Help! I Can't Figure This One Out

1. 93

   MsDoraposted 10 years ago

   This morning I posted "Roles That Makes Cousins Special."  I really thought that I had done a good job, only to receive a HubPages notice that the quality is substandard.  I have gotten this notice before, and have been able to figure out the problem.  Not this time.  Can someone please help me figure out what the problem is?  Thank you, kindly.

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   1. 80

      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hello MsDora - I ran the hub through word spell and grammar checker and found a few minor things but do recall having the same thing happen to me once - I realized that I had forgotten to add an Amazon and e-Bay adds.  I see you don't have any.  My hub was immediately featured on republishing it. after I added them  - you may be able to add a couple more capsules - map, etc., Someone else may be more qualified to answer your query though.

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      1. 93

         MsDoraposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I appreciate your response, Sally.  Maybe you're right, but I have always considered Amazon and Ebay ads etc. as options, irrelevant of quality.  I am aware that there are lots for me to learn.  Thanks, again.

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         1. 80

            sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            MsDora - you and me too.  I think that sometimes we just have to go through the check list and add things, even if we feel sometimes that they don't necessarily add anything to the Hub.
            Hope you manage to work it out.
            Sally

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      2. 48

         Ericdierkerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         For sure that part about the ads is correct?  That is very interesting.

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         1. 75

            Barbara Kayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I wonder too. Having all those ads might lower the value in Google's eyes. I wouldn't think more ads would add quality. Who knows???

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            1. 61

               AMAZING THINKERposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               HP already displays at least 5 ads / hub. That's probably the right amount.
               I think 1 or 2 amazon ads won't hurt, but not any more than that.

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   2. 0

      sheilamyersposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I read the hub and can't really see anything major. I don't know if would help boost the score, but perhaps you could find one or two YouTube videos that explain how determine what degree of cousin the person would be.

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      1. 93

         MsDoraposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Sheila, thank you.  I appreciate your help.

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   3. 61

      The Examiner-1posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      MsDora,
      I read your Hub and looked over your ads as I read it. It all looked okay except for one thing. I also looked at your links, and there was one called "Teen Link" and I am not sure but I think that may be a problem. After I scanned their 'Terms..', 'Privacy...', and more, I am not sure about copying the data from there and linking to them. Their age recomendations are between 13-19 if that counts in this case.

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      1. 93

         MsDoraposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         The Examiner, I will certainly take your suggestion into consideration, but since I've already contacted HP, I'd like to wait on their response before I touch the article again.  Thank you very much.

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   4. 88

      Jackie Lynnleyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      This happened to me this morning, I didn't get a notice it just went from an 80 to O and I could see nothing wrong after combing over it forever but I took a picture out and it started pending again and has slowly risen. I agree with you. I put ads on just to be nice but I don't write for pay and don't see why that would come into it since I have no knowledge on any of that. It hurts because your hub goes to peoples email and then it is gone and not sent back to their emails a second time. I feel your frustration.

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   5. 85

      moonlakeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I have many hubs without Amazon and Ebay ads. I don't think you have to have them.

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      1. 89

         wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I have nearly 80 hubs without an Amazon or eBay capsule.  All are featured and some are Editors Choice.  So no, it is not necessary to include either.

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2. 67

   relacheposted 10 years ago

   Try using this page in the Learning Center as a checklist,
   
   http://hubpages.com/learningcenter/How- … y-of-a-Hub

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   1. 93

      MsDoraposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Relache, thanks for your very useful suggestion.  That was the first thing I did after I received the notice.

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3. 0

   lambservantposted 10 years ago

   I did not get a chance to see it yet but I've had this happen to me a couple of times. I usually ended up breaking up my hub into sections with subheadings, which is my usual M.O. but a few times I just used one text capsule so I broke it up into sections. They also like you to use at least two interactive features such as videos, polls, quizzes etc.
   
   One time it happened when I was doing a humorous piece on my experience with taking a grammar class. To add to the humor I deliberately used bad grammar. They either didn't get it or just found it unacceptable no matter what. I had to go through the whole thing and correct all my grammar errors. It was still a good work, but it could've been better.
   
   You can always contact HB  and ask for a explanation. Hope you can resolve the issue quickly.

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   1. 93

      MsDoraposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Lambservant, I have taken your advice and requested help from HP, because it seems I've already done all the other things you mentioned.  Thank you very much.

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      1. 86

         Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         MsDora, do you understand that you can't just use photos from any site?  Telling people where you got the photo doesn't make it legal.
         
         You can use photos ONLY if there is something on the site saying it's OK to use the photo.  That might be a 'Creative Commons' licence, or it might say it's 'public domain'.  If it says nothing at all, then the photo is copyright and it's not legal to use it.

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         1. 93

            MsDoraposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Marisa, I appreciate the explanation.  This little episode has made me aware of things I didn't know about the use of photographs.  I will take heed.

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         2. 61

            The Examiner-1posted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Not necessarily Marisa. I have found photos where it does not say anything in the foreground. I have searched and found in the background that the photo may be either 'public' or 'copyrighted'.

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            1. 86

               Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               That sounds pretty much like what I'm saying. To be clear, perhaps I should say - if there's nothing on the site (either immediately visible or in the background), then the photo is copyright and you can't use it. 
               
               If the photo says "public", it's quite likely the site hasn't researched it properly and may have stolen the photo themselves!  There is no such things as public, only "public domain".

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               1. 61

                  The Examiner-1posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  I was merely cutting short on 'public domain'. I did not know that they were two different things.

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4. 77

   chasmacposted 10 years ago

   There could be problems with your image sourcing/ attribution. You've mentioned sources, but they're incomplete and it's not clear whether you actually got permission to use the pics.
   
   The pic of those celebrity cousins (Dionne & Whitney) came from a blog site so (in the eyes of the hub rater) it's highly unlikely that the blog site owner is the copyright holder of that famous photo.
   
   How about the Facebook image that you did get permission to use? Is Facebook the owner of that pic, or was it uploaded by a user? If uploaded by a user, then it's that person who needs to be mentioned, not Facebook - and ONLY, if that person is also the copyright holder. If not, then they can't legally give permission to use it, even if they, themselves, obtained permission from the copyright holder. That also applies to the Whitney/Dionne pic
   
   The first pic's source is 'genealology' (I know you meant genealogy), but 'genealogy' is not the name of the site that it links to.

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   1. 93

      MsDoraposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Chasmac, your response has opened my eyes to a few issues which I intend to look at.  I'll wait a little longer for a response from HP, and whether or not they cite the issues you do, I will still consider what you said/wrote.  Thank you very much.

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      1. 94

         drmiddlebrookposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         MsDora, I think the things Chasmac points out are probably going to be the problem. HP is very strict about photo attribution. I would be willing to bet that's 99% of the problem.

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         1. 58

            MelissaBarrettposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Nope.
            
            If it failed QAP, if failed ONLY due to what is in the rubric. Raters do not check if photos are correctly attributed. If they are pixelated or poor quality, that we care about, because it's in the rubric.
            
            The ONLY criteria we have is on this sheet:
            
            http://hubpages.com/help/hub_hop_table#informational
            
            If it's not on that sheet, we don't care.
            
            If a hub was moderated, that's a completely different thing.

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            1. 93

               MsDoraposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               WOW! I read that chart for the first time. 
               Thank you very much.

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            2. 77

               chasmacposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Thanks for clarifying, Melissa. I think MsDora's hubs are well-written, so I hope the problem is something that's easily fixed.

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5. 93

   MsDoraposted 10 years ago

   THANKS AGAIN to all you kind, fellow hubbers to tried to help me.  I am happy to report that a member of the HubPages team responded; I acted on the advice and my hub is now featured.
   
   Following is the advice I received: 
   (1) Remove bold and italic text.
   (2) Use high resolution original images for your media assets; some of the images are pixelated or very dark.
   (3) Remove non-standard formatting. Example "...... First Cousin Support ......"
   
   I could not find images to replace what I had, but decreasing the size of one makes it look better.
   
   I appreciate all my helpers.  Have a great weekend, Everyone!

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   1. 91

      DzyMsLizzyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Now that's a strange direction:  "Remove bold and italic text."  WTH?? If we're not supposed to use it, why on earth did they install the capability??!!
      That makes no sense at all to me.

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      1. 86

         Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Bold and italic are fine, using them to excess is not.  I'd say that was the issue.

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         1. 93

            MsDoraposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I agree.  Thank you.

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      2. 58

         MelissaBarrettposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Seemingly random bolding and italics (i.e. bolding/italicizing keywords, which we know your doing but an average reader wouldn't) and doing it excessively not only makes the hub unattractive (organization), it overemphasizes keywords (substance) and on a smaller scale affects grammar/mechanics. (After all their are grammar rules for what should be italicized and/or bolded)

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         1. 93

            MsDoraposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I agree with you, Melissa.  I may have overdone it.

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      3. 93

         MsDoraposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I'm not quite sure, but I may have overused the bold italics text trying to emphasize "cousins."   I didn't think it was wrong, but I aim to comply.

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6. 77

   Robbie C Wilsonposted 10 years ago

   I use bold quite a lot, it has not affected my ability to get both featured status and Editors Choice for my hubs. I use bold to emphasise actions in instructions in my How To hubs. I get that Style Tip almost every time and frankly I just ignore it.

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