Need a better vetting system

1. 74

   Terri Paajanenposted 11 years ago

   I don't know if "vetting" is even the right word here, but I think we need some sort of approval process for new hubbers. Though I've only been here a few months, it feels like there has been a real increase in empty, self-promoting, spam hubs. People join, and post a big ad about themselves or their services... that sort of thing. Or people who don't understand the point and post 3 sentences about what they did today.
   
   There are a lot of great informative hubs in here, but a casual visitor is going to be turned off when they see some of the nonsense being published. This goes for hubs as well as requests.
   
   The flagging idea works, provided enough people are using it (I flag bad hubs as I see them, anyone else?). Perhaps new hubbers should have their first 3 or 4 hubs approved by an editor before posting. That might help eliminate people who don't actually have anything to say.
   
   Just a thought.

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   1. 79

      darksideposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I so hate that.
      
      There's place for that sort of thing. Like their own blog, forums or they can just annoy their closest friends by emailing them.

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      1. 60

         gamergirlposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I agree with you, darkside.  HubPages strikes me more as a place to share what you know or can do and teach with the world, not as a place to leave a journal.
         
         I believe there should be a requirement before you are able to post a request, specifically regarding a possible approval process over requests.  I pull a number of ideas from the requests option, but often I see requests which are poorly thought out or poorly worded, and have to pass over them to find viable requests.

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2. 74

   Lissieposted 11 years ago

   I agree, I have the same feeling too of an increase in spam .  I denied one comment that I thought was spam and then got a thumbs down on the hub - gee  I wonder who that was from!
   How do you report a suspect?

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3. 95

   Marisa Wrightposted 11 years ago

   I think you may have a point.  I'm sure HP don't want to turn into the thought police, but there are several writing sites which do already insist you go through a vetting process before you get started.
   
   It's absolutely vital that HP keeps up the quality, if it's going to preserve its reputation.  I haven't come across too many awful Hubs, but some of the Requests are truly ridiculous and simply invite people to post something sub-standard. 
   
   Personally, I'm not quite sure what flagging is all about.  I've had one "thumbs down" for one hub and I don't know why.  Is flagging different from thumbs?  Does anything happen if you flag?

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   1. 74

      Terri Paajanenposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Flagging is a specific way to let the admin folks know there is a bad hub out there. When you click the "flag this hub" link (next to the thumbs up/down buttons, I think) you are given a choice of what the problem is with the hub so that it can be reviewed.

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4. 92

   Patty Inglish, MSposted 11 years ago

   If you Flag, then administration lopks closely at the Hub to see what is worng with it. It may be removed, or not.

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5. 95

   Marisa Wrightposted 11 years ago

   Another measure that would help is to have a minimum word count for Hubs.  That would prevent people posting short answers.

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6. STAFF

   Paul Edmondsonposted 11 years ago

   It's enormously helpful if people flag hubs.  They will get reviewed by one of us.

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   1. 74

      Terri Paajanenposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Are hubs reviewed with even just a single flag?  Or do they need to be flagged a certain number of times to trigger a review?
      
      I flag lots !  Hopefully, I'm helping and not annoying.....  :-D

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7. 74

   Lissieposted 11 years ago

   In this case the spammer doesnt have any hubs - all hes done is become fans of lots of people and posted comments.

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8. 87

   Paragliderposted 11 years ago

   I agree that there does seem to be more junk requests and junk answers than previously, but maybe that's just because there's more of everything - the price of expansion.
   
   I worry a bit about the thumbs down option. A hub that is controversial or challenging will sometimes attract an anonymous thumbs down from someone who doesn't even comment. I don't see how that benefits anyone.

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   1. 92

      Patty Inglish, MSposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree. Commenting or flagging would be better than the thumbs down, imo.

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9. 95

   Marisa Wrightposted 11 years ago

   Thanks for the clarification about thumbs down vs flagging.  I thought they had to be different.  I got a thumbs down for one of my hubs, and I didn't get any messages from HP or have any action taken. 
   
   Actually I feel it was a good thing, because it made me have a look at the hub and realise I hadn't done a thorough job.  I've revised it now - just wish there was a way to get whoever "thumbed" it to look at it again and (hopefully) change their mind!
   
   Maybe the "flagging" option needs to be a bit more obvious, then more people would use it?

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   1. 74

      Terri Paajanenposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Not sure if that's a good idea or not. It might be better than only a few "serious" hubbers really know what it's for, or it could be misused and become useless.
      
      I run a large social network, and there is a little icon to flag something as inappropriate (for photos, blogs, messages). Well, people are constantly using it, likely thinking that it's like a bookmark or something. I get flag reports every day with dozens of perfectly fine entries. People even flag their own posts. I can see that kind of problem happening here too.
      
      Just a thought.

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10. 62

    retireyoungposted 11 years ago

    Aside from straight out spam and duplicate content how can you judge quality?  Everyone is going to have a different opinion on what makes a good hub.  Word count wouldn't work either because a good hub could just have videos and/or pictures. 
    
    I think HP already has a pretty good algorithm with quality hubs having a higher score and rising above average hubs.

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11. 0

    daflaposted 11 years ago

    The problem with flagging as opposed to vetting is that the content is already there, and being read, before it is removed.  In the case of sexually explicit material, that isn't good.  Children can be reading this. 
    
    I suggest either a filtering system or vetting of some kind before a hub can even hit the site.  I know that would involve a lot of work, but there has to be something that can be done.  I had to flag several sexually explicit hubs today, but they are still there for all to see.  The flagging process just takes too long to be effective.  And these spammers are smart.  They post at the heaviest traffic times to get the most exposure.

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