You no longer have permission to answer questions

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   WalterPoonposted 12 years ago

   Hi, I wonder why I am suddenly banned from answering questions. Is the ban permanent or temporary? I have written to the HubPages Team but I thought that I may be able to get a faster response here.
   
   Is there a guideline on how to answer questions? Honestly, I really don't know which rule I have offended or which answer was the cause. I did try to post one question (about manual traffic exchanges) which was rejected but it did not say that I was banned from answering questions from now onward, so I suspect it is not due to that question.

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      sunflowerforestsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I don't know if you've read this or not but maybe it will help:  http://hubpages.com/learningcenter/site … es-answers

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         WalterPoonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Funny, I type "Answers" in the search box but it didn't return this page. Thanks, sunflowerforests. Now I understand. I was asking about whether manual traffic exchange is permitted. The moderators said I cannot ask and advise me to ask in the forum. No mention was made about a ban! When I typed that question, there was some notification and I went through the list of topics to make sure that the question was not already asked.
         
         (P/S: I don't see any warning that one can be banned if one asked the question in the wrong section. Anyway, it's academic because I couldn't find the page until you showed me.)

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      Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I'm wondering if it was the subject.
      
      Using traffic exchanges is against HubPages TOS and against Adsense TOS.

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   WalterPoonposted 12 years ago

   I am wondering whether it was the links that I put in some of my answers. Those links are not links to my websites (because I understand that we cannot promote our own websites in the answers). The links are to websites to support the answers that I have given and this is what I have been taught in university, i.e. whenever you say something, always support your answer with an authoritative source. Some of these links  were to Wikipedia and some to the US government websites, so it's obvious clear that I don't own any of these websites.

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   page1articlesposted 12 years ago

   why does this matter? You do not earn income from answering other peoples questions... you earn income (if you have adsense) if people answer your questions. Income is not the only motivation here, but honestly... why does it matter?

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      LuisEGonzalezposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I don't think it is a matter of making money or not from answering. Most hubbers answer questions simply to participate and share opinions, ideas concerns etc.
      
      WalterPoon: keep trying to get in touch with staff and do go over your emails as the reason should have been emailed to you.

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         WalterPoonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Hi LuisEGonzalez, you are right. I wrote a few thousand articles for Wikipedia without being paid a single cent and the reason why I left was that the admins can be real nasty. I like to write and when I see a question that I can answer, my fingers get itchy, LOL.
         
         Yes, I have written to the HubPages Team. Was spending the last hour or so, searching for answers as to why I was banned. Apparently, no one seems to have this problem and there are no guidelines for "Answers". What I do see is guidelines for hubs and people being banned from creating hubs.
         
         And yes, I did go through my email several times. I did receive a notification saying that one of my question has been removed. It added: "We recommend that you navigate to a site focused on the topic in question and direct your questions there."  Doesn't sound like they banned me, right?
         
         Makes me worried to even ask my questiion here, LOL. I just joined 10 days ago and there's so much to learn.

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      WalterPoonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Page1articles, you say: "you earn income (if you have adsense) if people answer your questions".
      
      Yes, I do have Adsense since 2008. I didn't even realize that I was banned until I was trying to post a question. I hope it is a technical glitch!

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         lorddraven2000posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I had no idea questions pays into adsense. I think it could be a glitch I experienced a similar issue where I could not access the answers page. After a day it was remedied.

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            WalterPoonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Hi Lorddraven2000, that's very heartening to hear. But "cannot access" is different from a message saying "You no longer have permission to answer questions". What is the chance that this is a technical glitch?
            
            But no one seems to have been banned from answering questions before! Am I making history? LOL.

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            WalterPoonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Hi Lordraven2000, I just found out that: "You have the option to host your Questions on your HubPages subdomain, which means that you can earn from ad revenue from those pages. To move the Questions you have asked to your subdomain, visit My Account > Q&A and click the "Transfer" button. Keep in mind that this transfer is irreversible."
            
            http://hubpages.com/learningcenter/site … es-answers

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               JMcFarlandposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               I just went to my q/a page in my account, and I don't even SEE a transfer option available.

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                  Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  It's not there any more, that was a transition arrangement.  All questions were automatically transferred to our accounts some time ago.

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                     page1articlesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     Marisa Wright can probably clarify this better than I can but I also think you can make ad revenue from slide shows and video ... It has been a very long time since I bothered with that side of things here.

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   psycheskinnerposted 12 years ago

   I think I have seen it before. But I think only hubstaff can explain why.

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      WalterPoonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Oh, do you know in which section you saw it? I was searching the whole HubPages but I couldn't find anything related to "Answers"... can't find the guidelines either.
      
      I am still new here. I wonder whether HubPages behave like AdSense? AdSense gives me the creeps. So many stories of people being banned!

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   brakel2posted 12 years ago

   When you answer questions, you give opinion without links.

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      WalterPoonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Hi brakel2, I guess there is a danger of studying too much. When I was doing my Masters degree, they told me that my opinions are worth nothing, unless it is supported by credible sources. To them, they are only interested in informed opinions, not personal opinions. And, yes, personally, I agree with that. In any case, the answering box does say that it allows links, so why should I be banned then? If it had said no links allowed, that would have been a different story.

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         Beth37posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Sorry if I missed an explanation... did you try posting without attaching a link and it still wouldn't accept your post? Did you get a msg. or would it simply not record your comment?

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            WalterPoonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Hi, are you referring to my fanmail to sunflowerforests? I tried to send twice and there was this "waiting" symbol that went on forever. I thought my post was too long. There was no message.
            
            I didn't even realize I was banned until I tried to post a question a few hours ago.

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            WalterPoonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Hi Beth37, thanks. Hope I don't make the same mistake twice!!! So it's the links! Actually, the links I posted are not promotional links to my websites. They were links to established websites to support my answers. But I understand that links can easily be abused and it's difficult to monitor. So no links then...
            
            P/S: Usually in the forums, if they don't allow links, the software merely refuse to allow posting. They don't ban the users. Honestly, AdSense does make me jittery, after hearing so many stories of people being banned. And the word "ban" really makes me feel uneasy.

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            WalterPoonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Hi Beth37, the Learning Center says we cannot post questions about HubPages in Questions and Answers but I see many people post and their posts were even featured as "Hot Questions". Also I just saw a link posted by someone as part of his answer (including myself several times before). So I guess it's not the reason...
            
            But I found out the reason yesterday when Facebook suddenly wrote to me, saying that I would be banned for 24 hours because of a malware in one of my links. I guess the 2 problems happening a few hours of each other are related. I just did a thorough cleaning of my computer and I believe the problem is now resolved.

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         brakel2posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I put a link in a question once, and my question got removed.  Maybe it depends on the type of link.  I am sorry you are having this trouble. Hope it clears up soon.

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            WalterPoonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Hi Brake12, thank you for your concern. Yes, it has been clear up expeditiously by the HubPages Team. The ban is only for one day, LOL. I don't think it's the type of link because I made sure it is from a major website that obviously can't be mine. The link was added to substantiate my answer and not for promotional purposes.

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   sunflowerforestsposted 12 years ago

   Cool, I'm glad that helped.  I found that by clicking on the "help"  word listed at the top right on my page.  That takes you into the area to get into the Learning Centers.  There is so much info there.  Have a nice day.  I hope they lift your ban soon.  I understand wanting to be able to communicate!  Good luck

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      WalterPoonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks very much, sunflowerforest. At least I am clear now.
      
      Ahhhh, now I know why I missed the Learning Center. It says: "If you have questions on HOW TO START OR PUBLISH A HUB, please consult the Learning Center, which will also walk you through the process of getting set up with AdSense, Amazon, eBay, and the HubPages Ad Program."

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