Contact author link on topical sites

1. STAFF

   Paul Edmondsonposted 8 years ago

   
   Today, to help people more easily contact an author, we added a link to email the author that respects the author's setting in their preferences.
   
   Hopefully, this will lead to folks getting a few good emails from time to time.

   replyreport
   1. 75

      Margaret Schindelposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Paul, I think this is a great idea, especially since it allows us to be contacted by our readers without divulging our email addresses.
      
      Well done, HubPages Team!

      replyreport
      1. 68

         Glenn Stokposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Actually, that's wrong. If you reply to anyone who sends you an email via that link, they will have your email address.

         replyreport
         1. 93

            Venkatachari Mposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, Glenn. If they are really impressed by your articles and want to thank or appreciate you or like to get some more knowledge regarding the subject, then it is okay. But, some people are not honest and they try to take undue advantage in contacting strangers for their own benefits. That will be bad.

            replyreport
            1. 68

               Glenn Stokposted 8 years agoin reply to this

               That's right. That's actually what my concern is. We never know when someone is just collecting email address to spam later. They may send you a legitimate-sounding question to answer just to get your email address.

               replyreport
               1. 75

                  Margaret Schindelposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  Paul's post said "Today, to help people more easily contact an author, we added a link to email the author that respects the author's setting in their preferences." So I assume if we set our preferences not to allow people outside HubPages to contact us, the contact the author feature will not allow them to contact us.

                  replyreport
                  1. 78

                     lobobrandonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                     Yes, that's how it's supposed to work.

                     replyreport
                  2. 68

                     Glenn Stokposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                     Margaret, If you shut that off in your settings then the "Contact Author" link will not appear in your hubs for outsiders or for other Hubbers.

                     replyreport
                     1. 75

                        Margaret Schindelposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                        Got it - thanks for the clarification, Glenn!

                        replyreport
               2. 78

                  lobobrandonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  To be honest, I don't think that's going to be an issue at all. No one is going to go through the trouble of reading and asking legitimate questions only to get an email ID. There are so many other ways to steal email details of people.
                  
                  There maybe emails offering SEO and marketing services and there could also be the occasional scam attempt.

                  replyreport
         2. 86

            Chuckposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            I have my settings set to allow people to contact me through a link from HubPages.  In my 10+ years on HubPages I have received a dozen or so emails from readers of my Hubs.  None of these seemed to be seeking my email address and more than one shared useful information or leads for further research to use in either a future Hub or to expand and improve a current one.  While I have not had any problems with these occasional emails from readers or from them after answering them I do have 2 options if I should receive a suspicious one.  First, I can simply delete it without answering it; and, Second I have a couple of old email addresses with no public personal information which can use to reply to them without being concerned about spam to my regular email.

            replyreport
   2. 93

      Venkatachari Mposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Paul, I appreciate your well-done recipe hubs.
      I am wondering what is that line above the Delishably.com showing time and Verizon name. In another thread, it was semil.com and time. What are these things?

      replyreport
      1. 78

         lobobrandonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         That's just a screenshot from his phone. So they show his current network provider and the time.

         replyreport
         1. 93

            Venkatachari Mposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks for the reply. I am new to all these mobile phones. Just my son couriered me a smartphone. I don't know how to use it. I have to learn it. I was habituated with ordinary phones and most comfortable was Nokia 200 phone for me.

            replyreport
   3. 86

      bravewarriorposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      This is a great idea! If it's easier to contact the author, readers may be more prone to do so.
      
      Right now on HP, the email option is buried underneath the Fan Mail tab on the author's profile page. How many readers outside of HP would know to go there?
      
      Brilliant move!

      replyreport
   4. 86

      Au faitposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I note that this feature is only available on hubs that have been moved to niche sites.

      replyreport
      1. 78

         lobobrandonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         yup

         replyreport
   5. 84

      FlourishAnywayposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Here's the issue I am experiencing: long, detailed emails with content that should be posted comments everyone should see. The comments sometimes deeply enrich the hub.  Also, viewers who seek private responses to their situation and even phone call consultations.  Not happening.  I appreciate the work that you all put into this, but it's a fix I wasn't looking for  It isn't working for me just a few days in, so I've opted out.  It is less appropriate for some types of hubs. Sorry.

      replyreport
      1. 84

         jansharesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         +1

         replyreport
      2. 78

         lobobrandonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         It's a feature you can opt out of very easily. You take it if you want it or not, totally up to you. And you learned it's not for you, same with many others here. I'm just happy the team is still looking for ways to make things better. The day they stop trying is the day the websites fail.
         
         There are some people whose hubs benefit by having this option. Especially those who write in the health and wellness niche.

         replyreport
         1. 75

            Margaret Schindelposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            +1

            replyreport
2. 78

   lobobrandonposted 8 years ago

   A nice feature to add. Makes the whole site seem a lot more legit.

   replyreport
3. 68

   Perspycaciousposted 8 years ago

   Haven't we always been been able t send a Hubber an email directly form going to Fan Page?

   replyreport
   1. 78

      lobobrandonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, but now unregistered users can send emails. So you can receive emails from readers directly.

      replyreport
   2. 68

      Glenn Stokposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Only if the Hubber allows it. In your settings you can opt out of allowing anyone to email you via fan mail (and now via the hub).

      replyreport
      1. 93

         Venkatachari Mposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         It's true. But allowing or disallowing arises only after receiving the first mail. You can opt out for entire comments or fan-mails.

         replyreport
         1. 78

            lobobrandonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            If you opted out for fan mail from people. I think it automatically disallows anyone from contacting you. That's what I understood from Pauls original post.

            replyreport
            1. 93

               Venkatachari Mposted 8 years agoin reply to this

               That's what I don't want to. I like comments and fan-mails but do not want to receive abusive or spam comments targeting a person instead of the content. For this, you have to judge each one separately and ban only such personal targeting people.

               replyreport
               1. 78

                  lobobrandonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  Just ignore email that you get from these people. Ignore the comments too. Nothing has changed. Just that people have a way of contacting you other than the comments section, if you allow them to.

                  replyreport
4. 84

   jansharesposted 8 years ago

   I don't think I'm comfy with this. I can't imagine anything someone would need to say or ask in an email that they couldn't write in the comment section. I respond to all of my readers' in the comment section. As a therapist, I could run into ethical issues with someone emailing me about a serious issue. I also think it leaves one open to trolls and inappropriate emails. Thanks for the option of turning it off.

   replyreport
   1. 75

      WryLiltposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I have a lot of people contact me about my personal stories, thanking me or asking me questions which they don't feel comfortable doing publicly. So it's useful for some.

      replyreport
      1. 84

         jansharesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         I can definitely understand that based on the type of articles you write.

         replyreport
5. 0

   Will Apseposted 8 years ago

   Disposable email addresses, expire after 48 hours, no come back:
   
   http://www.throwawaymail.com/

   replyreport
   1. 78

      lobobrandonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for emailing Will Apse!
      
      Authors on HubPages love getting emails from readers and fellow Authors.

      replyreport
      1. 0

         Will Apseposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Got your email, so it works. It is not a good solution for long term correspondence as the recipient cannot reply but you could always include a message to your 'fan' (or hater perhaps) to use the original form on the page concerned to send further emails. Get a new disposable email each time, it takes mere seconds.
         
         Or do what Venkatachari M suggests and use a non-personal email for 'fan' correspondence.
         
         I must admit, I wouldn't want to get into long chats with readers given the time it takes me to write a grammatically correct, typo-free paragraph, but a lot of people will appreciate the validation of their work via a message.

         replyreport
6. 86

   Jodahposted 8 years ago

   This is a welcome innovation. Especially as they are trying to restrict comments to those beneficial to the article and not just praising the author such as "great article." If readers want to do that they can email the author.

   replyreport
   1. 0

      Will Apseposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I reckon you have hit the nail on the head.

      replyreport