Please stop the endless cycle of edits!

1. 91

   lisavollrathposted 4 years ago

   So, yesterday, I got an email saying one of my articles had been edited: a recipe that's been posted since 2017. I'm not sure it really needed editing, since most of what was done was superficial. I checked it over, hated about half of the changes, and edited the article to correct some of the errors that had been inflicted.
   
   Today, I got another email, saying the same article has been edited. Again. With different, ugly changes that weren't necessary, some of which undid what was done to the article by yesterday's editor. So, again, I edited the changes, undoing some of the ugly.
   
   I have no doubt that this cycle of being edited, me correcting the edits, and having the article go back into the queue to be reviewed again, and edited again, could potentially go on forever. Please find a solution to this, because it's a waste of my time, and the time of the various editors who have their own ideas about how what I've written should be presented.

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      Solarasposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Nice to see you in the forums - sorry it is because you are frustrated.  How are things going on your own site?

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         lisavollrathposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         Very well, thanks. I have four sites now, two of which earn me income from advertising. I've just finished jumping through the latest round of suggestions from Google, which pretty much doubled my ad revenue.

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            Solarasposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            What sort of suggestions does google make? Have you considered Media Vine for your ad revenue?

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      samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Hi!
      
      Rather than going back and forth with edits/reverting edits, it is best to email the team (team@hubpages.com) and let them know what is going on, as it is a waste of time for both parties.
      
      Unfortunately, your articles are being edited as part of a "Google boost" (@theraggededge's term). And as @DrMark1961 mentioned, if you do not want your articles edited during this update, you can opt-out and have them moved back to HubPages.
      
      The objective of this update is to keep articles current, and thus rank better with Google (which means more traffic)!

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         lisavollrathposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         I replied to the second edit notice, asking that the article be left as it is now. One bad edit is fine. Two of them is just inexcusable.

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      promisemposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      The only fact that matters is whether an edit increases or decreases your rank and visits from search engines.
      
      If they increase, the edit is good. If they decrease, the edit is bad.
      
      I suggest giving an edit several weeks without messing with it to see if anything changes.

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         lisavollrathposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         I disagree. In this case, it was a vegan recipe, edited by someone who is clearly not vegan themselves. The title of my article was changed to something I, and many other vegans, would find offensive.

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      satomkoposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I have some problems with this too, even where "evergreen" articles are being edited for minor issues.

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         theraggededgeposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         It's to keep them fresh for the search engines. A recent edit date is always a positive thing. Be happy about it

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2. 88

   theraggededgeposted 4 years ago

   Hi Lisa, I think it's happening to some of the network sites in order to give them a Google boost after an update. Your recipe was probably edited routinely and then got edited again as per the above. Not much we can do, apart from appreciating HP staff for doing their best to keep our hubs current

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3. 100

   DrMark1961posted 4 years ago

   Lisa, there was a person complaining about this same issue here on the forums several months ago. (If I remember right she is working on a book and did not want to spend her time on edits/re-edits.) Anyway, I think one of the staff came on and told her that she could ask to have her articles moved back to HP main site, not on the niche sites. They would no longer be edited.
   I am sure there would be traffic loss. No idea how much it would be in your case. I am not even sure if you want to go to that extreme, but thought I would tell you about her forum post.

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      TessSchlesingerposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Not sure if you're talking about me, but no member of staff told me I could move my stuff back to hubpages. I have never been told that.
      
      I have also changed my articles back to the way they were (and updated them in the process), and editors have checked them and accepted them.
      
      The thing that has upset me are the rewrites - not the edits. There is a difference between a rewrite and an edit.
      
      In the rewrite, someone has actually changed the information, plus rewritten entire sentences and paragraphs. That's not an edit. 
      
      It has not happened often.
      
      The other day, someone edited a piece before moving it to a niche site. They changed some of the wording in the title. It absolutely was the best improvement ever! I was very thankful for it.

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         DrMark1961posted 4 years agoin reply to this

         No, I was not talking about you. The person to whom I am referring has articles about dog agility on Pethelpful.

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         Solarasposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, I have had my research updated and my conclusions changed, in a medical article. I have laid down. That is all.
         
         I still earn more here in spite of the decreasing earnings and lack of control.  I can say that I would never use anything here as a writing sample of my work, because much is no longer my work.
         
         I do appreciate the editorial corrections that clean up grammatical and AP errors.  Rewrites...that is shocking without a collaborative process.

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4. 96

   Rupert Taylorposted 4 years ago

   The team has been editing every one of my articles on Delishably over the past couple of weeks. I would characterize them as tweaks; some I agree with, some I don't. But I operate on the premise that the editors know more about how to attract traffic than I do, after all that's their job and I know diddly-squat about the mysteries of Google algorithms. I can't believe that HubPages makes changes to my articles in order to attract fewer readers.

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      Carb Divaposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with you, Rupert. Thus far about 50 of my articles (maybe more like 100; I've lost count) on Delishably have undergone a tweek of some kind. I know that my traffic has doubled so unless or until they create something horrible I'll let the edits stand.

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      OldRosesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Those "tweaks" you mention sometimes can be disastrous.  In my case, the editors added material that wasn't true and removed my photos and replaced them with photos of completely different plants that were not mentioned in the article.  The problem is that the editors may know how to edit articles but they do not have in depth knowledge about the subject matter of the articles that they are working on. 
      
      My suggestions for Lisa is to email the editors and let them know why she is reverting their changes.  It may be a case similar to mine where the changes are completely inappropriate and may even be untrue.
      
      That's what I do when my articles get edited and I revert the edits.  A quick email explaining why stops the whole the process.

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      TessSchlesingerposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      +++

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5. 72

   Marie Flintposted 4 years ago

   I'm so sorry this is happening to you, Lisa. I've had a few blooper edits myself, but most of my articles are on HubPages. I let the team decide if something should be placed on a niche site.
   
   In your place, I personally would have been furious and temporarily unpublished the article. I would have taken a couple of days to correct edits, maybe even up to four or five days.
   
   If the bloopers recurred, I would have unpublished again and contacted the HubPages Team via email (I keep their email address in my contacts at Yahoo). Matthew, if he is still part of the team, seems to have the last say on an edit(s). They do make mistakes like us, so hang in there.
   
   May you have every writing joy and success in 2020!

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6. 89

   revmjmposted 4 years ago

   I have had dozens of articles edited even after they had been edited before. Some of the articles are ones I have written years ago. My pay has increased because of the edits. Some of them are really beautiful after the edits. I have had only one that was edited so much that I didn't recognize it as being my own. Pictures were changes, links were changed, etc. Someone went to great lengths to improve the article.
   
   I am glad to know that other people's articles are being edited. I used to think my articles were edited as a special favor just for me (smile).
   
   There is a notification in the e-mail to contact HP if we do not agree with the changes. By the way, there are two different notifications I have been getting. One is about minor edits and the other one is about an article been "snipped." Both ways provide the same results. So, I appreciate the effort on HP's part.
   
   Concerning the snipped articles, HP writes the following: "We developed this type of edit to address articles that are already in really good shape, but that require some very easy-to-fix changes to either a) move to a Network Site, or b) remain on a Network Site. This type of edit hopefully saves authors’ time and reduces back and forth between writers and HubPages staff. Of course, you have the ability to reverse any change made to your article. However, if you add back problematic elements (links, products, etc.) your article has a very high chance of moving back to HubPages or becoming Defeatured. We will usually snip an article only once; after the first time, it is your responsibility to keep your article in compliance. If you have any questions, feel free to email us."
   
   Hopefully, this post will help others appreciate what HP is doing and think of it as something that HELPS instead of something that HARMS!
   
   Happy Holidays, and enjoy the blessing!

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   Kenna McHughposted 4 years ago

   I am sorry about your frustration.  I hope HP staff sees this thread because they need to know about this situation.  We are a team and work well together, and letting them know what is happening should resolve the issue. Good luck and happy holidays!

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8. 85

   Nell Roseposted 4 years ago

   I appreciate the edits to maybe make the articles more inline with Google, but the only thing I find frustrating is when they edit it at least 7 times! And no, I haven't changed what they did, they just edit themselves. I have no idea why.

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9. 94

   Kenna McHughposted 4 years ago

   Increases after edits are a good indication as long as the edit contains the correct information.  Most comments not in favor of the edits are because of incorrect data caused by the edits.

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10. 94

    Kenna McHughposted 4 years ago

    Working as a team, we can make sure the articles are factual and increase traffic and overall stats.

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11. 89

    Will Apseposted 4 years ago

    I had one article edited and got a big traffic boost. If it holds up, I will have to try updating a little more.

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    Don Bobbittposted 4 years ago

    I've been writing on here for over 10 years now, so I have watched a lot of changes pass through F=HP requirements of its writers over time.
    The one fact that I do recommend that my peers accept is the change. It may hurt, but if it does, it's because they are trying to make our "stuff" more acceptable and interesting to the HP reading public.
    Sure, I hate their "meddling" in my Hubs, what write wouldn't? But, I have learned that I can change over time and if their changed don't work for me, I still have my original sitting there in my PAGES folder!
    PS.This was typed without coffee at 6:15 in the morning!

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       Titiaposted 4 years agoin reply to this

       LOL there's an edit button hidden under 'more'.

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    FatFreddysCatposted 4 years ago

    I'm fine with the Powers That Be doing edits on stuff that hasn't been updated in a while.
    
    Just this past week they edited my lone Delishably article, which had been quietly mouldering away for the past year or two, and within a few days of the edits (which were minor) its views had jumped dramatically.
    
    So hey, whatever voodoo y'all are doin', feel free to do it to the rest of my back catalog as well.

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    bhattucposted 4 years ago

    I feel that if the editors are doing such edits for increasing the traffic to the individual article as well as to the overall benefit of the site then it is no issue. It will be prudent to wait and see the effect of this edit on the traffic before we take up the issue with them.

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15. 91

    lisavollrathposted 4 years ago

    ...aaaand the recipe has just been edited again. These people are just undoing, and redoing, the same edits over and over again. It's ridiculous!
    
    I've sent another email, telling them to please stop. If it's edited again, I'll just kill it, and move it to my own site.

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16. 94

    Kenna McHughposted 4 years ago

    I am sorry to hear about your frustrations with the edits. I hope you can come to a happy place with HP!

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17. 91

    lisavollrathposted 4 years ago

    After three bad edits, I'm out. I've moved this recipe to my own web site, and am in the process of moving the rest of them.

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       paradigmsearchposted 4 years agoin reply to this

       Been there, done that. However, I only do it when the change or the demand for a specific change is earnings/SEO destructive. If the change is not earnings/SEO destructive, then I don't care.

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