Could I Please Get Help From a Moderator Regarding Disabled Ads?

1. 86

   Nalini Marquezposted 9 years ago

   Hello,
   
   Could I please get help from a moderator regarding ads that were disabled from a moderator on one of my hubs?
   
   I know that we are supposed to contact HubPages and not post in the forum regarding the disabling of ads by moderators but I contacted HubPages both through HP and through email on 8/13/2015 and have not heard back. My hub has been receiving continued traffic and the past 6 days that the ads have been disabled my HP earnings have decreased reflecting the disabling of the ads on my hub. I would like to know what is wrong with the hub and how to fix it so that ads can be returned please. I have already read through the HP and AdSense reasons as to why ads would be disabled from a moderator and none of those reasons really fit for the disabling of ads on my hub. If it is copyright I would like to ask some questions because a lot of the changes made to the hub were done by one of HP's editors.
   
   Please advise and thank you for your time.
   
   Nalini

   replyreport
   1. 66

      relacheposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Admin won't answer you here.  They never talk about problems such as these in public forums. 
      
      I'm very curious about your comment about copyrights and how you think the editor changes led to ads getting turned off.  Please let us know how this goes for you.

      replyreport
      1. 86

         Nalini Marquezposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I would just like to get help from admin even if it's not answered here. I emailed them a week ago and have not heard back so I am not sure if something happened to my message or if it was lost. I have not had a lot of problems with HP but the times I've contacted HP they've gotten back to me so I find it unusual?
         
         I will follow up. Thanks!

         replyreport
      2. 86

         Nalini Marquezposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Matt at TeamHubPages said he received my message, saw my forum post, and that he would be getting back to me regarding this. So I am just waiting on that now.

         replyreport
2. 86

   Marisa Wrightposted 9 years ago

   Nalini, can you post a link to the Hub in question? Maybe we can cast some light on it.

   replyreport
   1. 87

      cam8510posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, that's what I was going to suggest. I'll keep an eye on this question.

      replyreport
   2. 86

      Nalini Marquezposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Marisa and cam8510,
      
      It's this hub: http://nalinimarquez.hubpages.com/hub/1 … enges-With .
      
      It's been published since 8/2012 with ads so I'm not sure why it had ads disabled by a moderator.
      
      The HP editor who edited my hub some time back added lyric passages to the songs I had posted (and I continued this pattern for the songs I added after) and copyright issues regarding the use of the lyrics were the only thing I thought could be wrong with the hub based on HP and AdSense policies? However, if that is the case then why did the HP editor add the lyrics?
      
      And if the issue is not copyright, then I am not sure what is wrong with the hub that would cause ads to be disabled?

      replyreport
      1. 78

         TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         A quick glance at this hub shows me that it is almost completely written with direct quotes from songs.  Not only is this a copyright issue, it violates the HP Terms of Service.  All work here is supposed to be completely (or at least mostly) original.
         
         When you first wrote this the rules here were different.  Now they have changed, and that may be why this hub was originally considered to be OK but now it is not.
         
         When you involve legal issues in your writing, your ads always will be discontinued. 
         
         Although I did not look all the way through your post, I'm betting you were trying to sell some of the songs or albums you were discussing.  If so, you were also spamming, which is one of the reasons the team unfeatures articles.
         
         Of course you are getting views because the titles you mention are well known and well liked...but they are not yours.
         
         Did you have permission to post those videos and photos?  If not, you're in trouble there, also.
         
         I'm surprised nobody has filed suit against you yet!
         
         Adsense is simply covering its behind, and I don't blame them.
         
         Good luck with this one.

         replyreport
         1. 76

            psycheskinnerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            If you read the thread you would see that the lyrics were not put there by the hubber they were added, apparently, by a Hubpro editor.

            replyreport
         2. 86

            Nalini Marquezposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I can remove the lyrics from the hub and from others that I have written following the format of this hub. However, when I first published this hub and when I made modifications to it I did not have lyrics in it at all. The addition of lyrics was done by a HP Pro editor and so since it was added from an editor, I assumed it was ok. And when I mentioned to the editor that I did not know if we could have lyrics in the hub because of copyright I did not get a response to that so it seemed like it was ok?
            
            The issue of spamming seems somewhat counter-intuitive since on one of the HP guidelines/help posts it says to limit the capsules to Amazon and to include links only to items that were directly mentioned in one's hub. Spamming seemed to be for over-promotional and unrelated items?
            
            If the issue is that I included YouTube videos without permission from the artist, then I can remove them from this hub. The photo selected was put in from the HP Pro editor so I was under the impression that it was ok to use the way the editor attributed it.
            
            If the issues were as included in your response:
            1.) Inclusion of lyrics
            2.) Including a link to a song on Amazon that was mentioned in the hub
            3.) Not having permission from the music artists to use their music videos in my hub
            4.) Not having permission from the owner of the picture that was on my post
            
            I can fix those in the linked hub and in other hubs that I have like it. I wasn't aware that we couldn't use them the way I've used them (#s1, 3, and 4 were okayed by an HP editor on this hub and on another one that was edited, and I made more hubs like this following the two that were edited; #2 seemed to fit based on the HP requirement that Amazon capsules should not be over-promotional and should be related to something directly mentioned in the hub).
            
            Thanks for taking the time to let me know some of the things to fix. It helps to give me an idea!

            replyreport
            1. 78

               TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

               At this point I would not do anything until I heard from the team, however common sense tells me that one cannot simply use the words of others too much in a hub.  YouTube used to be more complicated to use with regards to posting videos from musicians, etc...but perhaps they have changed that?  This is something you should really check into on the YouTube TOS.
               
               If I were writing a hub like this, I would not use the quotes, would properly accredit the photos and would make darned sure about using the videos.
               
               You are correct about the ads and it appears you only have two of them, so you probably are OK.  However spammy elements are not just about the number of ads you have.  Your ads have to be relevant to what you are writing and also need to be helping readers in some special way.  Somewhere on the blogs or in the learning center there is an entire post that clearly explains this.
               
               For example, if I write about preparing a meal with a crock pot, advertising a crock pot would be spammy.  Advertising a specific type of crock pot that cannot just be found anywhere and that serves a specific purpose is not.
               
               Why the Hub Pro editor did what she did, I don't know, but the fact that she did not respond to you is a red flag.
               
               See what the team has to say before you move forward, because it is hard to know exactly what is going on here.

               replyreport
               1. 86

                  Nalini Marquezposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Before I do anything to the hub, I'll wait until I hear back from Matt to see what I need to do to fix it. I read a hub about YouTube's TOS and being able to use videos in hubs and the hub had information about using embedded vs non-embedded videos but I will have to revisit that information and look into it further for YouTube.
                  
                  Thank you for your feedback and help. I will keep it in mind for future for revision of present hubs and also for writing future hubs. But yes, I agree with you in that it is hard to know exactly what is going on here. Hopefully it will be easy to fix.

                  replyreport
3. 61

   Fiction Tellerposted 9 years ago

   Hi Nalini,
   
   Thanks for letting us know you heard from Matt! I look forward to hearing what you find out when and if HubPages follows up on why the lyrics were added by the HubPro editor. Even if they secured permission from each artist/copyright holder (and that's a big "if"), I'm curious as to why they'd add text that would fail to comply with HubPages guidelines.  Good luck with this.

   replyreport
   1. 86

      Nalini Marquezposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Fiction Teller,
      
      Thank you for your response. I had initially thought that the inclusion of lyrics was why my hub was disabled but was not sure, but from Timetraveler2's response it's possible that there were additional issues as well? I am hoping Matt can further clarify so I can fix this hub and hopefully avoid issues with other hubs.

      replyreport
4. 86

   Marisa Wrightposted 9 years ago

   The saddest thing about this whole thread is that the problem seems to have been caused by a HubPro editor.  Makes you wonder how "pro" he/she was. 
   
   Who knows what caused the ads to be disabled, but the editor needs to study up on the use of lyrics:
   
   http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/can-you … 482?red=as
   http://thewriteconversation.blogspot.co … t-you.html
   
   Since you're the one who owns the Hub, Nalini, you are the one who will be sued for illegal use of lyrics so I advise against sitting back and assuming they're OK.

   replyreport
   1. 86

      Nalini Marquezposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      To be fair, I don't know what the official reason was for a moderator disabling the ads on my hub and how to fix it per HP. The ads have been turned back on (after two messages to HP, a week, a lot of un-monetized views, and a forum post) but I still have not heard back from Matt. Two of my musical hubs were edited by HubPro (which is now HubPro Premium) a year ago, and additions that I made to the hubs followed the format of what was edited. When I read through the reasons of why ads would be disabled, copyright was really the only reason that seemed to fit and if that was the reason, those were changes that were made by an HP editor.
      
      Those are great resources, thank you! I read through them and also through some of the comments. I will go through my hubs and fix them as much as I can today and keep working on what I can't finish. After two of my hubs were edited, I made more hubs using the two edited ones as templates, so I have some musical hubs that came after that include lyrics that I will have to fix.
      
      Well, based on the links you sent me, at least the use of YouTube videos are ok! o_O

      replyreport
      1. 78

         TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         There is an old saying that goes "never let anybody else manage your money".  Even though the ads were put back on, you need to eliminate anything for which you do not have direct permission from the originator.  If things go sideways legally, it is you who will be sued, not the editor.
         
         Word to the wise.

         replyreport
         1. 86

            Nalini Marquezposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I am definitely working on getting those hubs in shape! Or at least in good enough (sue-me-not) shape until I can invest more time into them later. I've had to spend a lot of time on them recently but will have to work with them more to improve the content when I can. Thanks again!

            replyreport
5. 86

   Nalini Marquezposted 9 years ago

   I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for helping and advising, giving me feedback, insight, and assistance. I haven't used the forums much but in this I have experienced first-hand that HP is made up of a great community that is both knowledgeable and willing to help, which is wonderful. Thank you.
   
   To bring this thread full circle, I did want to follow up since I know you as well as I, were waiting to hear back as to why ads were disabled and what was being done wrong on HP, and also because the thread did bring to surface some HP editor concerns.
   
   I did hear back from Matt and he let me know that the ads were disabled on my hub in error and have since been restored.
   
   This did however bring some issues to light that I think are worth addressing:
   
   #1. Communication With HubPages
   In the past I've had positive, timely, informative, helpful, problem-free contact with HP. This time, it took a week to get a response and it was seemingly not until I posted in the forum about it. 
   
   Matt did let me know that the reason it took so long was because he was waiting for a response from the person who disabled the ads, that the person did not respond until yesterday (the day of the forum post), and that he did not want to contact me until he had all the information. This presented several problems (a week of high traffic and no ads/loss of earnings, it seeming like HP didn't want to help me with the issue, panic over copyright, panic in editing hubs, concern spread through the post and about HP editors, etc.). Matt was very polite and I appreciated his help, but this is something to be improved upon for HP.
   
   #2. Concerns over HubPro Editors/HubPro Editing Service
   I've posted a couple of posts here about how I drew the conclusions about what could possibly have caused ads to be disabled on my hub but since ads were disabled on my hub in error and not due to changes an editor made on my hub, the HubPro editor is not to blame.
   
   I can say the following regarding the HP editor/editing service and my edited hubs:
   
   EDITOR:
   Pros: Was polite and enthusiastic, explained why some things were changed, asked for my input on some things, overall did a good job on my hubs and did improve them.
   Cons: Did not address some concerns and did not incorporate some of my feedback/respond to some of my communication (e.g. the question/concern over copyright)
   
   HUB PRO EDITING RESULTS:
   -My hubs DID see traffic gains and have continued to maintain these gains after editing with the exception of periods where traffic drops in general/for periods of time and given a range of traffic fluctuations
   -My edited hubs did eventually rank higher on Google for search terms
   -My edited hubs did have lyrics added by the editor, which by most sources seems to be copyright infringement since I do not have the rights or permissions to use them outside of review purposes under "Fair Use" (but I have not had DCMA complaints or notifications from HP about violations)
   
   HUB PRO EDITING OVERALL:
   It's a good service and I am happy that I had the opportunity to go through it when it was in beta-testing. It did however put something that was a red flag into my work and put something that I thought might have been a red flag but assumed wasn't a red flag because it was done by an editor/because an editor would know more about this than myself? If given the opportunity to go through the service again I would probably take it and if you're given the opportunity it is probably worth considering.
   
   Just wanted to give that feedback because in my time of panic I read a lot about HP Pro editing in the forum and most of the threads were dark clouds with very few positive or balanced experiences.
   
   This thread did a pretty good job of freaking me out about getting sued so I have since removed the lyrics and have started reworking my hubs. I will have to further fix and develop some of the hubs in the future when I have more time but at least I can worry less about issues with lyrics.
   
   This turned out to be a really long post! But I felt that it was necessary given the situation and the concerns that were brought up. Thanks again for all your help. :-)

   replyreport
6. 91

   Ramkitten2000posted 9 years ago

   I'm glad your hubs are back to "normal" and that it worked out. However, I'm still bothered by the fact that a professional editor would not know about copyright law when it comes to those lyrics. That could have gotten you in a heap of (expensive) trouble. I do hope that editor is now out of a job, because that was big no-no.

   replyreport
   1. 86

      Nalini Marquezposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I didn't realize that my hubs were problematic with the lyrics until I posted in the forum. I am glad that I was able to fix them without having encountered a heap of expensive trouble. So that was a good thing that came out of this!

      replyreport
7. STAFF

   Paul Edmondsonposted 9 years ago

   @Nalini Marquez
   
   I'm sorry, but I inadvertently clicked the ads off button on your Hub. I'm not sure how I did it.
   
   Matt had been trying to get a hold of me to find out why, but I didn't see his email. Again my fault.
   
   Really sorry. This had nothing to do with mods. Just an accidental click on my part.

   replyreport
   1. 86

      Nalini Marquezposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Paul,
      
      Thank you for your response and for following up with me. I accept your apology and appreciate the follow up. I understand that ads were turned off by mistake. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise as it sounds like having lyrics in my hubs could have led to other problems that I would not have foreseen and problems that I would not have been able to afford!
      
      I am not sure if you've already read it, but I did leave a long "bringing things full circle" post that may or may not be helpful for feedback or for future HP changes when it comes to communication and editing if you have the time.
      
      Thank you again for following up with me. Between the forum/HP community response, Matt's response, and your response I feel better about HubPages. For awhile there I was having some concerns but it was a learning experience and thankfully I wasn't sued during the time I had lyrics on my hubs and things were worked out.
      
      Nalini

      replyreport