I'd like feedback on my Hub: Federal Funding: Libertarian Party Will Take the Mo

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   Garry Reedposted 8 years ago

   Hi Hubbers,
   
   I'd like some help with passing the Quality Assessment Process. Will you please give feedback on my Hub Federal Funding: Libertarian Party Will Take the Money and Run. What can I do to improve? Thanks!
   
   AND SPECIFICALLY TO THE HUBPAGES REVIEWERS
   
   WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE WANT?
   
   The majority of hubs I’ve written so far have been accepted as “Featured” with little to zero problems BECAUSE I’ve been following all your rules. This article is no different in content or style from all those previous articles that passed without comment.
   
   Now I’ve edited this article FIVE times and deleted the Amazon ad that you used to routinely accept and you’re still beating me down with no more information than those stupid generic “spammy” and “quality” emails you keep generating and dumping into my email inbox.
   
   How about telling me what you specifically want me to do! That way I can either rewrite this article to suit your new rules or just delete it and then apply what you tell me to future articles. As it stands now I have NO CLUE about your revised editorial requirements.
   
   This is like bait-and-switch. I signed on, spent hours learning all your rules and wrote for you and now you’ve obviously changed all the rules while telling me nothing. You won't even let me post Amazon ads any more!!!

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      theraggededgeposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Try removing the links. Your hub should be able to stand alone without sending readers off-site. One, or more of them may be triggering a spam alert.
      
      Make sure all the images are legal-to-use and accredited.
      
      Hope that helps.

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         Garry Reedposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         I was afraid that might be a problem and that gives me a "responsibility" problem. If I quote from an article I feel that I have the responsibility to link to that article so my readers can see it in full context and judge the veracity of it for themselves. I've always done that as a matter of good responsible journalism on other sites. Apparently Hub doesn't want me to be that responsible. As for images I always use open source free to use. But thanks.

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            theraggededgeposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            You can cite your references at the end of the article. You don't have to link to them.
            
            It's still a good idea to add the source of your photo in the image module, wherever it came from.

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               Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

               Raggededge, I don't agree with you about the photos.  It looks neater if you don't have that "Source" link under the photo.   However I do think it's a good idea to add a statement at the end of the Hub (e.g. "All photos from Pixabay") just to avoid confusion.

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                  theraggededgeposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  I agree... but just trying to help him get it featured

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   Marisa Wrightposted 8 years ago

   If you've been told the problem is "spammy elements", then that means either links or Amazon products. Always.
   
   I wrote a Hub summarising HubPages' rules - that might help you cut through the confusion. You'll find it on the slider on my profile.
   
   The main rule you need to understand is that EVERY link in a Hub MUST be DIRECTLY related to the MAIN SUBJECT of the Hub.   
   
   That has an unfortunate consequence:  in the past, you could mention a fact in passing, and instead of having to cite your source or give an explanation, you could just hyperlink to a site that explained it.  Now you can't, because that link isn't about the MAIN subject of your Hub, it's about something that's only "tangentially related".   
   
   It's annoying, but what it means is that if you want to cite a source or provide further explanation, you need to do it the old-fashioned way with a "References" section at the bottom of the Hub listing your sources (without hyperlinks). 
   
   In fact the same rule applies to Amazon products:  the product must be directly related to the main subject of the Hub. So, on a Hub about cooking chicken you could advertise a chicken roaster but not a saucepan.  Amazon has an extra rule - you must say why you're recommending that particular book or product.

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      Garry Reedposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, I'll check out your summary. The "spammy elements" always comes from the identical generic email I find in my mailbox whenever the reviewers question ANYTHING which is why I never know what they really want.
      
      At this point I think I'll just continue posting bare-bones hubs with NO links and NO Amazon ads while looking online for some less restrictive place to publish. I posted on the now-defunct examiner.com for eight years and except for a few very out of the box posts that were shot down I was otherwise left entirely alone to write what I wanted.
      
      Even though my primary reason for writing is the fact that I enjoy it I know that the sites that we alI write for are making far more money off of our efforts than what we ever see. Now with their new rules the possibility of earning anything beyond a few ad sense pennies is gone.

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         claptonaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Garry,
         I feel your pain, man.
         But, all other websites are going to have moderators - just like Hubpages.
         It's the only way they can survive under the thumb of Google, they have a monopoly on "Adsense" and everyone is suffering under their thumb.
         Being of similar mindset, your goals of making money can be achieved here.
         I know there are books that you read that would enlighten anyone who's got the gumption to learn. Thus, Amazon still has a chance of being profitable.
         I'd reconsider the "quitting" of Hubpages.
         From what I can tell, if if you get on the niche sites, and they continue to build up their reputation, you're articles will be read. Thus, you'll make money on Adsense and probably sell a few books.
         There are so few people out there that actually understand what "libertarian" is and why freedom is most important, much more than "community" or "government". It would be a shame to lose your insight about the meaning of being free and unencumbered by a tyrannical government like we have in the U.S.
         Just encouragement to keep on keeping on!
         Cheers

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         Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Since earnings are shared on a set formula, the site is not making a fortune at your expense. If you're not earning much, they're earning even less. They make their money from the high earning popular topics.

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