Does the "Deny" / "Approve" button on comments encourage censorship?
While the "deny" button comments may allow us to remove offensive or derogatory comments, it also means that criticism of hubs can be denied. what are your thoughts on this?
While I'd like to think people don't use it in that way, you're right; it does raise the possibility of censorship. Perhaps a better way would be to make it so that all comments are allowed, and if the hub author or a reader spots spam comment then it can be flagged the same way hubs are flagged.
Censorship implies people have the right to say what they want and are being restricted somehow. In the context of your hub, they do not have that right.
Consider your Hub like a piece of property. A hardware store is a piece of property too. If you owned a hardware store would people have the right to post anything they wanted on your front window? Maybe a competitors advertisement, or maybe just graffiti? Probably not, and in the same way you shouldn't let people post whatever they want in your Hub comments. Respectful debate is fine, but unfortunately some people aren't so "restrained".
Also, if you have an Adsense account you are responsible for all content on your page, including comments. You don't want some clown posting a nasty spam link or some other nonsense that may endanger your account, right?
The ability to deny comments on Hubs is a good feature. It's always smart to have your comments set for moderation before they appear on your Hub, and weed out anything that is detrimental.
I don't think it encourages censorship, but it enables it if people choose to use it that way.
eugbug,
I'm certain you know, on one hand we have the: "loony toons"; on the other: the "sophisticates." Somewhere in between, their are the moderates. My creed-o? "Everything in moderation."
If one chooses to be a radical, they'll LIVE on that button, however, you must be able to separate the "wheat from the chaff." My thoughts? I usually play it by ear, picking and choosing, as I see fit. If you let the "tail wag the dog," you're setting yourself up for a fall. Perhaps you shouldn't concern yourself too much with the issue.
by L Izett 14 years ago
Do you accept or deny comments that leave a link to someone's website?I don't mind people leaving a link to one of their hubs but I don't know about people leaving a link to their own website.
by Janis Leslie Evans 12 years ago
What does it mean when your comment does not post immediately on a hub but you can see that others do? Is it related to the "accept or deny" buttons in the comment section on our page? Seems there's another level of regulation I'm missing because it doesn't happen every time. Some...
by CCahill 12 years ago
What Would Happen if you didn't Approve a comment?Under new comments there is 2 buttons... APPROVE and SPAMBut what happens if you press neither? If nothing, then is the approve button really neccasary? or should it just be a default until you hit Spam?
by Maria Cecilia 14 years ago
have you experience this, an unverified person, meaning not a member of hubpages visited your hub and criticize your hub and photos... how are you going to react? I clicked the deny option coz it does not look good to me. Do you think I will need to adjust because being here in hubpages I am prone...
by Ashleign 7 years ago
Hey guys,I don't know why I have never asked about this before, is there a way to approve all comments or could we request an approve all for comments? I average around 8-10k views per day with countless comments, I am just saying it would be helpful. I do try to respond to comments as much as...
by mega1 15 years ago
This has probably been addressed elsewhere but I haven't found the answer yet. Is it ok to post a link to your own hub in the comments section to someone else's hub on the same or similar subject? I just found such a post in a comment on one of my hubs and don't know whether its a good...
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