Making Hubs from the Question-Answer Section

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   Billie Kelpinposted 9 years ago

   So, I understand that the question-answer section is to inspire hubs, BUT it feels a little disingenuous to use the information everyone provided, especially when that information would fit nicely in a list.  I asked a question about recipes and received lots of great replies. How do I make a hub of that and yet give credit for the answers and ideas? Do I ask each person for permission? There may be some hubs directly related to the topic that the person answering has had and I can link to that, but what about the other ideas?  If I credited everyone's contribution, it would be a cumbersome hub. Does anyone have an example of how they did this?  I could say something like "In a recent survey in the hubpages.com Question/Answer section, the following creative ideas were ideas were listed..." or some such thing. Then make sure I linked every idea to the hub if that happened to exist.

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      sheilamyersposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I've never really created an entire hub out of responses to questions, but I can understand wanting to give people credit for their answers if you use direct quotes. If write most of the hubs in your own words, perhaps you can include a link to the question within the text. For example, in the intro state you gathered opinions using an informal poll and the words "informal poll" could be the active link so if people want to read the individual answers.

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         Billie Kelpinposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Sheila,
         
         That seems like it would be a reasonable solution.  After reading Cardisa's response, I'm thinking maybe I should email the team at hubpages.  I'm not sure if the team ever answers in these forums, but they have always been responsive when I've emailed. I might give that a whirl.

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      Cardisaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I think you misunderstand what the inspiration is supposed to be. It wasn't created for you to create a hub from the answers given but to provide your own answer to the question in hub format. There used to be an option while answering the question for "make a hub about it". Quite a few of my hubs created by answering questions are some of my best trafficked hubs.
      
      In other words, you don't ask the question then make the hub. You find a question already asked and answer it with a hub.

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         Billie Kelpinposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         great point!  So leave it to a left-hander like myself to get things turned around   I do remember the "make a hub" when I've answered a question and get that concept, and I didn't ask the question about "the biggest hit you've brought to a potluck" for the purpose of making a hub, BUT I think the ideas expressed there would make a very cool..."10 Big Hits to Bring to a Pot Luck".  I'm going to email the staff to ask the protocol for this.  Thanks again for your input.

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            Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Yup, you got it back to front!   
            
            However, I don't see any problem with using quotes from the answers, since all the contributors would be Hubbers.   There is no official protocol for it.  You can simply provide a link to the Hubber's profile at the end of each quote.    Most people would be delighted with that, but if you're worried, you could use the "send a message" feature (under Fan Mail) to ask them if they mind. 
            
            The only problem I can see is that if most of your Hub is quotes from the Q&A page, you'll be hit with a duplicate content penalty.

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               Billie Kelpinposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Great points - I like the emailing for permission and the linking back to profile under the "send a message" under  Fan Mail.  I think I can re-word enough to avoid the duplicate content deal.  Thanks Marisa!

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      brakel2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I have done two hubs on the QA section  in the way you described tham, On one, about memory, I put in the question that I might use the answers for a hub. I did not use names, but used Miss O or Miss G to identify. It was such fun. I called them case studies, as the answers were quite long. I paraphrased the answers. The other one, I believe, was on dating, and I did the same thing. Another person who did this asked each person for permission individually. You are right that this is one way to use the questions. The other way is not to use answers but write a hub with your own ideas and research. if needed. Good luck.

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         Billie Kelpinposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         brakel2, I'll look through your hubs to see if I can find that. (BTW, I think it's really a bother for us to feel so "spam-y" that we can't link to our hubs in answers such as these.)  I find it a really non-essential, self-defeating aspect of hubpages protocol whether that actually is the rule or whether we perceive it to be.  I wish the team would come out and definitively say, "In the forum, you may refer to an address of a hub for an example" or "When answering a question, you may state you created a hub for that and give the url."  It feels so stiffling to feel that if we do that, we'd be violating the rules.  (But that's a BIG "by the way" about which I'd LOVE someone to tell me I'm wrong. It just seems that we all hold back in giving the addresses to useful information.  Be that as it may, I'm going to try to find that hub you wrote about Miss  O and G !

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            Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            The rule on HubPages is that you are not allowed to link to one of your own Hubs, except in two places - the Improving Your Hub section or where there's a contest/challenge running. 
            
            It is a little frustrating in a situation like this, but the rule is there for a good reason - to stop people self-promoting in the forums.   It's the usual story, a case of a few bad apples spoiling it for everyone else - but the moderators are busy enough as it is, they just wouldn't have time to police links as well.
            
            A couple of ways around it if it's really important to link to a Hub:
            
            - you can put the Hub in your slider and tell people to look there. 
            - you can refer to the Hub by its title.
            
            If someone mentions their Hub, and you go and check it out and find it's helpful, there is NO rule against linking to someone else's Hub!    So here's brakel2's Hub:
            
            http://brakel2.hubpages.com/hub/Photogr … ry-Reality
            
            Just my opinion, but in that Hub I would have asked the Hubbers' permission and then identified the Hubbers and given them credit for their stories by linking to their profile.

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            brakel2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

            You are right that it is a pain to have to pretend your hubs do not have a title. So often, you might want to help someone by mentioning the title. I have it locked in my brain that we cannot do that at this site. Sometimes people do that, and  it gets snipped. You will have fun if you use the answers in a hub, as it becomes more personal to you. Marisa has a good idea to use names by getting permission. I guess I thought people might not want their brains open to the public.lol. Anyway, have fun writing your hub.

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               Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               I've never, ever seen anyone have a Hub title snipped.    Only links get snipped.   If you mention your Hub by name, that's not on offence!

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                  brakel2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Thanks Marisa. I understood you could not promote a hub, but maybe these circumstances are different.

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                     Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     A mere mention of a Hub title doesn't count as promotion, if you're mentioning it to assist someone else or explain a point.  Now, if you wrote a post that said, "hey, read my Hub!", that would be promotion. 
                     
                     The thing is that a Hub title, mentioned in a forum post, would be seen by only a few people anyway.   So provided your intent is genuine, the HubPages team are unlikely to worry about it. What they really want to discourage is people posting hyperlinks to get a backlink to their Hub - because if that was allowed, it would attract spammers wishing to take advantage of it.

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      Billie Kelpinposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Just received a response from the hub team.  It was short saying that "the original purpose of QA was for just that, for people to ask a factual question, and then create a Hub from it.
      So you should be fine doing so." 
      
      Apparently, therefore, the person ASKING the question can make a hub from the answers, just as a person ANSWERING the question is encouraged to make a hub of his or her answer. 
      
      I do plan on asking the people who responded to my question if I can use their answers before I make the hub.  However, if I don't stop asking questions in the forum and in the "Answer" section, I'll never get TO writing a hub    Thanks, guys.  Adios for now.

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      peachpurpleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I did wrote a hub based on the question asked and used the answers in my own way, i don't use exact words, just play around with different words getting the facts stated in my hub

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         Billie Kelpinposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         That's reassuring.  Thanks Peachpurple. (BTW, I LOVE your name!)

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