Hub comments with links

1. 95

   wildernessposted 9 years ago

   I'd like to suggest that hubbers have some way, short of deleting an entire comment, of deleting unwanted links in the comments of others.
   
   It is not unusual at all (fairly common, in fact) to see otherwise worthwhile and complimentary hub comments...with a link to a service pertinent to the hub.  Spammers are getting more cagey, thinking that a nice comment will convince the writer to leave in the link.
   
   Example: today I got a very complimentary comment on a hub about how to roof your house.  No questions, but saying how valuable the information was and how well it was presented.  With a link to a roofing company in Denver, Co.  I'd like to have kept the comment, but deleted the whole thing because of the link.  Plus, simply deleting the link and leaving the comment might slow down the spam somewhat.  If the spammers realize that that's what will happen when they spam hubpages, it might make them think twice.

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   1. 77

      colorfuloneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      It would be a good idea to have that option in comments where live links are not allowed but the comments are if they add value to hubs.

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   2. 0

      calculus-geometryposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I like this suggestion.

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2. 94

   Susana Sposted 9 years ago

   The ability to edit comments would do it. As well as links I sometimes get comments that include words that I'd like to remove too. If we could edit the comment it would be easy to do either.

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   1. 92

      SheilaMilneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Editing comments, though, could potentially lead to all sorts of abuse.

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      1. 95

         wildernessposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Yes it would.  I doubt I'd comment much if I knew that my words could be changed into something I never said.

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         1. 84

            TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Although this seems a good idea, it is probably best, given the opportunity for abuse, to just leave the comment options as they are.

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            1. 95

               wildernessposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               But if we could simply delete any links - nothing else but live links - it would be nice.  I have no idea how hard that would be, but it would be nice to have the option.

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               1. 92

                  SheilaMilneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Possibly just an option to strip out the HTML so the link wouldn't be clickable.

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                  1. 95

                     wildernessposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     Maybe.  I'd prefer they were gone completely, but even making them non-clickable would help.

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                  2. 77

                     colorfuloneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     Yes, that is how its done. An option to allow HTML or not allow it.

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                     1. 95

                        wildernessposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                        As long as it is on a comment by comment basis that would suit me as a secondary choice.  I DO have a small handful of links I've allowed in the comment section - maybe a half dozen after 2 million views.  Those few, I thought, added something for any reader choosing to read the comments - mostly additional information, but a couple of commercial sites as well.

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                        1. 73

                           brakel2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

                           I agree about leaving the comments if they add value to the hub. Most of the comments with spammy links appear in certain articles. and some who comment may not mean to do harm. Honest folks do exist.

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      2. 94

         Susana Sposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I guess so.  I forget that there are so many dishonest people.

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3. 82

   psycheskinnerposted 9 years ago

   Most of those "complimentary comments" are not real, just  way to bribe you to leave up the spam link.  So, it would not really be honest to keep them without even the link to show people what they really are.

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   1. 95

      wildernessposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Oh, I'm sure they are fake.  But they also show what I think of the hub!

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   2. 84

      DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I've had a few of those 'complimentary' spam-link comments.  I delete them, and if it is another hubber, I e-mail them and explain why, inviting them to re-submit the comment sans link.  They never do.  And, I never see them again, either.  I suspect they are only 'members' for the purpose of spreading links, and end up being given the boot.

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4. 92

   MariaMontgomeryposted 9 years ago

   One of the truly nice things about Squidoo was that we could choose to have the HTML stripped out of comments left by our readers.

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5. 84

   DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years ago

   I was just involved in a discussion via e-mail about links in comments, and whether or not it was allowed.
   
   The subject was my current hub offering a contest, and I asked for the response links to be put in the comments section.  That's allowable, because it's solicited by the hub author, and up to them, and goes outside the definition of "self-promotion."
   
   I've read over another thread on the matter, and it seems that 'self-promotion' only means links to external sites and/or unsolicited links to one's own work (especially repeatedly). 
   Staff weighed in on that discussion, and essentially said it's up to the author to allow or disallow such links.

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