of the Hub. These factors diminish the value of this Hub to our community."  This may be true, but the writer may have no clue as to what this refers to.  A little hint, like the link to your video of Macy's is broken or your last photo is low quality....
   Just some suggestions.

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      fpherj48posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      GF.....I was notified once, about the use of a "photo" that had to be changed or removed due to a "watermark".......Of the six photos in my hub, I stared and studied for an hour, without being able to "see"  anything on any of them.  I finally wrote back and asked them WHICH photo.  Within minutes, they emailed the offending photo, with a note that said, "maybe this will help."    !!!!!!!   Maybe?   For the life of me, I have no idea why they did not do this in the first place.   Too simple??  LOL   
      So....if you ask them, they will tell you.    Go figure. & Good luck.

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   relacheposted 12 years ago

   If you can't figure out what's amiss, you are always welcome to contact the moderators for clarification.

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      tillsontitanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks relache, but how do I do that?  When I click on 'contact us' it is for resubmitting the hub.

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         Simone Smithposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         To get more clarification, respond to the email that has been sent to you.

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            tillsontitanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Light bulb above my head!  Thank you Simone.  I will  use the email to send my questions...however...know that the email does not mention "substandard" but it is listed on the hub itself.
            Thanks everyone for your helpful answers and suggestions.  I have always had good responses on HP and was a little stunned at this threat of banishment!!!
            Fearless Leader Simone is ALWAYS, always, helpful.  Again thank you.

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            PegCole17posted 12 years agoin reply to this

            I agree that a friendlier notice with specifics would be of value. Recently I posted a new hub, a product review of a brand new book. Understandably, I was somewhat overzealous in representing my nephew's vegan cook book, his first published work.
            
            The notice I got back about possibly being banned from HubPages for repeated offenses really floored me. I took down the hub, revised it the best I could, then got a further message that it was overly promotional. I had two links when I initially saved the hub, later deleting the one that was associated with a photo. Even though there was only one link on the final version, the hub was unpublished. Very frustrating process of guesswork and embarassment at the results of my efforts.

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               Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               It's possible the Hub read too much like a press release for the book, rather than an impartial review.

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                  PegCole17posted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Hello Marisa, You are absolutely right. My hub did read too much like a promotion and I accept that it needed revision. My comment was intended to be more about the tone of the notice we receive when this happens rather than the specifics of my own errors. I got carried away (again).
                  

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   Simone Smithposted 12 years ago

   What relache says is true, and ffpherj48, that additional help you got is something we're happy to provide. We try to make our messages as clear as possible, but perhaps we're not being clear enough about it being fine to write back for clarification. Would that help?
   
   At any rate, I'll bring this up in our next community meeting.

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      fpherj48posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I think it would absolutely help!  Thanks Simone.  You are always helpful!  and we like that!

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      tillsontitanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Sorry I didn't reply to this right away but yes,  I think that would help Simone. Telling people they can reply to the email will let them know they can get more information easily.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I can see why they don't invite people to reply to the email, though - because most people would do exactly that, instead of going and taking a look at the message on the Hub itself first.  And that would mean the moderators getting bogged down answering emails instead of doing their job.
         
         It can help do some homework yourself - spend some time in the Learning Center so you understand HubPages' standards a bit better.

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            tillsontitanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks Marisa, but it didn't really help this time.  After sending the email though HP re-considered their original determination of overly promotional because of the title.  Sometimes you just have to write that email to figure out the fine points and the HP staff is always helpful and very prompt with their answers.

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      vocalcoachposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks Simone.  I think this would be a big help.

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   hawaiianodysseusposted 12 years ago

   I really like what's happened here...
   
   First of all, Mary posts what is perhaps a universal concern here on HubPages, and she does so with wonderful clarity, providing not just the two-part problem but an ample amount of examples that may very well ring familiar with dozens of fellow Hubbers.
   
   Secondly, two very reputable resident writers in the HP community respond with timely and solid information.
   
   Finally--and this is the part I find refreshing and much kinder than the message Mary initially received from HubPages--our costumed heroine is graced with not one, but two,  helpful responses from HP headquarters by way of Director of Marketing and manager of external and internal communications, Ms. Simone Smith.
   
   Kudos to all parties for demonstrating an optimal example and the resulting effectiveness of a forum thread.
   
   Personally, I just wish the community meeting among the HP administrators could include the topic of how to write the message in question in such a way that it comes across as helpful guidance rather than a threat of one being banned to the HubPages Phantom Zone. A kinder tone, as exemplified in Ms. Smith's responses, would enhance and reinforce the community spirit and greater good  of both new and veteran HubPages writers.

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      cleaner3posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      you sir should be in charge of operations with rational thought and clarity espoused by yourself and ms. smith  great responses.

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   Trina Connerposted 12 years ago

   As a very new writer here (only 3 hubs) I'm am almost afraid to write another. Of my first 3, 2 have been  taken down with notices to fix things and I had no clue what they were talking about either. So now that I know I can reply to their emails, that makes me a little more willing to try again but still apprehensive with how to proceed.
   Question...if we are writing about a certain topic like a subject on health, can we not include a part of an article that includes statistics and reference that article? In one of my hubs that was the only thing I could think of when they cited me for "duplication-found elsewhere on the web" notification. I took it out, which left a void in my information, and then they approved it.

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      psycheskinnerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      If you open the hub and click on the question mark it will give you more details.  Generally any duplicate content should be well under 5% of the total hub.  If you still get flagged you can ask for manual review.

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   vocalcoachposted 12 years ago

   tillsontitan - Thank you for posting this.  After reading responses from other hubbers and especially from Simone, I have the information I have wondered about for so long.
   
   Knowing the exact reason for your hub being over-promotional or sub-standard would be a great help. I once received this notice, spent forever trying to figure out what the problem was, and ended up deleting a good hub.  All of this happened because I didn't want to be banned from hubpages.

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   brimancandyposted 12 years ago

   Can we really be banned if links, or videos in our hubs don't work? It seems to me that has more to do with content filters. Or, in my case, if it is a youtube video, it seems that there isn't that much a person writing a hub can do about it. But, it seems to depend on what kind of internet connection you have.
   
   For example, when I am at home doing and edit to a hub on dial up, it tells me I have broken video links. But, when I am using my friends high speed computer through comcast, all of my video links work just fine. In fact I was just looking at one of my hubs on his computer the other day, went back to look at the same hub, and it had broken video links of the ones I had just watched.
   
   I have only had one substandard hub warning, but, I get those broken link messages frequently. I fix the link, and the very next time I go back, the same link is broken again. But, like I said, it only seems to happen when I am using dial up. That is something that I can't fix.
   
   Can I be banned for that?

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      Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      No.   The Hubs with the broken links may get unpublished, though.

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         brimancandyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         But, it seems to me that if the person who published the hub, has no control over a faulty link,  I don't think they should be punished for that. Just as they have no control over what ads Amazon or Adsense wants to place on their page. I don't think that is a fair decision to make.

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            tillsontitanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            The problem with broken links is they are usually from hubbers that have pulled their hubs.  Second, is YouTube videos that have been pulled.  Maybe we should leave those links out!

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   Gypsy Rose Leeposted 12 years ago

   The last time I was informed about something amiss I had no clue. Then I asked a direct question and magically the answer appeared. You don't know how apprehensive I've become clicking that publish button. I check my account at least once a week to be sure there are no broken links or other problems. I guess it's sort of go with the flow and hope for the best but you're questions will be answered if you just ask directly.

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      tillsontitanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Me too Gypsy but when I get the "substandard" message I was totally clueless!  I've written and email back and am awaiting a reply.

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