Deleting a WikiHow Article

1. 68

   eugbugposted 12 years ago

   Has anyone had any experience with WikiHow?
   Before publishing an article on HubPages, I tried to delete the same article on wikiHow so that there wouldn't be any duplication issue. Apparently this isn't an option. Instead I just blanked the text but this edit was reversed. I then re-wrote the text but an administrator reversed the edit again. It seems that once you publish there, your article is set in stone. The result is that I am now getting a duplicate warning on HubPages and I can't get rid of the article on WikiHow.

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2. 65

   Knightmare Golemposted 12 years ago

   I've never written for WikiHow.  What are the copyright terms over there?  If the copyright is yours you should be able to request it taken down... some places can either claim a certain right over the stuff you upload to them though.  If you've given them a non-exclusive licence to post your article for as long as it's financially viable your options might be limited.

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3. 68

   eugbugposted 12 years ago

   According to the TOS, the author continues to own copyright but gives WikiHow multiple rights to use and change the article.

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4. 75

   TIMETRAVELER2posted 12 years ago

   You need to read their terms of service because apparently somewhere in there it says you cannot delete your articles.  Take you article off HP and move on.

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5. 60

   LindaSmith1posted 12 years ago

   eubug: There is another site that says the sames as WikiHow, but you cannot delete anything. Why because if you have earned one penny from them, they consider they paid you for your article.  While doing some research if an article submission site does not allow you to remove your work, then you got ripped off because they have taken ownership away from you.
   
   Here is the difference because Hub Pages says the same as these other sites do.
   
   On HP you can edit, you can unpublish and delete your hubs. Save the URL to your deleted hub, and wait a few days, you won't find it in the search engine, unless it has been Google+, then you simply delete it from there. Otherwise, if your url is used, you will see a 404 error message. Why? Because when you deleted your hub, hub pages deleted it from their system and the search engines. 
   I also, for double protection delete my deleted hubs, or articles elsewhere using the Google URL removal tool.
   
   I have used the Google URL removal tool for sites like WikiHow, Factoidz, Knoji, and it does not work because they will not allow the removal of your work.  So, they actually own your work not you.
   
   The best thing to do when trying a new article submission site is to do one article for them. Then try to delete it and see what happens.  If you cannot delete it, you have lost only one article, instead of 20, 30, 40 or more articles.

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   1. 68

      eugbugposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Linda, thanks for the info. Luckily I had only submitted one article.
      Not only can you not delete an article, content is also free to re-publish under a Creative Commons license. So even if you delete an article on WikiHow, it may have been redistributed elsewhere and generate a duplicate warning on HubPages.

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6. 65

   Knightmare Golemposted 12 years ago

   Unfortunately I've been bitten by this kind of thing before, its why my first thought went to their TOS.  It's also why decided to join Hubpages.  You have a lot more personal control here.

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