Hubber score dropping like a rock!

1. 78

   TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years ago

   For a good number of weeks my hubber score has hovered around the 100 mark.  Two days ago it started falling, and as I write this, it is down to 89!  If this keeps up, it will be 0 in a week!  No rhyme or reason to it, but it leaves me wondering why this is happening.  I know these scores are basically meaningless, but it bothers me that this has happened.  For three months I have been constantly updating, but I finished doing so about a week ago.  Is this a sign that if we do not constantly publish and update we will be punished?  I sure hope not, but if so, my days here are numbered.

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   1. 80

      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      There is no rhyme or reason for it.  Best to ignore it and hope for the best.  When Panda struck, I went down to the high eighties and never got back up again - that is until yesterday when I went up to a low ninety again.  I can't spend my life me worrying about it anymore -  if I am getting traffic and getting paid for it then I will let HubPages do the worrying.

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   2. 84

      Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Since HubberScore doesn't affect your Hubs in any way, you can't really call it a punishment.   
      
      A big part of HubberScore seems to be activity - commenting, forum posting etc.   I haven't written a single Hub in months,  but I'm on the forums all the time - and I guess that's the reason for my high score.

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   3. 78

      CatherineGiordanoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      My hubber score right now is 95. It is usually 95 or 96, but it got as high as 98 one day this week.  Who knows why? It also went down to 92 one day this week.  I don't think the highs and lows lasted very long because the next time I looked it was 95-96 again.

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   4. 82

      peachpurpleposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      mine has dropped from 96 to 87 and had been stagnant for 3 weeks in a row

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      1. 97

         aesta1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I am seeing 92 as your score. Maybe it has gone up again.

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   5. 61

      The Examiner-1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      TIMETRAVELER2,
      The first thing is that the more that you publish (or republish) lowers your score until it is finished being evaluated and rated. Then the score will settle or rise depending on the score of each new/updated Hub.
      When you update, are you doing the recent ones or the oldest ones first? I would suggest the oldest ones. Are you checking whether all links, etc., are still valid? Do you have too many ads in the Hubs?

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   6. 95

      PegCole17posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      "From the Learning Center
      The HubScore will likely fluctuate over time. If you have created a high-quality Hub (with multiple capsules and good content), this number should continue to rise."
      
      Does this explain how a hub that at one time scored in the nineties, has all the quality parameters checked (over 1250 words, video, poll, etc) and has fifty-three comments on which the score has dropped below two of my unpublished hubs that rank in the sixties? That just doesn't make any sense.

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      1. 94

         jansharesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I'm experiencing the same at this time, PegCole17. I now have 2 hubs in the 90s after having at least 25 over a long period of time. For the first time ever, I had two hubs hit 59. A change in QAP is definitely happening as we speak (write).

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         1. 36

            Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            You posted in another thread that you've been updating a lot of Hubs, which is great.  Unfortunately, though, this tends to lower the Hub Score and your Hubber Score. (I've got words for that, but can't post them here!)

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            1. 94

               jansharesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Oh yes, I know Writer Fox. I'm prepared for hubberscore to fluctuate as I make these edits all at once. But I know it will be worth it in the long run. No Worries.

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2. 68

   Arachneaposted 10 years ago

   I notice more fluctuations in hubber scores when I don't balance my participation on HubPages. So I am trying to post new hubs more often, visit hubs of interest and comment, participate in the forum and question posts as well. The fluctuations seem to diminish and even increase sometimes.

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   1. 78

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      This site was supposed to represent passive income, but so far it seems to be work work work just to maintain.  I'm not happy about this.

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      1. 0

         t aaron brownposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I like passive residual income too, but I think with the competition or proliferation one must do a little more.  Passive income in a hyperactive, globalized market...not so clear cut.

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      2. 92

         TolovajWordsmithposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         It can offer passive income, if your traffic/earning stays the same without your interference for years, ideally for life. If you have to tweak/promote your hubs all the time, it is not passive. If you have to make new hubs, it is not passive either.
         
         I have passive income from my books in libraries, but even there things are changing non stop, so it is really not 100% passive, I still have to do some paperwork every now and then, otherwise, I get no money.
         
         I often hear term 'passive income', but in real life this is only partly true in some cases and not at all in most cases. Folk, who use it most, don't really understand it.

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      3. 77

         colorfuloneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I have some long time online friends who make very good incomes, but they WORK at it. They have their own domains on WordPress mostly. I am happy for them. If they could earn passive incomes online, they would all be doing just that.

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      4. 65

         relacheposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         The days of having a couple hundred Hubs and making four figures a month without having to write any new content no longer exist here.  They went away just about three years ago.
         
         Anyone who thinks HubPages is going to return to the traffic levels and earnings of its peak in 2010-2011 is trying to cling to a fantasy.  That's not the nature of the Internet.  This site will either completely reinvent itself, find a new angle, or die.
         
         So far HubPages has tried the new angle option.  A lot.

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         1. 78

            TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Apparently I missed the boat because at the end of this month, I will have been here...three years!  Lucky me!

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3. 68

   Dressage Husbandposted 10 years ago

   I just try to be active a little every day and make a few comments post a Hub, edit some to improve them and never worry too much about the score.
   
   Mine came in at 82 when my lenses arrived and has been as high as 97, but it does fluctuate and often goes down when I think it should go up and vice versa. I think it runs about a week behind what you are actually doing today!
   
   Do not fret too much as long as you can keep it above 85 all of your links are do follow, but if it drops below that then they become no follow like the unfeatured Hubs. Someone more experienced correct me, if that is wrong, but it is how I understand it.

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   1. 97

      aesta1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I do exactly the same as we are travelling and my score has dropped to 89 now. Again, even if scores don't matter as they keep telling us, we still agonize over it.

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4. 68

   Arachneaposted 10 years ago

   I agree, DH. I've noticed a delay in the hub score changes with changes in my participation.

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5. 72

   Marie Flintposted 10 years ago

   Time Traveler, I have noticed that you have a very specified niche, i.e. recreational vechicles (RVs). It stands to reason that interest would drop during the winter season.
   
   Also, if I understand your profile, you have more than one Hub Pages account (?). It's possible your hubber score might be getting divided between the two accounts. (Just a thought.)
   
   At any rate, it's as Sallybea has stated--as long as the traffic is moving and you're getting some kind of payment, don't worry about the scores.
   
   If it helps, I'll read one of your articles (note: I'm not a big RV fan), comment, and try to leave a vote. Hopefully, that will at least make you feel a little better.
   
   Bottom-line advice: Have fun! Numbers are just numbers. ***

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6. 59

   LindaSmith1posted 10 years ago

   I did nothing for a year, and my hubber score was higher than it is now. I have double the hubs now, on forums, read hubs, yet hubber score stays around 80.

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7. 77

   colorfuloneposted 10 years ago

   I just published a hub about 1/2 hour ago, and already my hubber score has dropped.
   
   See!

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   1. 59

      rootstostarsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I am a brand new hubber posting only one so far and my score is so low, what is the recommendation then? Post once a week? Reply everyday? More? Less? Forget about it and write when inspired?

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   2. 97

      aesta1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Oh No. I have one hub I am about to publish. Maybe, I'll wait a bit.

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8. 72

   johndwilliamsposted 10 years ago

   Mines dropped 15 in about 2 days - I did a load of edits, could be the reason. I'm not worrying about it as it's beyond my control.

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9. 89

   Ramkitten2000posted 10 years ago

   I think these hub and hubber scores are one big psychological experiment. And I'll bet the researcher is sitting back and chuckling about how much we say the scores are meaningless but can't help obsessing about them. Or at least looking at them out of the corner of our eye... continuously...and reacting to their inexplicable ups and downs. Feels like some kind of experimental manipulation to me.
   
   
   
   I probably shouldn't post at 1am.

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10. 97

    aesta1posted 10 years ago

    You are right Ramkitten. Based on the posts around here, hub scores do matter and worry many of us. It gets me to see any of my hubs dropping down to 69 and I immediately try to do something.  The score matters to most of us even if it does not matter to earnings and traffic as claimed. t

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11. 60

    Nick DeGeorgeposted 10 years ago

    I had all my scores drop over ten percent in two days! It was not one it was all articles for example an article is at 89 then boom69 two days later:
    
    I called customer service " what is broken"
    
    " Sir only hubs with changes have their scores impacted did you change them? "
    " No, can you look and see on the side of your own stats it shows date last changed"
    " can you send me screen shots Sir? "
    
    I send the screen shots...
    
    "Yes it's not right something is wrong I will reach out to Engineering it shouldn't do that!"
    " Does it have something to do with your upgrade as this began the same day!"
    " Engineering will take a look at it Sir we will get back to you."
    
    That was 4 days ago so yes if your scores dropped something is broken and it could just be some people at random who knows. If you are not to be score conscious, as it does not matter, why have the scores? Why is every other person writing " ohh look at me by hub is at 100!"
    
    Your hubber score which everyone sees is in part based on an average of your hub scores or so they said. Down go your scores and down go you and yes outside readers don't know the meaning but most people can figure 90 is better than 60 and guess 90 writers are better!
    
    Frustrating without recourse! Perhaps if even people complained to tech support they might correct the malfunction!

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    1. 97

       LongTimeMotherposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       That's very interesting, Nick. My hub scores fluctuate, despite having no changes made. I don't notice any significant traffic changes as a result though.
       
       The only reason I notice the scores change is the order in which hubs appear in my stats. I get used to seeing traffic stats for particular hubs in order, and then suddenly they change.
       
       My hubber score fluctuates too, but I have no idea how that links with hub scores. I actually don't bother checking scores regularly, and I don't keep records indicating highs and lows.
       
       I've been trying to force myself to keep rainfall and temperature stats from one year to the next, and I don't do that either.
       
       I occasionally save stats pages for later reference and would be happy to make them available to hp if it helps them unravel this latest mystery.
       
       Nice that you're around to keep an eye on these sorts of things, Nick. Thanks.

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12. 91

    Sue Adamsposted 10 years ago

    One thing I noticed is that individual hub scores go down when a hub  gets less traffic than it previously had.
    
    Overall Hubber Score then also seems to decline.
    
    This is of couse only a small part of the equation.

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    1. 78

       CatherineGiordanoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Hub scoresdefinitely change without any edits whatsoever having ben made to the hub.  I've seen hubs go from the top of my list down to the bottom.  And it is not a matter of views either. Some views with few views move up while hubs with more views move down.  It seems like if one hub score goes up another hub score has to go down. The only thing I can think of is that so many factors go into a hub score that it is impossible to see a correlation with quality, views, whatever. I had a hub score drop to 68 and I thought that I would try some edits. Then I remembered that this exact same hub was 96 two weeks ago. Since I hadn't changed anything to make it go down, I decided changing it wasn't going to make it go up. I don't know why we even have hub scores; they are meaningless to us.

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13. 84

    rebekahELLEposted 10 years ago

    Mine was stuck on 93 for over a month, now it's dropped to 91.  For years my score was always in the high 90's, at times hitting 95.  I noticed my average hub scores went down a point and I know that's part of it.  I recall Paul E. mentioned a few months ago that the way hubber scores are calculated was going to change.  Maybe it has changed.  While forum participation is a factor, I don't think it makes a huge difference.  It is kind of puzzling when it drops.  My traffic has increased.
    
    EDIT: it dropped one point since I posted and responded to a hub comment!  You have to wonder about anything stats related recently.  My traffic stats are lower here than what Google analytics show.

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    1. 84

       Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       I think forum participation is a huge factor, because that's virtually all I do on HubPages these days.

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       1. 84

          rebekahELLEposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          We don't really know.  They keep it a mystery.  To see a score continue to drop while participating is puzzling to say the least.  I'm sure if your score suddenly dropped many points even with your forum participation, you would wonder.   Off to enjoy the day!

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          1. 84

             Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             I never look at it, so I probably wouldn't!   I was only commenting that mine seems to stay high even though I rarely do anything other than post on the forums, so there is an obvious conclusion to draw from that.  But as you say, it's all a secret formula.

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             1. 95

                PaulGoodman67posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                Yes, I stopped looking at mine after I'd been here about 6 months.

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    2. 68

       Dressage Husbandposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       @rebekahELLE You are probably including yourself in GA results still, you have to exclude your own IP address if you want GA to be accurate.

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       1. 78

          TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

          How do you do that??

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          1. 68

             Dressage Husbandposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             Try this for a blog http://cutroni.com/blog/2006/07/11/count-me-out/ I do not think we can change the HP figures though unless someone more technical corrects me.

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       2. 84

          rebekahELLEposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          There is a significant difference.  I hardly look at my hubs, not enough to see the difference that I've recently noticed.  If I edit, I usually go in from the account page with the edit button. I don't think that's the issue.  A number of hubbers have recently mentioned that their stats are off with an increase in GA.
          As far as I understand, HP also includes our own views?

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          1. 68

             Dressage Husbandposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             You can alter GA by adding a filter to exclude your own IP address select the Tracker you use for HP and then click Admin, Filters (on the right of the screen) add new, use preselect for IP addresses and then exclude that equal and enter your computers IP address in the following field and save it. All done. In future your own views will no longer be included in GA.

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       3. 95

          Susana Sposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          GA and HP count visits very differently, so it's not simply about stopping your own views being counted. I remember one of the Paul's explaining the differences some time ago, but I can't find the thread now.

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          1. 78

             TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

             HP counts views on a rolling 24 hour basis.  In other words, if you publish an article at 7 PM one day, all of the views for that article are counted until 7 PM the next day.
             
             GA counts views from midnight to midnight each day.

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             1. 95

                Susana Sposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                Yes there's definitely that factor, but Paul also said that the way views are registered is different ie: there are differences in what counts as a view.

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                1. 84

                   rebekahELLEposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                   That would be helpful to know and to have it explained more thoroughly in the FAQ.
                   If I understand it correctly, Google counts a pageview when a page fully loads ads and is able to use the analytics tracking code?

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                2. 78

                   TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                   Yes, because when you click on your own articles either to take a look, edit, or whatever, you may see them registered as views but they do not count towards how you get paid for impressions.

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14. 89

    Ramkitten2000posted 10 years ago

    I wish there were a way to hide hub and hubber scores (from ourselves, I mean). I honestly do feel like I'm being somewhat manipulated by  those scores -- explained in my 1am post above -- and would prefer to not even see them.
    
    The way I see it, if we don't understand the scores -- how they work, what the specific factors are, why they change so much so suddenly without apparent reason -- then they should not be here at all. What good are scores if they simply confuse and frustrate those they're SUPPOSED to help or guide in some way? To me, it's like telling someone they got a failing grade on an essay test but not telling them WHAT they got wrong, what specifically they need to work on, and how the grading was done. Makes no sense to me whatsoever. If HP staff somehow find those scores useful, let THEM see the numbers, but please leave me out of it. Thanks!

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    1. 78

       CatherineGiordanoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       I think the hubber score has some value. It indicates how well you are doing on HP and doesn't vary very much. Hub scores, on the other hand, are pointless for all the reason you gave Ramkitten. I'm trying to train myself to not even look at them. I'd like a score that was a grade on quality. High scores would be a pat on the back and low scores would prompt me to find the problem and fix it with edits. How can a hub score rise or fall 30 points over a few days?

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15. 95

    PaulGoodman67posted 10 years ago

    Hubber score means very little.  I have accounts which I hardly visit and they sometimes have higher scores than this one, which I probably use most.  There is a lot of random fluctuation and a bit of rewarding for interacting, editing, publishing.  That's about all there is to it.

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16. 61

    paradigmsearchposted 10 years ago

    "Hubber score dropping like a rock!"
    
    Mine has been a rock at 93 for a long time. But now I've suddenly lost 3 points, and my intuition says there may be more to come. I wonder if it was because I said http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/127277? … ost2686907 . @HP I've been a good little Hubber. Honest!

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    1. 73

       Shades-of-truthposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I edited a hub yesterday, and have made a few comments on the forums recently. My hubber score dropped 6 points.
       
       Since there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about it, I have decided not to be concerned with the fluctuations.

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17. 60

    Nick DeGeorgeposted 10 years ago

    here is Hubpages official response to our concerns in a few words "too bad, so sad" My hub averages dropped from 77 to 71 in two business days across twenty five hubs. This clearly is not how the system should work. At the end of November I spent twenty hours upgrading a half the hubs adding photos, videos etc. They increased as they should have the average rising from 69 to 77 I was quite pleased and believed I finally understood what was needed. Then boom..my best hubs dropped from 80's to 60's. This was not a gradual decline it was in two days!
    
    If they changed their criteria they should say so, but this response is unacceptable and just tells me to move my content elsewhere.   
    
    Hi Nick,
    
    Our engineers reviewed your Hubs and the have determined that the system is working as designed.
    
    As much as we would like to have perfect knowledge of the exact quality of every Hub all of the time, that's not practical.
    
    If your goal is to improve your Hubs, you would be better served using your own judgement about which Hubs need the most help, because you know your Hubs better than anyone.
    
    At most, HubScore should be used as a starting point for deciding which Hubs to edit. I also wouldn't recommend using changes in HubScore to gauge whether an edit was successful.
    
    From the Learning Center
    The HubScore will likely fluctuate over time. If you have created a high-quality Hub (with multiple capsules and good content), this number should continue to rise.
    
    In general, HubScores are based on a wide range of different factors, including the amount of traffic your Hub gets, your reputation in the community, reader response to your Hubs (e.g. voting them up or down, leaving comments, sharing Hubs in the Feed, and leaving Hubber feedback), and the uniqueness of your content.
    
    And from the FAQ:
    Please keep in mind that it is natural for HubScores and Hubber Scores to fluctuate up and down in unpredictable ways.
    
    These both explain that HubScore will change even when a Hub hasn't been edited.
    
    Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.

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18. 59

    LindaSmith1posted 10 years ago

    Reply does not surprise me one bit.  Impossible to get a straight answer.

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19. 74

    Kathleen Cochranposted 10 years ago

    For the last two years I've posted at about the same pace and hovered in the mid-90's with a spike up to 100 for a week or so at one point.  Since last summer I'm in the mid-80's.  Since I have no control over this, I try not to worry about it.  But it is disconcerting.

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20. 59

    LindaSmith1posted 10 years ago

    These numbers are crazy.  Update and watch the score go down.  Add more to them, watch the score go down. 80s and 90, now 50-60's. Makes no sense and HP won't tell why this is happening.

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21. 87

    Stacie Lposted 10 years ago

    I am seeing low views lately and the lowest score in years.... 

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22. 63

    tlcsposted 9 years ago

    Three months! Wow timetraveler2 that is an awful time! When did you last write a hub?

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23. 63

    tlcsposted 9 years ago

    I mean new hub

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    1. 78

       TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I have never stopped writing hubs, regardless of fluctuations or low hub or hubber scores.  This is because I enjoy writing!!

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       1. 78

          CatherineGiordanoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          Like you timetraveler2, I write because I enjoy writing. Still a low hub score stings.  it is frustrating not to know the cause because then we don't know how to fix it.  What goes up, must come down. And vice-versa.  It is best not to fret about it.  If I feel I have done the best I can with a hub, I just have to let it go.

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24. 93

    PurvisBobbi44posted 9 years ago

    I suppose we are programmed since kindergarten to care about scores. Mine is 88 now the lowest ever since I first start almost 4 years ago. It should not bother me since I have so many other more important issues to be concerned with daily.
    
    I will put my big girl pants on and forget about it.
    
    Bobbi Purvis

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25. 63

    tlcsposted 9 years ago

    PurvisBobbie44, that is the funnies answer I have seen on here since I joined, love a giggle!

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