Is it just me, or has there been less activity on Hubpages?

1. 0

   marcuscaineposted 5 years ago

   I have noticed that the number of forums and interaction between hubbers has been declining over the past year. What do you think is causing it?

   replyreport
   1. 88

      theraggededgeposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Plenty of action on the Topical boards: https://hubpages.com/forum/topical
      
      Go there at your peril
      
      Over here, well we're all busy writing our socks off.

      replyreport
      1. 61

         EricFarmer8xposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         I respond to certain topics. Other than that I am focusing on writing more.
         
         As for the topical forums there are plenty of places to argue about things online like Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, etc. I don't see a reason to do that here if I wanted to.

         replyreport
   2. 0

      promisemposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      We have a member who called someone a liar and someone else stupid just within the last 24 hours on the forums.
      
      He has spent years stalking, harrassing and bullying other members without consequences. It discourages other people from posting, which encourages him to keep doing it.
      
      HP has an extremely loose policy about forum behavior. You have to do what they very narrowly define as a personal attack before you get into trouble for it. Reporting the behavior rarely helps.
      
      As raggededge says about the topical forums, "Go there at your peril".
      
      That says it all.

      replyreport
2. 91

   Natalie Frankposted 5 years ago

   I've also felt that interactions between hubbers on the forums has seemed to decrease in the past year or so (at least the general forums as I stay away from the topical ones).  Not sure if people are just trying to focus more on their writing or if the writers that went over to Maven might have something to do with it (it seems like at least a few were some of our more vocal members if I remember correctly).

   replyreport
3. 92

   Kenna McHughposted 5 years ago

   I don't think it is as safe to comment or start a thread as it used to be. I've had Hubbers email me and ask direct questions or comments or concerns because they don't want to get attacked on the forums.

   replyreport
   1. 91

      Natalie Frankposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, I've had that as well.

      replyreport
   2. 83

      lobobrandonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, I've had that happen too. But yeah, a lot less posts these days.

      replyreport
4. 94

   Urbane Chaosposted 5 years ago

   I lurk.  Secretly.  Just don't tell anyone.

   replyreport
   1. 93

      ziyenaposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      lol!

      replyreport
5. 59

   paradigmsearchposted 5 years ago

   To lurk? Or not to lurk? That is the question.

   replyreport
6. 87

   Sherry Hewinsposted 5 years ago

   I think a lot of people lurk. They want to see what's going on, but they don't feel like they have anything to add to the conversation, they are unsure of their answer and don't want to embarrass themselves, or they think their question is dumb and don't want to be ridiculed.

   replyreport
   1. 94

      Urbane Chaosposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Somewhat.  For myself, I usually skim posts, but most of the time I simply don't have time to read in-depth.  When I do have time, I'm usually checking out my feed and reading through other hubs.  I used to be a lot more active in the forums several years back but once I got more involved in my community revitalization efforts, the amount of extra time I had dwindled. 
      
      Several years back, the forums were hopping.  It has dwindled a bit since then, but I haven't noticed any major change over the last year.  This time of year it seems things always slow down though.

      replyreport
   2. 93

      ziyenaposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Here Here

      replyreport
7. 92

   Kenna McHughposted 5 years ago

   It's because a few Hubbers have complained about posts despite HP's policies. That has caused others to feel uncomfortable about posting. Hopefully, one of the staff will chime in and tells us if the numbers are low and how low.

   replyreport
8. 88

   theraggededgeposted 5 years ago

   Newbies are pretty much safe over here unless they are plagiarists And then we are lenient if they simply didn't understand it is wrong.
   
   But that other place...

   replyreport
9. 92

   Kenna McHughposted 5 years ago

   You can ignore the stalking, harassing, and/or bullying. He will eventually go away because he feeds off the feedback. I understand some are compelled to try and put him in his place. It never works in social media.

   replyreport
   1. 0

      promisemposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Some of us have tried to ignore the behavior multiple times without success.
      
      Bullies usually back off when people stand up to them.
      
      Some of these people also post seriously false statements about important subjects and link to sites that are filled with propaganda.
      
      So it begs the question of whether or not we also want HP to be known as a fake news site. We can't post the truth if we don't challenge the falsehoods.

      replyreport
10. 92

    Kenna McHughposted 5 years ago

    The idea is that people are bullying. We need to ignore. We need to keep ourselves educated and not ignorant of the other stuff.

    replyreport
11. 89

    Will Apseposted 5 years ago

    I'm not well enough to make much of a contribution at present. I have good days and bad days.
    
    Also, it makes me so angry that HP (or Maven) screwed up the niches after we all put in so much work. Best not to get too involved.
    
    I reckon some of the others are just scared of our new overlords, though I would never say that, of course.

    replyreport
    1. 97

       PaulGoodman67posted 5 years agoin reply to this

       I hope your health improves, Will. I don't know what the medical facilities are like where you are.
       
       I can see why you are annoyed. Your hubs are well written and accurate but you are getting punished for things outside of your control.
       
       I'm not sure if the Amazon and Owlcation/info/fact style hubs are ever going to fully recover. They certainly don't make much money any more.

       replyreport
       1. 82

          Solarasposted 5 years agoin reply to this

          The RemedyGrove hubs are still in the toilet as well. I have written to staff to suggest moves of hubs to other niche sites, but these missives were lost to the wind.  I have not had responses to any emails sent in months.  This too is different and discouraging.

          replyreport
       2. 82

          Solarasposted 5 years agoin reply to this

          In fact, I am going to take this moment to go off topic here. The mindless removal of Amazon capsules is killing income, and there seems to be no adult in the room to appeal to.  As far as google goes, I often find that the number one article on my search brings up a collection of Amazon links to products. That being the case, I am not sure how this strict philosophy of removing Amazon capsules from any new hub is sensical. Lighten up.

          replyreport
          1. 91

             Natalie Frankposted 5 years agoin reply to this

             And for irony, I even have had large amazon ads placed on my articles at times

             replyreport
             1. 61

                EricFarmer8xposted 5 years agoin reply to this

                I feel like HubPages for whatever reason doesn't want to truly embrace affiliate marketing. There is some stigma to it and I think they are worried things will become low quality.
                
                The fact is though outside of HubPages some of the best paid bloggers make the most income outside of ad revenue and with other deals. In fact what they do HubPages would consider spammy or too promotional but it makes big bucks.

                replyreport
       3. 89

          Will Apseposted 5 years agoin reply to this

          Thailand has one of the best health services in the world, surprisingly enough. As long you don't value your privacy. Or mind parties in the ICU, lol.
          
          As to writing, I am trying to master populism. Do you think any of these would fly:
          
          20 Countries that still Worship the Devil
          
          100 places to hide a Watermelon
          
          The Health Benefits of Methane
          
          Ten Ways to Tell if your Neighbor is a Foreigner

          replyreport
12. 84

    FatFreddysCatposted 5 years ago

    I still stop in every day to check my stats/skim the forums/etc. but I simply haven't had time to publish any new pieces since before the holidays. I have at least eight or ten unfinished articles (in various stages of completion) waiting for their turn, but I haven't sat down down long enough to finish any of 'em up and push'em out.

    replyreport
    1. 84

       FatFreddysCatposted 5 years agoin reply to this

       Finally posted my first new article of 2019. Hoping this will inspire me to start digging into the others that are waiting behind it.

       replyreport
13. 92

    Kenna McHughposted 5 years ago

    PUSH!!!!!!! Does that help?

    replyreport
    1. 88

       theraggededgeposted 5 years agoin reply to this

       And pant....

       replyreport
    2. 84

       FatFreddysCatposted 5 years agoin reply to this

       Yikes! Doggone it, you made me spill my beer!

       replyreport
14. 94

    jansharesposted 5 years ago

    I agree forum activity has declined, more like over the last 2 years. Not as fun or as safe as it used to be to ask questions or pose issues. There were more forum posts about writing, general queries about creating articles. There were also more "frequent flyer" hubber characters who were likable and interesting, threads would go on and on but not so much off-topic. You would have good discussions, bouncing back and forth from one forum to another. Some got popping with conflict but it was different than now. I check the forum list daily looking for something interesting but I don't find as much happening to talk about!
    
    I don't enter any of the political or religious forums (not intentionally) so I don't know what that's like, don't want to know, really. I do miss the old days of the forums and some of the hubbers who have left. Something is missing now, probably never to return. I guess it's called change, transition, evolution. I do think the big change came when the forums were separated and the bulk of the main page posts became "I need feedback . . ."

    replyreport
15. 92

    Kenna McHughposted 5 years ago

    Jan, I like your way of describing the change. The atmosphere is more about politics, feedback for QA, and comments not based on prior comments.

    replyreport
16. 76

    psycheskinnerposted 5 years ago

    I suspect the forum decline reflects a downturn in the number of active hubbers as standards increase.  I mean, in terms of forum civility I think it's about as good as it's ever been--so long as you stay out of Topical-land.

    replyreport
17. 97

    PaulGoodman67posted 5 years ago

    I tend to agree with psyches. It's got tougher and tougher getting published here over the years, and many of the active hubbers left tend to focus on writing and editing rather than forums.
    
    Apart from looking out for HP announcements and changes, I just do forums for fun and to kill a little time to be honest.
    
    The forums always get more active when there's a Google algo hit, of course, then it gradually dies down again.

    replyreport
18. 92

    Kenna McHughposted 5 years ago

    Psyche and Paul, That makes sense. I do stay away from Tropics, though it does encroach every now and then.

    replyreport
19. 82

    Solarasposted 5 years ago

    Over the last few years, a number of the more forum active members have left, for whatever reason. Marissa, Beth, Mark Ewbie, Relache, Making a Mark, Writer Fox, Crazyhorses Ghost, and a plethora of the Squidoo writers who were very vocal about feeling second class lol. Many of their lively, acerbic or just plain bitchy contributions are missed. The suspension of some members, including PS, may have put a damper on forum participation as well. MaM had a habit of spanking participants for going off topic, and in the moment, I felt she was killing the forum's heart and soul with a school marms yardstick.
    
    I check in to see if there is any news on SEO/tech that might be affecting HP, Google or the internet in general.  Mostly, I find "help me make my article good in English" threads. I don't have anything to contribute to SEO discussions, but I appreciate learning from them and the tools that are being employed. So keep those coming.
    
    I think most Americans are exhausted by the daily news cycle and the barrage of crap flowing from the WH.  I know I am.

    replyreport
    1. 94

       jansharesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

       +1

       replyreport
20. 59

    paradigmsearchposted 5 years ago

    The problem is more new sites and pages keep springing up every day, an immutable trend if I ever saw one.
    
    The odds of ending up on Google's front page are approaching the odds of winning the lottery. At least the getting on Google's front page is partially a game of skill; the lottery of course is not.

    replyreport
21. 92

    Kenna McHughposted 5 years ago

    Dang. Just when I thought I had this Internet thing taped and mapped out.

    replyreport
22. 74

    Wesman Todd Shawposted 5 years ago

    I use Facebook to socialize. I honestly dislike a lot of the people in the political forums here, and so, I only use this website for work.

    replyreport
23. 92

    Kenna McHughposted 5 years ago

    Wesman, There are times you do post and I appreciate them.

    replyreport
24. 92

    Kenna McHughposted 5 years ago

    I knew that BIG PUSH would get you going!

    replyreport
    1. 84

       FatFreddysCatposted 5 years agoin reply to this

       It must have, cuz I posted my second article of 2019 today!

       replyreport
       1. 61

          EricFarmer8xposted 5 years agoin reply to this

          I wish I liked a genre as much you as. The closest thing to a genre I like is video game soundtracks. I know. Very nerdy and odd but I love them.

          replyreport
          1. 84

             FatFreddysCatposted 5 years agoin reply to this

             I'm an almost-49-year-old KISS fan. You wanna talk "nerdy and odd," that's pretty much the textbook definition.

             replyreport
25. 92

    Kenna McHughposted 5 years ago

    Nice going FatFreddysCat!

    replyreport
    1. 84

       FatFreddysCatposted 5 years agoin reply to this

       Thanx! Third & final piece of this long weekend finished up & pushed out this evening.

       replyreport