Genuine hubbers or 'plants?'
Do hubpages create fictional people to comment on hubs to see how we react as writers or is every profile and comment genuine?
I don't think HubPages creates fake profiles. However, I'm always a little suspicious of "guests" who leave comments - usually rude comments - on articles. These "guests" could be people who just stumbled upon an article via an internet search, but they could also be actual members who've signed out of their accounts in order to comment anonymously. Regardles of who comments and what they say, I think it's important to be civil when responding because it's always a reflection on you as a writer.
Signing out would not really give anonymity, since the IP address is recorded and visible to the hub author. If a person used a different Internet connection, the location information would still be available by looking up the IP address.
I used to be one of the 'guests' that commented. I was never rude but many authors were rude to me. I will NEVER read another one of their hubs. Civility has given me many friends on here.
Hmm I wonder whether these are real people answering your question or are they pointing you in the wrong direction? Hmm
lobobrandon: I assure you, I am a real person. And, website examiner: Since you cannot click on a guest's name, you cannot find out anything about them, including their IP address.
Haha lovesleftovers I was just joking as the question was silly I never ever even thought of something like that. I was being sarcastic I guess
My answer was to the person asking the question
I asked this question simply because some of the comments I have read have been so unreal to me. However, if you're never left thinking that some of the remarks are at times off this planet then I suppose good for you! Best wishes.
Hmm... this is quite interesting. With the recent Panda updates I have been suspicious of people who are spamming me with links. These 'guests' to HP are overwhelmingly annoying, but are they created by or a person not liking your article as they see it as a threat?
It could be the latter. But your proposal that these 'guests' could be fake is very questionable, yet, I don't believe HP would generate it. This answer is a bit of a stumble, but I a thinking out aloud here.
by Brie Hoffman 15 years ago
Does anyone ever get other hubbers making comments and then plugging their own hubs by pasting their urls in the comments section? What do you do..do you allow it or deny it?
by LauraGT 13 years ago
There seem to be many hubbers who have no published hubs and are still allowed to comment on other people's writing. While there are some hubbers who are simply new and asking questions before diving in, it seems that some people open accounts purely for the purposes of making comments, often nasty...
by Andrew 17 years ago
I still think comments should be comments, not discussions, that is the purpose of a forum. Maybe it would be a good idea that every author has a forum automatically made in a widget on there profile page and the topics are always the title of the Hub. That way you can discuss it and always edit...
by TessSchlesinger 7 years ago
Delete both comments and ignore her. Some people have no idea how to behave. I agree with you, Tess, there's no need to respond to every comment, every follow, unless there's a reason to.
by Haunty 15 years ago
When I post a comment to someone's hub including a question and they approve it, but do not answer the question, does that mean they have no manners? In your opinion.
by Sheila 16 years ago
I spent 25 years grading papers in undergraduate university classes. Sometimes, in the comments sections after hubs I read, I catch myself leaving "professor-type" comments ("Excellent!" "Good work!" "Keep it up, semester's almost over!")Sometimes I...
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