Should you tell people when their hub is bad or has mistakes?

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   dalton71482posted 13 years ago

   Should you tell people when their hub is bad or has mistakes?
   
   I always ask at the bottom of my hubs for comments good or bad. And I have left some telling people that they've done things like used the word rod instead rode for instance. Or maybe that they could link different parts of the same story for easier reading. I've done so because it's what I'd want people to do for me. I just wonder if I'm right in doing so or not.

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   creamsodaposted 13 years ago

   I think if the critic is given nicely it would be helpful to have people give their opinions. I know I would appreciate it.

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   etower036posted 13 years ago

   I for one would love for someone to give a fair critique of my hubs. I know hubpages strives to have good writers, well written hubs, and information people need. However, it is nice to have others read you work, and to give their opinion and maybe a suggestion on how to improve upon that hub or idea. So yes bring on the critiques, the more I can get, the better my hubs will become.

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   spartucusjonesposted 13 years ago

   Personally I welcome any constructive feedback, and from time to time I've done the same for others.
   
   That being said if a hub is extremely poorly written and has a number of mistakes I would generally flag it for quality and I wouldn't bother making any comments on it. But if I feel the hub has potential and could benefit from a couple of constructive suggestions, I have offer these. As long as these are given in a kindly manner, I don't see an issue. If anything most of us want to improve the quality of our hubs, and would appreciate any assistance in doing so.

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      DzyMsLizzyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I've flagged one or two hubs for being of very inferior quality, mainly because there were so many structural, spelling, grammatical and misused words in a hub purporting to instruct "how to write good hubs." (sic)

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   drspanielposted 13 years ago

   Yes, as not only does it help them understand where they went wrong with their content, but it reinforces a structure for them to writing Hubs in the future. In my opinion, you more a bad person for not out-lining their faults, as they might not ever improve...

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      dalton71482posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      "you more a bad person" or "you're more of a bad person" that's another thing I'm not just "the best writer ever"  so I have to hope that my criticism aren't a mistake on my behalf.

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   Hypersapienposted 13 years ago

   I have no issue with receiving constructive feedback. I think it helps make me a better writer overall, in addition to helping the specific hub critiqued.

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   MarleneBposted 13 years ago

   I believe writers are the one group of people, as a whole, who crave feedback. We want our content to be strong and void of errors. So, yes; you should tell people when their hub is bad, but only offer objective criticism; anything more is just our own opinion. For instance, when I see people using the word "your" where the contraction of "you are" should be placed, I'm probably going to tell them. That is the kind of error I want people to tell me about. (And, yes, I ended a sentence in a preposition... so what are you going to do?)

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   Becky Katzposted 13 years ago

   If I see a hub with a few typos and a spot which is hard to understand, I let them know. They may not realize it and usually fix it and thank me for pointing it out to them.
   If I see one with a lot of typos or structural problems, I will email the person and tell them that they need to go proof it. I will do harder critiques through email. This way they get the benefit without the possible embarrassment. They have emailed me thanking me for the help. I have never flagged a hub as inferior or voted one down. I will try my best to help fix it or make suggestions that will make them a better writer.

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      dalton71482posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      That's a really good ideal. Thank you.

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      DzyMsLizzyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Generally, if there are only one or two very minor typos, I won't say anything, but if a hub is full of glaring errors--I will send an e-mail contact, rather than risk embarassing them in public.

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   duffsmomposted 13 years ago

   That is a tough one and normally I do not do it.  But recently I read two hubs, one by a US college student that misused several words and had horrible spelling.  So while I complimented the subject matter, I tried to gently mention the spelling and misused words.  Hope it didn't hurt any feelings.
   
   I would want to know if I had typos I missed or a glaring error like using the word here instead of hear.  It might just be an oversight but looks bad as though the person is not well-educated.

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    Millionaire Tipsposted 13 years ago

    I would love to get constructive criticism on my hubs.  I think a message would be better than on a comment, so that it isn't out there for the world to see that I made the mistake.  There are two rules I use when I provide criticism on a hub:
    
    1.  Do it gently.  Be sure to also point out what I do well, so I can continue that in the future.  I've gotten criticism that sounds like the person is irate with me for making the mistake.  I don't think that is the way it was intended, but that is how the message read.
    
    2.  Be sure you are right.  If it is simply a matter of preference, let them do it their way.  But if it is wrong, then it would be helpful for them to know.

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    kelleywardposted 13 years ago

    I think if it is given in a way that also points out the strengths and is constructive then I would love for others to point out the weaknesses and or mistakes. In fact I've had two people comment on my typos and I was very grateful!

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    FatFreddysCatposted 13 years ago

    If I notice a particularly glaring typographical or spelling error in a Hub (especially in the title) I'll leave a comment bringing it to the writer's attention. It could simply be that the person was in such a rush to get their Hub published and "out there" that they didn't proofread carefully. Lord knows I've had to go back and fix more than a few typos in my own hubs.

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    amithak50posted 13 years ago

    I would love this if someone tell me about my mistakes..yes, We need to tell them so that they can correct that

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    Gayatrirk3posted 13 years ago

    you must always tell people if they have done mistakes in their hub. pointing out mistakes is not bad infact it helps the person improve his hub and write better.

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    VirginiaLynneposted 13 years ago

    Sometimes, if I have time and if I think it is a typo.  If the writing is just very poor overall, I usually ignore it.

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