Deluge in "followers" by new members

1. 85

   Good Guyposted 11 years ago

   Since yesterday I had a deluge of new members "following" me.  Never happened in my 3 years here.  Is there some sort of spam going on?

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      ameliam.michelle1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Do not worry good guy, as janshares said it is confluence of so many things. Nothing to worry about, just enjoy this deluge of attention

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   2. 76

      denden mangubatposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      okay i am one of them now

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   3. 79

      galleryofgraceposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Forgive the cliche but I think new hubbers believe "You're known by the company you keep"!

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   4. 0

      CroftRoanposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I've gotten a few new followers as well. The funny thing is I've either been on hiatus or cleaning out my hubs for the past week or two. I don't know what's going on with that but I'm okay with it.

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2. 87

   jansharesposted 11 years ago

   Not that I know of, Good Guy. I have had a number of new followers over the last week, as well. Maybe it's because of your wisdom, helpful hubber advice, and your hubberscore.

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3. 80

   EricDockettposted 11 years ago

   This happened to me a few weeks ago.  Some of them seemed legit, and some seemed like spammers.  Some of them ended up getting banned eventually.  I got a lot of weird fan mail during that time too.  One guy told me he loved me.  I didn't approve that fan mail, but I do go back and stare at it wistfully from time to time. 
   
   I figure I must have been showing up in the "you may also like" area for newbies somehow.  Maybe that's what happened to you.  Who knows?  My account hasn't imploded so far, so I think you're okay. 

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      To Start Againposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Got it. I won't tell you I love you in your fan mail I'll just have to email you with it...mwah haha

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      1. 80

         EricDockettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         If I don't respond to your first few emails just be patient.  I get so many love letters via email every day its hard to sort them out.  You'll know when I've read it by my gentle reply, or prompt restraining order.

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4. 67

   lovebuglenaposted 11 years ago

   Getting new hubbers is a great thing so no need to worry. But of course hard to know if they are good people or not...

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5. 67

   lovebuglenaposted 11 years ago

   You can look at their profiles to find out... Not sure we can ban people that follow us from following us though if those people are not good.

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6. 60

   LindaSmith1posted 11 years ago

   Some are new to writing in the Internet. They also search about what to do for getting traffic and so forth which is often outdated and incorrect information. There are 2 common themes and that is to leave comments with a link of your own which is considered to be spam these days, and of course giving likes, following others on social networks like Twitter. HP has the follow button. They think if they follow you, you will follow them and read their articles therefore giving them tons of traffic.

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7. 70

   neilcookposted 11 years ago

   Man, that's the kind of problem I want to have! I don't possibly know what a member could do negatively by following another member. If they wanted to spam you they could simply leave comments on your hubs. I'd say just enjoy it!

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      denden mangubatposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      wahahaha is it a problem having many followers?

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      1. 70

         neilcookposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Not in my opinion!

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8. 0

   healthylife2posted 11 years ago

   That happened to me a few months ago. There were several new followers that just appeared. Some were legitimate and some were spam and got banned. I assume it happens every now and then and the legitimate ones will stay and the others will end up getting banned.Either way I'm always happy to get new followers.

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9. 60

   annasantosposted 11 years ago

   Hi There, What would you do with commenters who are banned from Hubpages? Will you delete them forever or will you just let them engage?  And why do you think there are people being banned from Hubs?  Thanks for your answers...

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10. 84

    vocalcoachposted 11 years ago

    I've not had this happen to me and been here 3 years.  I normally only get a new follower maybe 2X a month or so.

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11. 73

    lorlie6posted 11 years ago

    I'm not certain if we are allowed to post this, but here goes:
    http://fiveonecows.hubpages.com/  (Hi moderators, snip if necessary)
    This person was one of the very first Hubbers to follow me; I was thrilled and considered whether to follow him/her back-so I went to the profile of this Hubber.
    I saw that this person had 'followed' virtually every Hubber on the site-or at least it seemed so to me. There is no activity listed today (perhaps this person isn't writing here any longer) yet when f.o.c first followed me, his/her activity was manic!
    
    With a '1' Hubberscore, fiveonecows has followed 5,104 Hubbers.   
    I see today that 4,028 persons are following this guy.  But why?
    He has published one Hub.  Assuming these people have actually read his or her Hub, is it so amazing that people just have to follow?   I haven't read it, so I can't really say.  I doubt your new followers are 'binging' on following due to the quality of your writings-yes, I've checked out your work!
    
    What I learned is that before I follow anyone on HubPages, I check out their activity.  If the person  is following way more than commenting, I become suspicious.
    Sometimes Hubbers follow just because that person followed first, as LindaSmith1 pointed out.  I used to think it was the polite thing to do, or expected.
    Perhaps this 'fiveonecows' is reading my Hubs, but I sort of doubt it-never did he/she leave a comment.
    I'm not sure if this story really applies here, but I think you could say it's a cautionary tale!
    Wish you well, Good Guy, and enjoy the followers-even if they're 'questionable'!!

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12. 79

    DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years ago

    I've not had that particular problem, but there is one person who has left several rambling comments, the main thrust of which is criticism, sprinkled with a few kudos.... 
    
    However, when I checked him out, he has supposedly been on HP for 2 years, but has zero hubs.  I also looked at his activity, and he has many equally lengthy and not always complimentary comments on other hubs, many of which remain 'not yet approved.'  Neither does he appear in the forums with any activity.
    
    He has 5 followers, but why, with no hubs to read????
    
    One of his comments on my hub complained about "young, inexperienced hubbers who could not take criticism..."  and had deleted his comments.   I have not approved his comments, either, and I sent him an e-mail suggesting that he not be quite so negative in his comments, and informing him that I was neither young nor inexperienced, but that people don't appreciate rambling "corrective" comments when much is a matter of opinions, and that if his whole purpose in joining was to criticize, then I could understand folks not appreciating his input.
    
    I further suggested that he put in some effort writing some hubs of his own, and participate more widely in the community here.
    
    I've had a number of complaints with issues here lately myself, so maybe I'm guilty of the pot calling the kettle black, but I do make an attempt not to be negative all the time....

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