Why Didn't This Get Past QAP?

1. 60

   Mark Ewbieposted 11 years ago

   Hi Guys.
   
   Normally I am fairly sure of where I am at in terms of delivering my brand of content.
   
   This is the second or third time in a couple of weeks I have failed to get pass the QAP test.
   
   Please tell me what is wrong with it?
   
   http://markewbie.hubpages.com/hub/Stick … ring-Pages
   
   Thanks.

   replyreport
   1. 76

      Cantuhearmescreamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I guarantee the majority of "your problem" is the length of your article. Yes, I'm a newbie but I'm just starting to realize how this is a problem. Your kind of brand would be/is huge with all the social medias and the "younger crowd". Who is accessing the internet? Who is spending the money? These social medias are blowing up the internet and they are unavoidable. So you would think that if you are writing in fashion that would appeal to the larger audience and the money blowers, you'd do extremely well. So, do you turn your articles into these horribly long drawn out boring pages that people don't want to waste so much of their precious time on just to make google happy or pass the QAP or do you write for the audience? You're screwed!

      replyreport
      1. 60

         Mark Ewbieposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I think you make a very valid point.  Short, funny, snappy and possibly sharable.  Not some Wiki page.

         replyreport
   2. 82

      Simone Smithposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hey Mark,
      
      I can say that the reason your Hub wasn't Featured was because it did not get a sufficiently high quality rating. Sorry about that!
      
      Perhaps going through the Hub Rating Scale might help? http://hubpages.com/help/hub_hop_table#informational
      
      Shooting for an eight or above will give you a really big margin of safety when it comes to making it through (the quality rating cutoff is below an eight).

      replyreport
      1. 60

         Mark Ewbieposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks Simone.  I checked the scales.  Not really much wiser.
         
         The poor quality media images are part of a joke / satire based loosely on the coloring page scandal of stolen images over at Squidoo... and probably also on HubPages.
         
         Also because I thought it was funny.
         
         As for grammar and message and that sort of stuff - I don't want to sound too confident - but I believe I have no problem whatsoever in delivering a message to my reader.

         replyreport
      2. 0

         summerberrieposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Between 1 though 10 - 1 being peas and 10 being whipped cream, I think Mark's hub is an 11 in my book (which is a hot fudged sunday)
         Maybe the Mturks don't like fudge?

         replyreport
         1. 60

            Mark Ewbieposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Oh now, please.  Maybe a 10 and a half, but 11?
            
            Well if you say so I suppose.
            
            Seriously, it's a 4 or 5.  But I don't think it really hurts anyone.

            replyreport
   3. 60

      Soul Man Dancingposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You asked. It is lame and sophomoric. Interest and appreciation is limited to an esoteric group of friends and admirers at best.

      replyreport
      1. 60

         Mark Ewbieposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Soul Man - you may be right.  certainly HP can be a bit cliquey and I am well aware that friends can say something is good when the internet does not.
         
         I don't believe that you, or I, or MTurk, even Google can actually judge that content unless it is out there.  And then an internet audience decides.
         
         I have no problem with pulliing unsuccessful pages or amedning them to better fulfil the expectations of the searcher - but that is part of a publish first and check the results process.
         
         That is how it has worked on HP up till now.  I accept the change and have just had a couple of disappointments recently.
         
         As for lame and soporific.
         
         I don't know what brilliant stuff you have been reading on the internet recently.  The Onion?  Daily Mash?  All a bit samey after a while - where the humor comes often from overusing the f-word.

         replyreport
         1. 60

            Soul Man Dancingposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            It was an accurate assessment, 2nd rate internet rags notwithstanding.

            replyreport
   4. 60

      MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Mark, I don't rate your stuff.  I know it's yours and I return it when I get it.
      
      However, I don't think the artwork is the big issue.
      
      At the risk of getting slammed, a hub of one sentence paragraphs doesn't get great scores.  One sentence paragraphs when the sentence consists of one word do worse.  I get why you wrote the hub that way, but it's not going to score well.
      
      If you want it to be judged as creative writing, then there are voice issues. If you want it to be non-fiction then there are substance issues.

      replyreport
      1. 60

         Mark Ewbieposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks for your frankness Melissa.
         
         Something for me to think about.
         
         I suppose I could add an extra word here and there.
         
         Do you know if the QAP rules favor any particular type of word?  I'd hate to go through it and have used the wrong one.
         
         There is one word that springs to mind... a rich and full word that can have a variety of uses.
         
         edit: What is ridiculous is that this silly page has now had more views than most of mine get in a year.  I'd have rather snuck it under the radar and seen how it fared.

         replyreport
         1. 60

            MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            To my knowledge there aren't any word lists.  I've never lowered a rating due to the use of the word you are inferring, but like I said I don't rate your stuff.
            
            *crawls off*

            replyreport
   5. 82

      sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Warning of Adult Content Required - Beware, Nudity,  Stickmen and Stickwomen!   The Sticks are not wearing Clothing!!   I used to draw my Sticks wearing clothing!   This Hub makes me smile

      replyreport
2. 61

   sen.sush23posted 11 years ago

   Mark, the problem with most of us, once we are successful, is our 'mission statement'. I guess somewhere along the way, we get it ingrained into our system whatever fits the pattern is right, and others are wrong.  I have noted that already in the case of hub ratings, there is poor judgement. Since the policy of all these ratings and stuff is not really transparent or available to the non-elite Hubber, it is not possible to challenge the system. I can only say, HubPage administrators should be a bit more open minded, and creative and think out of the box to appreciate good stuff when they find it- counting the pennies that the Hub can earn, or the number of words is not really a scale for Quality!

   replyreport
   1. 82

      Simone Smithposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hey sen.sush23,
      We do really want everyone to succeed, and we're doing our best to provide as much feedback and information as possible.
      Our quality guidelines were built around Hubbers' opinions about high quality, Google's guidelines, and our own internal understanding of what does well and what does not.
      We're doing our best to be fair; it is just that we're entering an age in which many of our old online writing formats just aren't going to cut it anymore. :-/

      replyreport
      1. 61

         sen.sush23posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I take your point Simone. That is exactly why I am surprised that this Hub that we are discussing did not qualify. If you read my comments closely, you may have noted that I suggested that the leanness of the body text could be one reason for not being agreeable to HubPage Administrators. However, I personally feel the subject broached does not require the Hubber to be rather vociferous. Many a time I do get bored with the didactic and  utterly pointless and unimaginative badgering in some of the Hubs that make it to the top of the list. Well! But of course, I would not complain, I cannot complain - I do get to read plenty to keep me satiated.

         replyreport
   2. 94

      wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Not transparent?  The guidelines have been listed several times.  They are in the sticky not in the forums, they are in the HP blog and they are in the learning center.  Can't get much more transparent.

      replyreport
3. 82

   grand old ladyposted 11 years ago

   Admittedly, this piece made me chuckle. But while I am a mark ewbie fan, I feel this would be better for a children's teaching book. Maybe the editors felt the subject matter was very simple. If it were a children's book and I had a little kid, I'd buy it:)

   replyreport
   1. 60

      Mark Ewbieposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks GOL.  It is in the Kids Humor section.

      replyreport
   2. 82

      Simone Smithposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You do make a good point, grand old lady, in that very information-rich, informative Hubs with practical advice tend to do better. It's tough for me to say that, because I'm a big fan of the Mark Ewbie format!
      Mark, perhaps with some analysis of stickmen throughout art in history, some interesting examples of the use of stickmen in popular culture, and some additional templates would be enough to get this Hub over the hump.

      replyreport
4. 60

   Mark Ewbieposted 11 years ago

   Thanks guys.  I have to actually go out and leave the computer today - so won't be around much.
   
   But I was thinking about this a bit more.
   
   I don't know if my piece is any good, sharable, enjoyable for people, especially perhaps older kids with a sense of humor.
   
   And neither do MTurk.
   
   I am pretty sure that the content is easily sufficient for Google not to penalise HubPages or make some quality judgement.
   
   The only way to see the real world reaction is to put it out there.  If it's no good - get rid.  Surely - giving it a chance woudl not wreck the site?

   replyreport
   1. 76

      Cantuhearmescreamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      No. Don't get rid of it. Maybe just move it to a different category. Maybe it's not kid humor, maybe it would do better among the teen/young adult crowd; they are the ones accessing the internet anyway, not little easy-readers.

      replyreport
      1. 60

         Mark Ewbieposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I think you are probably right.
         
         It's that definition of kids perhaps.
         
         To me... anyone under 30.  To HP.- maybe a four year old.

         replyreport
5. 60

   Mark Ewbieposted 11 years ago

   I haven't gone out yet...
   
   Revisited my page and it is now plastered, and I mean plastered, with wall-to-wall advertising.  It looks like a piece of spam.
   
   No wonder they want more words.
   
   More pointless words for more spammy adverts.
   
   People do not want 1500 words for one joke.  They also  do not want - how many is it? - six or more blocks of spam adverts.
   
   I am genuinely trying to create content that will appeal to certain people.  I am not trying to, and never will, generate boring Wiki style spam content.  Yes, my jokes may not be very funny or my stickmen poorly drawn - but I am trying to serve my potential readers with content that gives them something.
   
   A smile perhaps. That would be nice.

   replyreport
   1. 76

      Cantuhearmescreamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Mark,
      Your simple style and easy to understand, quick humor is exactly what today's societ feeds off. Some jokes go right over people's head. Much of what you do, everyone can get a laugh... without leaving the dumb behind.

      replyreport
      1. 60

         Mark Ewbieposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks.  I have added "Funny" to the title and put it in the satire and parody section.
         
         Let's see what happens next.
         
         Probably still too short because after all - we all have time to read 1500 words and watch a video of someone's ass.

         replyreport
6. 60

   Mark Ewbieposted 11 years ago

   OK. Phew.  Calming down.
   
   It was 548 words and I see the new editing thing that starts at 700.  And I don't have a poll or a quiz (Jesus).
   
   So with a little effort I can make it worse by adding 202 words and a poll (Did you like the balloon picture? - Yes, No, or I Am An Adult You Moron).
   
   A couple of swear words for the new target audience - halfwit teenagers - and job done.
   
   As a side note.  I guess that writing short pieces for children is not an option on HubPages.

   replyreport
7. 53

   wrenfrost56posted 11 years ago

   Stick men worked for Lawry and who knows maybe you are the modern representation of this, maybe you're just ahead of your time? True genius is hardly ever recognised in the generation that it is intended for.
   On the plus side your original artwork should have helped to improve your score
   
   Maybe people just don't do colouring in anymore? We do live in a digital age after all, kids are into different things then when we were younger. I guess people just don't have time to do the fun stuff that they used too, or maybe it's a dying tradition......
   
   Maybe you could write a hub on why the art of colouring in is dying out? Or perhaps do a web video teaching people to draw stick men as good as you, you know they may have been envious of your talent.

   replyreport
8. STAFF

   Paul Edmondsonposted 11 years ago

   Mark, thanks for posting. It's helpful to see examples of Hubs that present some challenge to our system. I'm going to talk to the team today and see what the options are...

   replyreport
   1. 60

      Mark Ewbieposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks Paul.  QAP feedback is one area that woudl be useful - too short, misleading, that kind of thing.  Simply saying "check the rules" doesn't really give a huge amount of help.
      
      I appreciate what stellar is about, and for informational topics maybe that's OK.
      
      For what I am trying to create which is supposedly funny, maybe sharable, content - it doesn't work quite so well.
      
      I appreciate I could make it longer and work the stellar system better, and that is probably what I will do.
      
      The thing is, I don't even know - due to no feedback - how borderline I was.
      
      More words?  A poll?  Or a better joke?
      
      Thanks for replying to my moan!

      replyreport
9. 72

   Horatio Plotposted 11 years ago

   "We're doing our best to be fair; it is just that we're entering an age in which many of our old online writing formats just aren't going to cut it anymore. :-/"
   So says Simone.....
   Huh?
   If that's the case then it would seem that the planet's gone stark raving mad.
   In whose online world does Mark Ewbie not cut it anymore?
   He's the best thing on HubPages if you ask me.
   Blast those MTurkers.
   Sort it out HubPages.

   replyreport
   1. 60

      Mark Ewbieposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks Horatio - I owe you a  pint.

      replyreport
   2. 61

      sen.sush23posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Voted up!

      replyreport
10. 94

    ktrappposted 11 years ago

    Maybe sometimes your stickman (love, love, love him and the cat!) could be a humorous Guide of sorts, discussing various stickman/ stick figure topics.
    
    I did a little keyword research...free stickman games, stickman arcade games, funny stickman videos, stickman fighting games, stickman shooting games, stick figure movies, create a stick figure, etc.
    
    Are you familiar with the game hangman, where in the end the person that loses has a stickman hanging from a noose? You could do a funny piece on how to play hangman. Or how about the history of the stick figure?
    
    Or maybe Stickman can be a guide for non-stick-figure topics:
    Perahps Stickman can humorously tell us how to make a royal guard of London laugh/smile (could include youtube videos) or serve as a Guide for other "British" stuff (that's where you're from, right?) like travel or slang.
    
    IDK - just trying to think of ways for you to combine topics that people search for with your clever brand of humor and stickman art that will pass QAP.
    
    Best of luck to you. Long live Stickman

    replyreport
    1. 60

       Mark Ewbieposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks Ktrapp.  I have looked long and hard at the angles - and there aren't many that haven't already been done.. and the advertising is poor anyway.
       
       So I am still experimenting with topics, style, content to see what works with that elusive internet audience.
       
       Grateful for the suggestions

       replyreport
11. 78

    sabrebIadeposted 11 years ago

    Let's see if it does better now......

    replyreport
    1. 88

       Jean Bakulaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Hi Mark,
       I would guess that not many young children read Hubpages. I think your humorous pieces are very good and like the whimsy. I haven't read the new guidelines either, because I don't write here much anymore. I can't find any logic in what does well or not, besides the obviously bad quality spam. I began with a main niche, and have a few side ones. But my followers tend to just like one topic in particular and don't really like it when I deviate from it. Whenever I got discouraged and asked for advice, I was told my pieces were way too long, and not as nicely as that. Interestingly, it's the pieces that are the longest and took much research and reading to write that still are getting views after two years. You can't predict what people will like. I also have pieces that practically nobody read for the first year, that suddenly got popular beyond belief. I have written on other sites and made backlinks to similar topics, but not enough to account for a large amount of people to suddenly be interested in a piece they never looked at. I got in the habit of answering questions about my work, because it is rude not to acknowledge comments. But it has hurt me, because people all come to HP to ask me stuff, and not to my personal blog, where I want them. I'm starting to think online writing is a losing proposition. I make a little money and have a lot of tendonitis from being on the computer too much!

       replyreport
       1. 60

          Randy Godwinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          HubPages is no place for fun anymore, and who wants to work anyway?

          replyreport
12. 60

    Mark Ewbieposted 11 years ago

    OK.  Now up to 822 words.  And a new poll.
    
    I don't know if there is a restriction on how many times something can go through the Qapper.
    
    Let's see.
    
    Thanks for your patience and apologies for my moaning and self-interested blather.

    replyreport
    1. 94

       wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Humor may have been the intent, but truthfully I have found this thread to be of value, including, unfortunately, your hub.
       
       I expect all of us to be experiencing this kind of thing shortly.  You are a little unique in the type of writing you do (thus Paul's comment) but we're all going to have at least some problem.
       
       Your experience, and the discussion here, will be something to keep in the backs of our minds.

       replyreport
       1. 60

          Mark Ewbieposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          I agree. There are some interesting points in amongst my comments.

          replyreport
          1. 94

             wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

             You know, we write for the reader.
             
             We write for google.
             
             We write for Adsense to some degree.
             
             We certainly write for Amazon and eBay.
             
             We've gained someone else to write for: HP.  All while still writing for the reader.  We're going to have to learn what the new guy wants, just as we've had to learn what everyone else wants as well. 
             
             OK, we've got a good jump on the project - HP has told us far more than Google ever did - but discussions like this can still help a great deal.  You've paid the price of a bruised ego here, and hopefully learned that the bruising wasn't necessary.  You just don't know the new rules yet. 
             
             Thanks for that, although it will probably mean that my own gets a worse bruising when the time comes; I have your experience to think about, which you didn't.

             replyreport
13. 82

    Bill Yovinoposted 11 years ago

    You haven't employed enough gizmos, widgets, or thingamajigs. You need a Google Map to show where your stick figure lives. You need a Poll so we know if people prefer normal or over-sized heads on their stick figures. You need a nutritional chart or people won't know if your Hub contains too many carbs.  Then there's the twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one that Hubpages requires for a Hub to be "Featured".

    replyreport
    1. 60

       Mark Ewbieposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Anyone who knows "twenty seven eight by...." I have great respect for.
       
       What a song.

       replyreport
    2. 61

       sen.sush23posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       

       replyreport
14. 60

    Mark Ewbieposted 11 years ago

    Having kicked up a fuss and had lots of attention - thanks - I am going to wind my neck in a bit.
    
    My 500 word page is now twice the length with slightly better content.
    
    In truth - it was a lazy punt to see what traffic it might get.  An approach that will no longer get through.  It still needs work and I think I am prepared to put that effort in. After all, if I think it was worth publishing in the first place then it's worth a  little more work.
    
    I have learnt a lot from HP - the site and it's authors since starting here, and this is one more part of the process.  It is genuinely in all our interest to not only talk about creating quality content - but to try to create it.
    
    So each edit and knockback by the poor MTurkers could actually be doing us a favor.  All those times I have moaned about the crap on here - a lesson for me!
    
    At least I think we know there is no favoritism involved in this site which is a Very Good Thing.
    
    One thing I used to 'know' - and then keep forgetting is that you are a long time on the internet.  What I mean is - that half hour piece could be around for years.  It is a shame and a waste if it is not the best you can do.

    replyreport
    1. 94

       wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       +1
       
       "At least I think we know there is no favoritism involved in this site which is a Very Good Thing."
       
       Along those lines, I might add that a post from Melissa impressed me: that she knows your work and won't rate it.  It's doubtful that many MTurkers can spot individual hubs like that, but it's good to know that at least one that can does the right thing.

       replyreport
    2. 82

       Bill Yovinoposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Oh no, you've been assimilated! Am I now just a lone hold-out clinging precariously to a bit of flotsam, drifting aimlessly through the Internet?

       replyreport
       1. 60

          Mark Ewbieposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          I have been trying to sell out for two years.  This is my big chance.

          replyreport