Important Network Site Update

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  1. samanthacubbison profile image79
    samanthacubbisonposted 4 years ago

    Exciting news! Engineers have been extremely busy over the last few months consolidating technology at Maven and taking the first steps toward moving HubPages sites to a centralized Maven platform, which readers and advertisers love. We are thrilled to announce that TatRing (scheduled to go live on Wednesday, July 15th) is the first of our Network Sites to be rendered by our front-end publishing platform which offers a polished, modern look and a better user experience. As we move forward with these necessary improvements, some familiar HubPages features will be converted or retired in the process. Here’s what you’ll see:

    - Authors will now have two profiles: one on the new TatRing platform with real names (or usernames) and a list of site-specific articles (this profile will not contain social media links or personal URLs) and one on HubPages.com. Your HubPages.com profile will remain exactly the same and contain all of your articles and social media links or personal URLs.

    - Callout capsules will now appear as blockquotes (if “quote” type) or H2 subheadings (if “classic” or “colorbox” type). Tables will be clean and minimalist in design without background colors or bolding. Quizzes will appear as a static set of questions and answers and grading instructions.
    Ratings are not meant to be interactive in this initial phase and should appear as a static image with text. Polls are still interactive and you are able to vote.

    - New comments will not be accepted on articles, at least temporarily. TatRing only received 24 new comments in May, but we understand that comments are an important part of the community, and we are working on a solution to make this feature available. We encourage you to join the TatRing community in the forums or on Facebook to connect, comment, and stay up-to-date on the latest news.

    - Existing Q&As will appear as static content on the page. The Q&A feature is being retired across all Network Sites and new questions are not being accepted.

    We know it’s hard to say goodbye to features that you have used over the years. Please know that we put a lot of thought into these difficult decisions and scrutinize the data to determine where resources should be best spent and how changes may affect or benefit the community. Having HubPages articles rendered by Maven’s publishing platform will ensure that our community's articles get all of the benefits of any improvements made to Maven's other properties. This is especially important for ads, which are continually being optimized by our monetization team. We will continue to update and improve the site as long-term plans are still in development.

    We hope that you are just as excited about TatRing’s fresh, new look as we are. We encourage our users to ask questions about the transition below. Thank you for your continued support.

    Q&A

    How will this affect traffic?

    - We hope that any changes in traffic will be neutral or positive. Rendering HubPages articles on Maven’s publishing platform guarantees that your articles benefit from the same improvements made to Maven's other properties. Maven properties such as Sports Illustrated are consistently optimized by our monetization team, which is especially important for advertising.

    How are we supposed to promote ourselves without links?

    - Your HubPages.com profile will remain as is for now, so any social media links or personal URLs will be supported. TatRing articles that have bylines will link to the new profile.

    When will the other sites be updated?

    - The order of the site moves has yet to be determined. This process might take several months.

    Where will updates to my profile appear?

    - New articles that are accepted to TatRing will appear in the list on your TatRing author profile. Updates to your HubPages.com author profile will remain on your HubPages.com profile. Any changes to an existing author bio or the addition of a new author bio will appear on the article(s) that it is assigned to. If you would like to update your author profile, log into HubPages.com and click “Your Profile” and “Edit Profile.”

    Will quizzes and callouts be retired like the Q&A?

    - It is possible that quizzes and callouts will eventually be retired, but no final decision has been made. The number of articles that get traffic and contain quizzes is small.

    How can I edit an article on TatRing?

    - Log into your account on HubPages.com and click “Your Articles” to view and edit your articles on TatRing. You can publish or edit your content using the HubTool. Click on the pencil icon to the left of the article title in the “Title” menu (pop-up reads “edit this article”) or click on the hyperlinked article title and select “Edit.”

    How soon after I make a change in the HubTool will I see that change on my live TatRing article?

    - You might notice a slight delay in some cases, particularly if you are uploading a new photo. Typically, the delay is at most a few seconds, though up to about a one-minute delay for photos is no cause for concern.

    How do I see the stats or Editor Center on my article?

    - Log into your account on HubPages.com and click “Your Articles” in the upper-right corner; you can also view stats by expanding the hamburger menu in the upper-left corner (labeled “MORE”) by selecting “My Account.”

    How can I view my article on the new TatRing platform?

    - Log into your account on HubPages.com, click “Your Articles,” and click the article title to view it live on TatRing. To view your article on HubPages, click the hyperlink “[view on HubPages]” next to the article title.

    1. OldRoses profile image66
      OldRosesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I hope that the callouts will not be retired.  I use them quite a bit for either information that doesn't fit the narrative flow of an article or if I want to call attention to a particular feature of a plant, especially if it is poisonous.

    2. Miebakagh57 profile image72
      Miebakagh57posted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Samantha, this is welcome news. Does it means comments on an article has a maximum of 25? Thanks.

    3. Joy At Home profile image92
      Joy At Homeposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      This is a lot to think about, but well presented, Samantha. Thanks.
      Like many users, I fervently hope callouts/quote boxes, and comments, will be incorporated into the new style. They help in many ways to organize material to be more scannable, and, I feel, help replace the value of the sidebars which used to be available in HP early days. (I still miss those, as well as other half-width features.)
      I have several articles in which readers contribute to the body of information on building grain bins, and other obscure matters, directly in the comments. This helps everybody, and helps me put together more useful FAQ sections and step-by-steps in the main articles.

    4. TessSchlesinger profile image61
      TessSchlesingerposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I didn't ask my questions clearly enough.

      1. If you transfer a niche site to Maven, and I haven't been on hubpages for a while so didn't notice any prior notice of it being moved, and if I then deleted it from Maven, would it be deleted from hubpages as well. I ask that because when our articles are on niche sites, we still edit and update in hubpages.

      2. While you indicate that new comments will not be permitted, does this mean that you are moving the old comments with the articles? If not, does this mean that they still remain in some form elsewhere? Or are they gone for good?

      3. You say that our hubpages profile will remain exactly the same. What you do not say is whether the articles will remain on hubpages or whether, because they are now on niche sites, they will no longer be on hubpages at all.

      4. While you indicate that the move to Maven will be a better 'user experience,' you do not indicate that writers will earn more as a result. That makes me wary.

      5. If I want to remove all my articles from niche sites (not sure yet), is there a way that I can indicate that to the editors of hubpages. I don't trust Maven as far as I see it, and I have a big problem with the ethics of the owner.

      1. samanthacubbison profile image79
        samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        I answered your first question in your previous post.

        2. Old comments will remain.

        3. Your articles will remain on the HubPages network.

        4. We can't say for sure, as we're still in a difficult time due to COVID, but a better user experience usually keeps people on the page for longer.

        5. Maven has nothing to do with HubPages' daily operations. Just send us an email.

    5. NateB11 profile image83
      NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Cool. I like the changes and sounds like it will be very beneficial especially in terms of monetization. What I'm wondering about is, as sites/articles are moved to Maven's platform will they still have the same positions in the SERPs; is there a redirect needed, etc.?

      Thanks, Samantha!

      1. paradigmsearch profile image59
        paradigmsearchposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        URLs are unchanged. Trust me. big_smile

        1. NateB11 profile image83
          NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Okay, cool. Thanks.

      2. NateB11 profile image83
        NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Another issue I'm wondering about is, as network sites are transferred to Maven's platform, are you still moving HP main site articles to niche sites and will the main site stay intact and functioning.

        Thanks, Samantha!

        1. paradigmsearch profile image59
          paradigmsearchposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          I am so tempted to make some more predictions here, but I shall desist. However, I will make at least one. big_smile

          From what I know of the other relevant Maven sites, Maven has to pay either employees or gig writers to produce content (SI.com being the prime example). But here on HubPages, they've gotten us to produce content for them entirely free! Not a bad deal for Maven. There will always be some sort of avenue for us to keep giving Maven all that free labor. big_smile

          1. NateB11 profile image83
            NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

            lol Well, I'm fine with it as long as I get a residual income.

        2. samanthacubbison profile image79
          samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          @NateB11, Yes! Our process will remain as-is. Articles will continue to go through moderation > site curators > niche sites.

          1. NateB11 profile image83
            NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Cool! Thanks, Samantha!

            1. samanthacubbison profile image79
              samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

              smile

          2. sallybea profile image81
            sallybeaposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Looks nice and clean except for the number of ads.   I can't imagine what it would be like to do one of my felting tutorials with that number of ads inserted between the instructions.

            1. lobobrandon profile image77
              lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

              That header ad and the hovering footer ad are too large. At the start I see just the page title and nothing more. I am sure this is not going to change anything, but I'm pretty sure it's going to hurt our rankings in the long-run because people are going to hit that back button a lot.

    6. Cheryl E Preston profile image83
      Cheryl E Prestonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Unless I went to the wrong site, Tatring is about tattoos so I’m confused.

      1. paradigmsearch profile image59
        paradigmsearchposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        TatRing is their beta test. So they used the lowest ranking site first that is still acceptable enough to be cannibalized by Maven. When that is done, they will work their way up through the better sites. As for the sites that Maven ranks lower than TatRing, I strongly suspect there is some serious collateral damage in our future.

        This inflammatory speculation is just that, speculation. big_smile

        1. Miebakagh57 profile image72
          Miebakagh57posted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Like any tech innovatives, changes are inevitable at HP.              To my mind, change is upgrade that is a boost to us writers.                   The TatRing update. I expect to be a change that alleviate writers worries, fears, quetions, and benefit us more. Not like that that maven-hubpages agreement. Where hubpages was delegate to the back. Except the niche sites.     That being said, certain things were not yet clear to all of us. Samantha is even uncertain about an issue or two as depicted in her response.              Come tomorrow. I am migrating TatRing site early (00.00 hours?), to get a first hand and real time test of the Samanthacubbison talk or maven-speak.      Thank you.

    7. Babu Mohan profile image98
      Babu Mohanposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you, Samantha. I appreciate the consistent efforts aimed at enhancing the user experience.

      1. samanthacubbison profile image79
        samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        You're welcome!

  2. lobobrandon profile image77
    lobobrandonposted 4 years ago

    Thanks for the update, Samantha.

    The move to a more centralized platform is interesting, I'm sure it makes things a lot easier. Does this mean the site designs would also be similar or just the backend stuff such as the advertising, database, etc.?

    Some comments, questions:

    1. Tatring receiving just 24 comments does not imply the others receive so few. In the month of May I probably received quite a few on my Dengarden articles and I am therefore sure the entire domain received a lot more. How important is making the comment section available again? Is this even something under consideration or is it on the back burner?

    2. I guess it will now be impossible to see individual article stats the way it currently is set up? Such as source, keyphrases, etc. I am referring to the stats on the individual hub/article and not the stats on our account page.

    3. I really hope blockquote in some form or another do continue to stay around. Something simplistic would be perfect, but it does help draw attention to something important or literally serve as a quote.

    1. samanthacubbison profile image79
      samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Right now, TatRing is the only site with comments disabled.

      You can see stats. It's going to look like this (see screenshot below). The main link to the article will go to the live article, but there's a second link that says "[view on HubPages]" that will still let you see TatRing articles as rendered by HubPages, which includes the Author Center and stats.

      https://hubstatic.com/15103496_f1024.jpg

      1. lobobrandon profile image77
        lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Yes, this is pretty clear from your description smile What I meant was "... Such as source, keyphrases, etc. I am referring to the stats on the individual hub/article and not the stats on our account page"

        If you go to an article on hubpages or a niche site and you are logged in you get an option to click on EDIT STATS DELETE

        I refer to the stats here. They are much more informative than the stats on the account page if you want to know about the source of traffic to a particular hub.

        I can send a screenshot of what I mean if necessary. If you take a look at any of your hubs you will know what I mean.You get info with an overview, referrers, countries and search phrases.

        I find this info very helpful, it is something you do not get from Google Analytics and I often use this data to update my hubs which ends up getting me and therefore the niche sites more traffic.

        1. samanthacubbison profile image79
          samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Not sure what you mean, because if you click on the “view on HubPages” link, it takes you to the individual article the way that it appears today. I see the EDIT STATS DELETE at the top of my article.

          1. lobobrandon profile image77
            lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Perfect, as long as that stays I'm happy. I didn't know the view on HubPages would keep those options. I assumed it meant edit mode. Thanks for clarifying.

      2. lobobrandon profile image77
        lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        It does make sense that right now Tatring is the only one with comments disabled and I presume this is because it is moving to the maven design. You mentioned that the other niche sites will follow over the next few months, possibly. When they do, I understand that their comments will be disabled as well, correct? At least the way things are set up now.

        If yes, are there plants to look into keeping the comments section active?

        1. TessSchlesinger profile image61
          TessSchlesingerposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Some of my articles have hundreds of comments, and they continue to come even though the articles have been around a long time. I would hate for those comments to be deleted.

          I would actually rather remove the articles from the niche site. At this point, I'm earning more on Medium, and the $25 or so I'm earning a month from Hubpages is less important.

          1. lobobrandon profile image77
            lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            You'd have to do what is best for your articles. I'm doing fine on HP in that sense and would not want to move the articles anywhere, but would love to continue to have the comments section.

            1. TessSchlesinger profile image61
              TessSchlesingerposted 4 years agoin reply to this

              Whether articles do well depends on a number of factors.

              1. The topic is currently fashionable.
              2. The site they're hosted on has a high PR ranking.
              3. The site promotes those particular stories.
              4. The article is well written.

              1. lobobrandon profile image77
                lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                Yup. Number 3 is not so important if you want search traffic.

        2. samanthacubbison profile image79
          samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          I am not sure if we'll follow the same procedure yet!

          1. lobobrandon profile image77
            lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            That's what I assumed sad I hope not.

  3. paradigmsearch profile image59
    paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

    I saw this coming. Maven is cannibalizing HP one niche site at a time. Each niche site will be its own brand, just as all the other Maven sites are. I do not perceive this as a bad thing. smile

  4. Rupert Taylor profile image96
    Rupert Taylorposted 4 years ago

    Hi Samantha. I'll confess to not understanding most of this as I find Mavenspeak English difficult to parse. I said goodbye to Q&A long ago as it became an annoyance with lots of utterly dimwitted questions. I like getting comments because they confirm there is an audience and I love the interaction with readers.

    I'll take it on faith that you guys know what you are doing. One thing is for sure, if I was in charge catastrophe would be the order of the day.

    1. samanthacubbison profile image79
      samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Rupert,

      Thank you for having faith in us! I know, some Maven language confuses me as well. Comments will still be available on all other Network Sites aside from TatRing (for now).

  5. EricDockett profile image93
    EricDockettposted 4 years ago

    Will Amazon capsules transfer over? That's a feature that does not exist on other Maven sites like Sports Illustrated as far as I know.

    1. samanthacubbison profile image79
      samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, they will!

      1. incomeguru profile image84
        incomeguruposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Samantha Cubbison, is this movement to a centralized maven platform limiting ads that are being shown on our articles? Someone should look into this issue please.

        1. samanthacubbison profile image79
          samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          No!

          1. incomeguru profile image84
            incomeguruposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Do you have limited number of advertisers bidding on your space, and since you said no? Reason being that the ads space is becoming empty.



            https://hubstatic.com/15105265.jpg

            1. lobobrandon profile image77
              lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

              Someone should start a new thread about this, there are quite a few people complaining about not seeing ads, just the word advertisement and none of them have any sort of adblocker activated.

      2. EricDockett profile image93
        EricDockettposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Thank you!

  6. TessSchlesinger profile image61
    TessSchlesingerposted 4 years ago

    Thank you for updating us.

    I have some questions.

    1. How will writers benefit?

    2. Does the writer lose control if the network site is centralized? In other words, can the writer update the article or delete it?

    3. If the sites are centralized and Hubpages remains as is, can the article be deleted on the Maven site but will remain on the hubagpes site?

    4. Why was the decision taken.

    1. samanthacubbison profile image79
      samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      1. Writers will benefit from their content being strategically monetized by a combination of experts on our team.

      2. The writer won't lose control—all content is still being edited in the HubTool.

      3. Yes they can update and delete, refer to our TOU; if an article is deleted on the Maven site it will also be deleted on HubPages once the sync happens for that particular site

      4. The decision was taken because we want to keep our pages competitive and we want to be able to utilize all the latest in monetization and visibility strategies used by our team experts for other Maven verticals.

      1. TessSchlesinger profile image61
        TessSchlesingerposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Thank you. Much appreciated.

      2. Miebakagh57 profile image72
        Miebakagh57posted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Samantha, I have a quetion. What does the initial TOU stands for?

      3. sallybea profile image81
        sallybeaposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Might be a dumb question but will earnings for the two sites be shown separately?

        1. lobobrandon profile image77
          lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          It's going to be the same as it is now, but I'll let Samantha answer. From what I understand Maven is not really taking over, they are just using a common database which will streamline website upkeep, design and stuff.

          1. sallybea profile image81
            sallybeaposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Which hopefully will translate into increased earnings.  One does puzzle whether the hub format will look similar.

            1. lobobrandon profile image77
              lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

              Tatring moves today, I wonder what time though.

        2. samanthacubbison profile image79
          samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Nope, earnings will remain as-is. smile

          1. sallybea profile image81
            sallybeaposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks, Samantha, it is good to see that CPM is starting to creep up again:)

        3. Miebakagh57 profile image72
          Miebakagh57posted 4 years agoin reply to this

          No question can be dumb. It is still begging for an answer. Can you help? Thank you.

          1. bravewarrior profile image83
            bravewarriorposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Miebakagh57, TOU stands for Terms of Use

            1. Sustainable Sue profile image97
              Sustainable Sueposted 4 years agoin reply to this

              lol. It looks like it should stand for something related to Thank You.

  7. EricDockett profile image93
    EricDockettposted 4 years ago

    I hope Maven doesn't underestimate the importance of the comments section. As much as I love the idea of never having to moderate a comment again, I think it was an important ingredient that made at least some of the niche sites successful.

    For example, on PetHelpful I have had countless interactions with readers who ask questions. My Rose-breasted Grosbeak article on Owlcation has become a place where dozens of people report their sightings every spring.

    I think it would be a mistake to lose that kind of reader engagement and it would hurt the sites in the long term.

    1. samanthacubbison profile image79
      samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I agree that reader engagement is important. This will be temporary, and only on TatRing.

      1. lobobrandon profile image77
        lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        As you said in the other post, only* on Tatring.

        *For now.

        I think it is important to clarify this. The fact that it is only on Tatring is because that is the only site being moved for now.

    2. NateB11 profile image83
      NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

      "...there is no correlation between the number of comments on a post and the number of links that post got. There is also no correlation between the number of comments and the number of views that post got.

      "(There is, however, a positive correlation between links and views, which is exactly what you would expect.)

      "So, the data shows that blog comments are not correlated with increased traffic."

      https://optinmonster.com/to-allow-blog- … ata-shows/

      1. lobobrandon profile image77
        lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        You are missing the whole point. Some of my hubs, just like Erics have very good interactions and helpful information added to the hub. People do look for stuff like that and the new info is the reason for the added traffic, not more links.

        Haven't you ever Googled something only to be taken to a page where the answer or info you were looking for was in the comments?

  8. bhattuc profile image82
    bhattucposted 4 years ago

    We hope that comments would be incorporated there soon.

    1. Miebakagh57 profile image72
      Miebakagh57posted 4 years agoin reply to this

      That would be a good thing. Comment is important in engaging readership. I see it further as a way to know what visitors like and don't like-a sort of improving an article.

  9. Glenn Stok profile image94
    Glenn Stokposted 4 years ago

    Samantha, I find all this very interesting. I have one concern however.

    If callouts might be retired eventually, would that mean those capsules will be deleted from hubs? Or will the text merely be changed to text capsules? Either of those changes would be terrible.

    Years ago I had removed callouts that I used for subtitles, since that was determined to be unfavorable for SEO. But I still have some that separate major sections. How would they be replaced?

    I have more concern for those used for quotes. They would not transition well if changed to text capsules.

    1. samanthacubbison profile image79
      samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Callouts will be rendered as stylized blockquotes or pullquotes. We will try to translate the content into the closest available equivalent.

      1. Glenn Stok profile image94
        Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Thank you Samantha. So quotes will be handled properly in one way or the other.

        Would you think it's advisable that we start changing callout capsules that are NOT used for quotes? That would assure that we don't have any unforeseen problems with our content. Or can we trust that the "closest available equivalent" will take care of that?

        1. samanthacubbison profile image79
          samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          I would say yes, be proactive, but I'm not sure how exactly everything will look once it's rendered. If you have any articles on Tat to reference, you can see how it's styled (once it goes live) and make your decision based on that.

          1. Glenn Stok profile image94
            Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks again. Your reply is very helpful. I don't have anything on TatRing, but I'll keep an eye on others that presently use callout capsules.

            1. samanthacubbison profile image79
              samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

              Of course. I know it's a bit of an inconvenience, but it will probably be a while before you really have to worry about it. That being said, it's always good to think ahead. smile

              1. Glenn Stok profile image94
                Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                Yep. smile I had two years to work on removing the right-side columns when HubPages gave us advance notice on that change. I think that was before you began working here Sam. Anyway, it's always good to have time to work on things, and I always appreciate the advance alerts.

                1. samanthacubbison profile image79
                  samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                  I started about two years ago, so I wasn't around. But I still see articles written to fit that format. Thanks for your understanding!

            2. lobobrandon profile image77
              lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

              Good idea, I just bookmarked two hubs on Tatring one uses a blockquote and the other a callout. I thought of changing mine when I had the chance, but I'll wait and see what the change looks like first.

              1. samanthacubbison profile image79
                samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                It's liiiiiiiivvvvveeee!!!!

                1. lobobrandon profile image77
                  lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                  Off to check it out!

                2. lobobrandon profile image77
                  lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                  I like that the callouts and blockquotes look good. The overall design (with ad blockers) looks good too.

                  Is the thing just below the title the description or the bio? If it is the bio and it is going to get so much prominence we may need to be able to write individual bios for each hub.

                  1. lobobrandon profile image77
                    lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                    I also like the header menu, many people use the menu on the top on my website. Maybe that will help increase internal traffic as well.

                  2. samanthacubbison profile image79
                    samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                    Yah, I really like how the callouts ended up as well! Still looks like a callout.

                    The thing below the title is a bio, yes. I think if it's for a site like Tat, a simple "I have tattoos or piercings and I know stuff about them" is fine to use across many articles.

                3. NateB11 profile image83
                  NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

                  Cool! Going to check it out!

                  1. NateB11 profile image83
                    NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

                    I like it, can't wait to see what the other sites are going to look like!

                4. OldRoses profile image66
                  OldRosesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                  I'm so happy to see the callouts are virtually identical.  It's great that I will be able to continue to use them.

    2. Sustainable Sue profile image97
      Sustainable Sueposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with this. I like using callouts for particular points I want the reader to remember. I would hate to see them disabled.

      1. Glenn Stok profile image94
        Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Sue, Callouts are not being disabled. Samantha already responded to this:
        https://hubpages.com/forum/post/4147308

  10. Solaras profile image84
    Solarasposted 4 years ago

    Maybe I am misinterpreting what I skimmed over.  Are the niche sites being incorporated into the Maven site? If so, how is this different from Hubpages which floundered, and found revived success by splitting itself into general topic specific sites?

    1. samanthacubbison profile image79
      samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Our Network Sites will remain independent of one another and the main Maven website. It is just being rendered using Maven's front-end publishing platform.

      1. Solaras profile image84
        Solarasposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Thanks for the clarification. Does that mean they will have the same "skin" as the maven pages?

        1. samanthacubbison profile image79
          samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Sort of—we are using the same platform, but each Maven site is unique and designed as such.

      2. chef-de-jour profile image99
        chef-de-jourposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        For me, this is the crux of the matter Samantha - keeping the niche sites independent, so that they maintain their place in the competitive hierarchy of the internet. The Maven crew must know that too radical a change might mean loss of faithful followers and readers, especially on educational sites like Owlcation, used by many students. Let's hope call out stays.

  11. CYong74 profile image97
    CYong74posted 4 years ago

    I'm undecided about comments but removing Q&A is definitely a great move. The absurdity of some of the things asked about is simply unbelievable.

    1. Kierstin Gunsberg profile image95
      Kierstin Gunsbergposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I feel good about the comments. More and more sites are removing comments and I think it's a wise move for a couple of reasons.

      First, moderating comments is ANNOYING and because my top performing article have to do with pregnancy, a majority of the comments I receive have keywords that Google associates with adult content.

      Also, I get a lot of spam which is just another time waster for me.

      Plus, this isn't a blogging platform. I'm not interested in a community or interacting too heavily with readers, especially, well, annoying ones. It makes the content appear less credible in my opinion.

      1. NateB11 profile image83
        NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

        +1

      2. lobobrandon profile image77
        lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        There's an option to switch off comments on a hub if you don't want them.

        1. Em Clark profile image88
          Em Clarkposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks, Lobobrandon!

        2. NateB11 profile image83
          NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Forgot about that...big_smile

          1. lobobrandon profile image77
            lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Haha. I got a comment yesterday asking for my Instagram name or was it an email through the contact option? Not really sure.

            1. NateB11 profile image83
              NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

              Yeah, I've gotten some strange comments, some of them off the wall hateful. But I've always thought they had some SEO value so I've left them on articles as long as they don't violate TOS. In fact, that's the only reason I've ever had commenting activated because I've understood it to have SEO value in terms of keywords, new content, engagement, user-experience. But from what I've seen of professional sites, they don't have commenting. I mean, to me, you expect comment threads on Reddit or some forum but not on serious articles. I agree with Kierstin, commenting makes articles/sites seem less credible.

              1. Glenn Stok profile image94
                Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                That all depends on the quality of the comment. Years ago, I went through all my hubs, deleting comments with poor grammar, misspellings, and anything not related to the subject. I also deleted comments that only said things like "nice hub."

                A while after doing that, I noticed my Google traffic increased. Comments do affect ranking. If they have misleading keywords, that could damage SEO too. It helps to be careful with moderating comments.

              2. lobobrandon profile image77
                lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                I don't really agree with them making an article less credible. Spammy in some cases, but I don't see how the presence or absence of comments takes away from the article.

      3. profile image0
        Marisa Writesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        I think it would be disastrous for some of the niche sites if comments were disabled.  The whole point of PetHelpful, for instance, is so readers having problems with their pets can find help.  Yes, the articles give some of that help, but what brings readers back is that they can also ask the expert writer for mor specific advice.  Same with Dengarden.

        1. Solaras profile image84
          Solarasposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          I agree - and I don't have to answer so many questions, outside of deleting spam.

        2. lobobrandon profile image77
          lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Yes, I have people signing up just to comment on my Dengarden articles, many comment as guests, but the comments section is a big part of some niche sites.

          1. DrMark1961 profile image99
            DrMark1961posted 4 years agoin reply to this

            I see many people signing up so that they can leave comments on my articles. Someone mentioned that this looked unprofessional, but what I consider unprofessional is those sites that do not even allow a reader to comment. I put them on my mental file and try never to visit them again. I hope Pethelpful and the other networks sites do not descend to that level.

            1. lobobrandon profile image77
              lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

              I agree.

  12. Kenna McHugh profile image94
    Kenna McHughposted 4 years ago

    This is all very interesting, and changes within HP are bound to happen.  I hope call out and comments stay. I have one article that an editor titled …FAQ since there are so many in my comments (hundreds) with valid questions.

  13. TessSchlesinger profile image61
    TessSchlesingerposted 4 years ago

    You deleted my questions

    I need to know if we will be notified ahead of time if the niche site is moved to Maven. I definitely  do not want my articles on any site that is that far integrated into Maven. I would prefer to have them simply on hubpages.

    Also, how do I remove my stories from niche sites.

    1. samanthacubbison profile image79
      samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      No one deleted your questions. I still see them above and replied to both of them.

      Our niche sites are not "being moved" to Maven. They are still our niche sites, but they will be rendered using Maven's publishing platform (so they'll look pretty). Nothing changes in regards to publishing articles or where the articles will be hosted.

      You can send our team an email and they will remove them all for you.

      1. Miebakagh57 profile image72
        Miebakagh57posted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Samantha, I am enthuse to know this. Thank you.

  14. Kierstin Gunsberg profile image95
    Kierstin Gunsbergposted 4 years ago

    Samantha, this is an exciting announcement!! I've been hoping for a couple years now that our network sites would get a more modernized makeover. Having the old Q&A blended into the original content is going to be so much better for traffic. I don't have anything on TatRing but am looking forward to the rest of the network sites switching over. Wooohoooo!!

    1. samanthacubbison profile image79
      samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      It's going to look so nice and sleek. I'm excited to hear the community's feedback once it launches!

  15. FatFreddysCat profile image73
    FatFreddysCatposted 4 years ago

    I will have to take a wait-and-see attitude about these changes, since I have no articles on TatRing, so my stuff won't be affected for a while.
    Wake me when they get to ReelRundown and/or Spinditty, as that's where most of my material resides.

    1. Miebakagh57 profile image72
      Miebakagh57posted 4 years agoin reply to this

      My intention to migrate TatRing is to observe the site, watch the show, and then...             I think Samantha Cubbison is on the line. I'll copy her or other knowledgeable person...but not copy cating. I'm strieving to be unique.

    2. samanthacubbison profile image79
      samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      @FatFreddysCat, you'll be the first to know!

  16. Cheryl E Preston profile image83
    Cheryl E Prestonposted 4 years ago

    Why are we joining a site about tattoo rings. Who writes about that.

    1. paradigmsearch profile image59
      paradigmsearchposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      We are not joining anything Maven in that sense. Maven even has weed sites and you would not believe what else. big_smile

      Each site is standalone and is not in any way, shape, or form associated with any of the other sites. It's all about branding, each individual site does not connect with any other site except where such interconnection is positive.

      Each site is a unique branding, totally separate from all other sites in SEO or any other association that night have a negative effect

    2. lobobrandon profile image77
      lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      We are not joining Tatring. Tatring is one of the niche sites of subpages. Just as lettterpile is one and you have some hubs there, tatring is another.

    3. Jean Bakula profile image87
      Jean Bakulaposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      It's always been one of Hubpages niche sites. It's not new.

  17. paradigmsearch profile image59
    paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

    Do hardball. You will keep the pros that can handle it. You will lose the writers that you will lose the writers.

  18. Glenn Stok profile image94
    Glenn Stokposted 4 years ago

    Here's what I found. The good and the bad:

    1. I like the new formatting.
    2. I think the display of the source on images by default is a good idea.
    3. I noticed the last mod date is now the publication date. That’s good.

    However, here are some problems I see:

    1. The Author Bio is not obvious that it’s an author bio. What happened to the author's avatar?

    2. The colorbox callouts are great! They look the same. But the Quote callouts no longer have the quote symbol. So it’s not obvious that it’s a quote.

    3. There is a bug with the display of tables on mobile phones. All columns in a row fall under one column.

    4. The Copyright at the bottom Only says, “By Author-name” – It does not have the (c) or the year.

    EDIT: The copyright is wrong only on some hubs. That's weird.

    1. samanthacubbison profile image79
      samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for the report, Glenn. I have passed it on to the team. This is a work in progress, so we expected a few things would need to be ironed out. Bear with us!

      1. paradigmsearch profile image59
        paradigmsearchposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Say it like it is going to be (kind phrase).

        (am so tired to what to omit)

      2. Glenn Stok profile image94
        Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Thanks for passing my report on to the team. I know these things need to be ironed out before involving the other niche sites.

  19. EricDockett profile image93
    EricDockettposted 4 years ago

    The ads are extremely frustrating, but otherwise I think the site looks really good. This is certainly an upgrade! Well done, HubPages!

    I actually prefer the author listed as only a name with no image, but I am probably in the minority.

    Love the "see more" button for the related stories!

    I think the author bio looks off. It looks like the first text of the article. I wouldn't mind if the author bio went away altogether, or was moved to the bottom where many sites place it.

    A couple of very important things though:

    1. I noticed links to some image sources but not all. The image attributions must be links. This is a requirement of CC attribution and several other sources. Simply listing the source is not enough.

    Links are also a way for writers to check back on their images if there is ever a question of where the image came from. I even link to public domain images, so I can check on them when I update my articles in case they have been removed for copyright violation.

    So, will all links to image sources carry over from HP to the new platform?

    It might also be a good idea to use HPs system, where clicking on "source" brings up the source of the image. I believe they did that so there wasn't thousands of links from HP pointing to sites like wikimedia.

    2. The dates on the articles are showing as the date they were published, not the date they were updated. Some of the articles are showing dates way back to 2013 even though on the writer's HubPages profile it appears they were updated within a few months. This is a problem with another Maven site that I've spoken to editors about, and I believe there is a solution in the works?

    This is very important, as you know updated articles are more likely to be trusted by readers and search engines.

    I'll also note that there was a bug several years ago that caused search engines to index the published date rather than the updated date. Many writers, myself included, saw a massive traffic drop until it was corrected.

    I wouldn't be surprised if you saw a traffic drop on Tatring simply because of this.

    3. I've asked this before but I'll ask again: Please get rid of the Write for Us button! It makes us look so bush league. If you went to an NBA game would you expect to see a  banner that says "Play for Us"?  Wouldn't it make you question the quality of the team?

    Yeah, maybe we're not NBA-quality writers, but were are trying to present a professional image here, right?  Writers who are interested in joining know how to follow the links at the bottom of the page.

    1. NateB11 profile image83
      NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Agree with you about author bio. Looks like part of the article and is jarring at the top, I think it would be better at the bottom and distinguishable from the body of the article.

      1. Glenn Stok profile image94
        Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        I think the author bio should remain at the top. The purpose was meant to show the reader the expertise of the author on the subject before deciding if they want to read the entire article.

        The problem is that many Hubbers didn’t properly write bios in that fashion for each subject, and that created a misunderstanding of how it is to be used.

        When used correctly, it definitely should be at the top. The new format on TatRing doesn’t make it look like a bio anymore. We lost that, and that needs to be fixed. I agree that it looks like part of the article now. I mentioned that, too, in my report. That’s no good!

        1. samanthacubbison profile image79
          samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          We are working on a solution for this now!

          1. lobobrandon profile image77
            lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Good to know, thanks smile

          2. Miebakagh57 profile image72
            Miebakagh57posted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Happy to note.

        2. lobobrandon profile image77
          lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Yes, I agree that it should stay, but if it does it should be in a format as on the other niche sites. Make it obvious that it is a bio and not a part of the article or a massive subtitle! If this is not possible, I would vote for it to be moved to the bottom or taken out completely.

    2. Glenn Stok profile image94
      Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I remember that issue with the bug years ago when search engines posted the wrong date and made all our articles look old. It did indeed damage our ranking at that time.

      I hope Maven doesn’t reintroduce that problem, especially since they are too young to know what disasters HubPages had learned from with prior experience.

      I agree with your argument Eric, the date on top should show the updated date. I think it would also help to have the word “Updated” in front of the date.

    3. lobobrandon profile image77
      lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      About mentioning source instead of Wikimedia, it definitely looks a lot neater, but in both cases we were sending out tonnes of links to Wikimedia. The link existed even if it was not shown. I do agree with your points though.

      Point number 3 definitely needs to be considered.

  20. DrMark1961 profile image99
    DrMark1961posted 4 years ago

    Samantha, I just looked at the new page and like the way it looks. I do want to point out that I have the same concerns that EricDockett points out about the date shown. I edit my articles regularly to improve the information available to the reader and if they show 2014 or dates from many years ago I cannot but imagine that my traffic would drop off.
    This is a serious problem and needs to be resolved before all of the sites are moved to this platform. If it is not fixed it is going to cost the authors and HP a lot of money.

    1. Glenn Stok profile image94
      Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      +1

    2. chef-de-jour profile image99
      chef-de-jourposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Oh yes. Updates are vital so the date shown has to reflect this. No brainer. Needs to be corrected asap.

    3. samanthacubbison profile image79
      samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I have brought the update issue to the team.

      1. incomeguru profile image84
        incomeguruposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Ads are showing on TatRing but not on other sites.


        https://hubstatic.com/15112664.jpg

        ...........






        https://hubstatic.com/15112666.jpg

  21. Glimmer Twin Fan profile image95
    Glimmer Twin Fanposted 4 years ago

    I think the update looks great.  I can't wait to see what the other niche sites are going to look like.  One thing I noticed is that I don't see any ads at all (phone & desktop), only a light grey bar across the top, and large gaps in the text where I'm guessing ads should be.  I don't use any type of ad blocking.

    I do like that the avatar is no longer showing.  For those of us who started with a profile name, but later added a different one, which name will be showing? 

    Also - does the featured author section change from time to time like it does on the current sites?

    Thanks!

  22. EricDockett profile image93
    EricDockettposted 4 years ago

    I'll also add that, as others probably remember, the traffic drop due to the bug a few years ago was immediate.

    It wasn't like fewer people were clicking through because of the date and the articles gradually sank in the rankings.

    It was more like the date itself caused search engines to devalue the article and rankings dropped like a rock.

    So, this is kinda important.

    Of course, that was years ago so maybe things have changed.

    1. Glenn Stok profile image94
      Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      You’re absolutely correct! Adjustments to ranking occur before people even have a chance to see it in the SERPs.

  23. lobobrandon profile image77
    lobobrandonposted 4 years ago

    Samantha, could you also please notify the team that I get the following error when I try to access Tatring by entering tatring.com into my browser:

    Your connection is not private
    Attackers might be trying to steal your information from www.tatring.com (for example, passwords, messages, or credit cards). Learn more
    NET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID
    This server could not prove that it is www.tatring.com; its security certificate is from saymedia.map.fastly.net. This may be caused by a misconfiguration or an attacker intercepting your connection.

    Proceed to www.tatring.com (unsafe)


    Info to help the team out:
    Latest version of chrome on a windows 10 laptop.
    tatring.com redirects to a not secure version with https struck off.
    I can "safely" access the site through a direct URL or if I type in https://tatring.com
    This does not happen if I type in dengarden.com so it's probably some new redirect issue or a new hosting issue.

    1. Glenn Stok profile image94
      Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      That's weird that you have that problem. TatRing automatically redirects to the secure site even if you use "http://" instead of "https://"

      I just tested it with Chrome and Safari (both on a Mac). They both work either way. Maybe Chrome is defaulting to http (non-secure) on Windows 10 when you only specify the domain.

      I think I know why is works with DenGarden. You probably used DenGarden before and Chrome has the https version saved in its cache.  But you never used TatRing yet and the first time you tried it, you typed the insecure URL. So it saved that in its cache. Does that make sense?

      1. lobobrandon profile image77
        lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        I figured someone would point that out. I tested with other niche sites too, ones that I do not visit such as remedygrove. I also cleared my casche and was in incognito, but I tested other sites just in case.

        I am being redirected to the https version, but the https has a strikethrough.

        If I enter http://tatring.com I am redirected perfectly. Do not enter any sort of http protocol, secure or plain. Just the domain name. Does it work fine for you?

    2. samanthacubbison profile image79
      samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Done. I'll let you know what they say.

      1. lobobrandon profile image77
        lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Thanks. After Glenn replied, I tested with the new Microsoft edge browser and the tatring.com domain name redirects to https://tatring.com without issues.

        1. Glenn Stok profile image94
          Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          I tested it every possible way just to see what happens—using the domain alone, using the domain after www, using http, and using https.  It always redirects to the secure version no matter what I do. I even repeated all the tests on both browsers. Same results.

          So I still think it's cache problem in your case.

          @Samantha, Based on my testing, I don't think the problem is on your end.

          1. samanthacubbison profile image79
            samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Ok, so, we have set up a cert for https://tatring.com which is our primary. As www.tatring.com is not our primary domain and it only redirects to https://tatring.com, we haven't set up a cert. It's our current policy, but I will still be sure to submit this feedback to IT.

            1. Glenn Stok profile image94
              Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

              I thought you did have an SSL cert with or without the www since it was translating fine for me with each test. But it's good to confirm that anyway.

              1. lobobrandon profile image77
                lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                As I said, I cleared cache and that is not the problem. There's no harm in the team looking into it. If you had a windows system and it works fine on the latest version of chrome it would be a different story. Things change across platforms, browser versions are slightly different. As I said in my other post, it works fine on Microsoft edge, but as Samantha says they haven't set up a certificate for tatring.com and Chrome seems to be picking that up before the redirect takes place.

              2. Miebakagh57 profile image72
                Miebakagh57posted 4 years agoin reply to this

                Samathacubbison, in the primary case, is the connection secure and safe?                              Every website must secure a security certificate. This protect visitors and their personal identity.            Samartha, I am sure you can agree to this.

  24. paradigmsearch profile image59
    paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

    As previously predicted, the HubPages name is nowhere to be found.

    (This is not a complaint.) smile

    1. lobobrandon profile image77
      lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      For those who use HP as a portfolio of sorts, this could be a good thing lol. They can now say they are published on many magazine websites if they are on many niche sites. The magazine sites will all look similar though lol

  25. paradigmsearch profile image59
    paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

    Any predictions on what the next site will be? If it's one of mine, I'll have no problem fixing any formatting issues. smile

    1. lobobrandon profile image77
      lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Based on what I've been seeing, changes like this have a certain order to them. The next site that was released may be next, Tatring was the first niche site to be created. Pethelpful or Bellatory. You can see the list and the order on the homescreen when you login. The one with the feed, etc.

      It could all just be based on current stats.

    2. Miebakagh57 profile image72
      Miebakagh57posted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Were you envisaging any early or later changes or update on TatRing?

  26. paradigmsearch profile image59
    paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

    This is just a non sequitur thought....

    The word,"evangelist", has a negative connotation for a lot of people. Maven might want to stop bragging about being one on their advertising and on their email blitzes. Just a thought.

    1. Miebakagh57 profile image72
      Miebakagh57posted 4 years agoin reply to this

      You're okay. And you're on your own.                   Now, how's the word 'Evangelist' affecting TatRing or Hubpages?

      1. NateB11 profile image83
        NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

        ^Here's your non sequitur. Ironically.

        1. Miebakagh57 profile image72
          Miebakagh57posted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Yep. Lol!

  27. profile image0
    Beth Eaglescliffeposted 4 years ago

    @Samantha

    Polls are not showing on the new Tatring site articles. The capsule heading appears, but not the graphic or the question and answers. I'm using Chrome on a laptop.

  28. profile image0
    Marisa Writesposted 4 years ago

    One thing that may concern some people.

    The new layout removes all information about the author, other than the short bio on each article.  The Maven profile is just a bare listing of articles by that author, and there will be NO link back to our HubPages profile. 

    So this means that once all the niche sites are moved to Maven, there will be no way for readers to find out more about us as authors.   We won't have any chance to link to our own websites or social network accounts. All the reader will see is our name.

    I can understand that on other Maven sites, where writers are paid upfront for their articles, that makes sense.  They have been paid and the article belongs to Maven, so the author has no right to use it to promote themselves. 

    However, part of the bargain HubPages makes with authors is that we share income and we also have the opportunity to build a presence as a writer. 

    That may not concern some writers, but I'm sure it will concern others.

    1. Glenn Stok profile image94
      Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I noticed that, and it's not a concern to me. I find it to be a better method because our Maven profiles include all our articles that we have on the specific niche site to which it belongs.

      I always wished there was a way to show readers ONLY our related articles. Now that is what happens. The way our main HubPages profiles include all our articles without any breakdown into topic categories is of no use to anyone looking for specific topics.

      I think it's useless to show readers other articles we wrote on alternate niche sites since those articles would not be of any interest to the reader. But by showing them only our articles in that niche is a great benefit to both reader and author.

    2. Miebakagh57 profile image72
      Miebakagh57posted 4 years agoin reply to this

      The HubPages-Authors finance sharing relation is what motivates me on hubpages. I keep my stories. I can make them into an e-book. That is the best thing.

    3. NateB11 profile image83
      NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I'm with Glenn, someone reading my article on one subject is not interested in my articles on other subjects. I've also never gotten any benefit from linking to my sites or social media. I've never seen HP that way. I also don't see an advantage to linking back to a profile. A short bio on an article seems sufficient, professional.

      1. Glenn Stok profile image94
        Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Thanks Nate. And I also agree with your additional comment about the short bio on articles. That has a lot more value than our profile description.

        The bio on each article is there to show authority, although I see that some Hubbers don’t use it properly for that purpose.

        The author description in our HP profile is next to useless, based on the stats I see in the weekly newsletter. Compared to total reads, I have few views of my profile by readers. But they all see the bio at the top of the articles.

        The same goes for links to our own site or to social media. I monitor traffic through the link to my author site and it is hardly ever used. Most visits to my author site are through Google anyway.

        To put all this into focus, I wouldn’t miss link-backs from Maven or a profile on Maven similar to our profile on HubPages.  Our HubPages profile is mostly viewed by other Hubbers and that’s the only place we might need (or want) social media links.

        1. NateB11 profile image83
          NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

          I agree with everything you said here. I think our profiles are for the benefit of the HP community, the writers on the site. I don't see much value to it for our readership.

          And yes, traffic that I receive comes from Google mostly, some from niche sites and some from social media.

          1. Joy At Home profile image92
            Joy At Homeposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            In general, I agree with what you've observed about use of the HP profile pages. However, I have experienced one serious exception to the rule. This occurs when a series of how-to articles on one subject are split between HP and the niche sites. In this case, readers will use the profile listing to track down the remainder of the series.
            I've seen this happen repeatedly with my "how to build a grain bin" series. Some of the articles in it are literally the only ones covering their subject angle on Google, yet don't perform well in searches, or show up often in the "related" sidebar. Too obscure a subject, perhaps (i.e. lifting rings).

            1. NateB11 profile image83
              NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

              Interesting, I hadn't thought of something like that, makes sense.

            2. Glenn Stok profile image94
              Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

              That makes sense, Joy. In that case I think it would be best to get all the articles in the series moved to the niche site. Leaving some on HubPages.com might confuse some readers, and Google will not rank those well.

              1. Joy At Home profile image92
                Joy At Homeposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                I'm working on that. I had some initial formatting problems when I debuted the series, which were fixed a month later, but not soon enough to make the niche sites on their first review.
                I published from my tablet during lockdown, as it's all I have. Not all of the editing features work correctly on mobile. For example, captions and other slots on the photo capsules are difficult to impossible to access. So I listed captions in text capsules beneath each photo block. HP editors apparently didn't like it.
                Still, I'm happy to get fewer emails asking, "Please come help me move/build/modify a grain bin."

                1. Glenn Stok profile image94
                  Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                  The reason why the editors don’t accept photo captions in text capsules is because it breaks it from the photo and Google will not be able to use it.

                  When you place the caption in the caption field of the photo capsule, it goes in the HTML ALT field where Google will apply it to your photo.

                  I do understand why you did that, however, as you explained. I don’t seem to have that problem when I work on my tablet (which is an iPad).

                  Nevertheless, when you find you're stuck with device limitations, it’s advisable to wait to submit to a niche site until you can do it right so you don’t waste your allotment of one submission every two weeks.

                  1. Joy At Home profile image92
                    Joy At Homeposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                    Thanks for the info, Glenn. It all makes sense. Currently I can borrow a lap top once a month, so I prepare a bunch of articles as far as I can on mobile, then finish them on the laptop.
                    That's interesting that you have no problems with your iPad, as the same features worked incorrectly/sporadically from my husband's iPhone. Tapping roughly 100 times sometimes puts the cursor in the desired field, sometimes not. So I save doing that for emercency fixes.

            3. Solaras profile image84
              Solarasposted 4 years agoin reply to this

              You can link to those related articles at the bottom of your more popular article.

              1. lobobrandon profile image77
                lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                You cannot link from a niche site to HP, however.

        2. prairieprincess profile image93
          prairieprincessposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          I am used to getting a lot of traffic to my website from my articles and losing that author link is a big loss. I am very disappointed in this development. I realize I am late in noticing this but this is not right.

    4. prairieprincess profile image93
      prairieprincessposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you, MarisaWrites. That's exactly what I was thinking, too. There is almost no benefit to the writer. Even when you do a free guest post, the owner of the blog lets you put your website in the comments. This is just free content with no reciprocal relationship. I can't believe more writers are not more concerned about this.

      1. profile image0
        Marisa Writesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        What is really remarkable is that Samantha has totally ignored all my posts on this question, which suggests to me that HubPages has not intention of changing it.

        1. prairieprincess profile image93
          prairieprincessposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Marisa, your questions are the most important questions about this new rollout. Taking away our own profile is taking away our identity as writers and any ability to use this platform to promote ourselves in any way.

  29. profile image0
    Marisa Writesposted 4 years ago

    I don't have a problem with that either.  However there is no way for the reader to learn anything further about the author - no "About Me",  no photo, no links to website or social networks.

    1. Glenn Stok profile image94
      Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      That's only temporary.

      1. profile image0
        Marisa Writesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Are you sure? That's not how I read it.   The FAQ says "Your HubPages.com profile will remain as is for now".  So that sounds like our HubPages profile may change (or even disappear) eventually.  But then it says what the Maven profile looks like, with absolutely no suggestion it will be expanded or improved at any point in the future.

        1. Glenn Stok profile image94
          Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          It’s still a work in progress. So anything can change. And I see changes every time I look at TatRing.

          To your point about “for now” — I’m going by what Samantha said in her first post in this thread, saying, “Your HubPages.com profile will remain exactly the same and contain all of your articles and social media links or personal URLs.” I didn’t see her say “for now.” Maybe you saw that some where else.

          One thing to understand, we can’t have links from niche sites back to HubPages. That’s been ruled out a long time ago because it reduces the ranking since Google has a low ranking for HubPages.com. Eliminating the link back to HubPages should help increase Google’s support of our niche sites eventually even further in my opinion.

  30. profile image0
    Marisa Writesposted 4 years ago

    I cut and pasted that "for now" statement from the announcement.  It's in the Q&A.

    Of course I would not advocate a link back to the HubPages profile.  I thought you would've realised I'd be well aware of the negatives of that idea.  However, it would be good to have reassurance that the Maven profiles will be upgraded at some point to act as a more adequate replacement for the HubPages profile.

    1. Glenn Stok profile image94
      Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      That was not the way she said it in her first announcement that I saw. But since you found that she added “for now” implies that they don’t know what will happen.

      As for upgrading the Maven profiles “to act as a more adequate replacement for the HubPages profile,” as you said — I disagree. See my detailed explanation of my reason for that in my prior post above (when you view this thread chronologically).

      1. profile image0
        Marisa Writesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        It IS in the first announcement, in the Q&A section (which amplifies the information given in her summary). 

        You may not care about the lack of social links, photo etc, but I suspect some Hubbers will.  I recall the outcries that occurred every time HubPages downgraded the profile page in the past.

        I agree with you that our HubPages profile isn't much used, and in fact, I'd rather see Maven use some other method of enabling readers to connect with authors.  For instance in Australia, TV presenters and journalists have their Twitter handle shown alongside their name - small, neat, but enough to establish that connection if needed.

        The bottom line is that I dislike the idea of articles being published with nothing more than my disconnected name.  You may not care about that, but I'm pretty sure that many Hubbers would care.

        If you're allowed to post a list of issues that you feel need addressed in the new Tatring layout, why can't I ask about this?   I don't think it's reasonable to say to me, "Oh shut up, there's no point mentioning anything now, they're going to be changing all that stuff anyway".   it's not like you to be so rude and dismissive of other's concerns.

        1. Glenn Stok profile image94
          Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Marisa, are you okay? You are putting words in my mouth that I NEVER said. And you have the gall to put it in quotes as if you are quoting me. I never knew you to be so dishonest in your behavior until now.

          In addition, you said, not once, but twice, that I don’t care about what other Hubbers care about. Where do you come off saying such untruthful lies?

          If you have an opinion that differs from others, that’s okay, but to lie about things and make someone else look bad is totally unjust and wrong!

          1. profile image0
            Marisa Writesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            I am not quoting you verbatim. I am paraphrasing you to show you, that is how I felt when I read your replies.  If that is not what you meant I am pleased to hear it.

            1. Glenn Stok profile image94
              Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

              Marisa, If you meant to paraphrase, please don’t put it in quotes. And please make it clear that you are paraphrasing. You are entitled to your opinion, but to make it sound like I said those things is false and defamatory.

              The forum here is for all of us to share our opinions on what we feel works best. Of course, it’s true that what is best for one may not be the right solution for another. I never denied that.

              I was expressing my views about the changes with respect to SEO, just as you do. There is nothing wrong with that when you do it, in my opinion, and I’m disappointed that you don’t give me the same courtesy.

              1. profile image0
                Marisa Writesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                This is an example of how online communication can so easily go wrong. I read the tone of your posts as dismissive and condescending.  You did not say the words that I put in quotes, but I definitely felt that's exactly what you meant.   I am very glad to hear that was not your intent.

          2. lobobrandon profile image77
            lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Glenn, I do agree with Marisa on this, you've been kind of rude, I'm sure without intending it on the forums lately and push down against anything you don't see necessary. You did the same when I pointed out that Chrome had issues with tatring.com on my windows 10 system wherein you said it works on my Mac and therefore the problem is my cache, even though I said I cleared it all up.

            I have done SEO and webdesign for ages almost a decade on the side of my studies and I know how to deal with cache issues. But you outright went ahead and said that there's absolutely no problem with the domain redirects, instead of just saying it was all fine on a Mac.

            In your words "@Samantha, Based on my testing, I don't think the problem is on your end." https://hubpages.com/community/forum/34 … ost4147789 You ridiculed my comment without being able to test on a windows 10 system with Chrome. If you tested it on a Windows 10 system with Chrome for Windows it would have been perfectly alright.

            Samantha thankfully went ahead and submitted the concern to the team and she gave us some info that clarified why the problem could have arisen.

            I originally did complain about the way you behaved, but I edited my comment 15 mins or so later. You may or may not have seen it, but now that Marisa has said something similar, even though she may be putting words in your mouth, it's not really taking on a different meaning. I deleted my comment because I did not want to start an argument with someone I respect over these years. You say she is being untruthful and lying, but I do not think so, and I do believe that you do not intend to be doing this.

            1. Glenn Stok profile image94
              Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

              Brandon, I find it interesting that you felt I came across as ridiculing you. I have always respected your expertise and how you always reach out to help others on the forums.

              With the incident you refer to, I was merely trying to help by comparing notes on how it worked for me. I thought that might have introduced some value to help find the problem you were having. However, since I left you with a bad feeling, I’m sorry if that is the result.

              1. lobobrandon profile image77
                lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                There was no bad feeling because I know you did not mean it in a negative way. Comparing on a Mac definitely helped, but saying it was not a problem on HP's end without being able to compare everywhere was not the best thing to do IMO. There's no need for a sorry.

        2. prairieprincess profile image93
          prairieprincessposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Exactly, Marisa. It is standard practice that when you provide free content for a site that you will at least receive links to your own site.

    2. EricDockett profile image93
      EricDockettposted 4 years ago

      Samantha - I mentioned this in Marisa's thread but I wanted to ask here so you would see it.

      Why are profiles on tatring noindex?

      Is this temporary, or will it be the case on all the new profiles?

      It would be great if people could see everything we've contributed to when they google our names.

      1. lobobrandon profile image77
        lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        There's going to be many niche sites with the same people if someone writes on multiple niche sites. I like that these so-called empty pages are not indexed, but if a writer has more than a certain number of articles on a niche they should become indexable IMO because they are no more empty pages. Good catch, Eric.

      2. samanthacubbison profile image79
        samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Hi Eric,

        Sorry it's taken me a moment to get back to you—I had to ask a few people. It seems to be because profiles are generally very thin, with only one or two articles on them. We don't have any answer yet as to what other sites will look like or if Tat will remain as-is. But I will update you when I know!

        1. EricDockett profile image93
          EricDockettposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks for getting back to me! That does make sense.

          Maybe there could be something where if a writer has more than a certain number of articles on a niche site they could lose the noindex tag on their profile?

          1. samanthacubbison profile image79
            samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            That is a good idea. They're still figuring it out, so I guess we'll have to see!

            1. lobobrandon profile image77
              lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

              Yes, that is something that I suggested too, probably on another thread. That's how many websites do it for their content hubs.

            2. OldRoses profile image66
              OldRosesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

              I hope they figure it out.  I have a ton of articles on Dengarden.

            3. profile image0
              Marisa Writesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

              Samantha, did you notice my question about there being no social links or contact link on the Maven profiles?

              In newspapers, professional freelance journalists have their Twitter handle next to their name.  This allows readers to contact them.  This is important to allow potential clients to reach us (I picked up several writing gigs through my HP profile on my old account).

              If newspapers can do that for professional journalists, then surely Maven could extend us the same courtesy?

              1. Jean Bakula profile image87
                Jean Bakulaposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                Hello Marisa,
                It's good to see you. I am concerned that there will be no social links or contact links, because that's how I often got clients. I stopped writing here about a year ago. I am completely disgusted with this site and sick of changing my work over and over to no avail.

    3. Danny Fernandes profile image71
      Danny Fernandesposted 4 years ago

      Great news, I am excited to watch the new features roll. TatRing looks promising.

    4. paradigmsearch profile image59
      paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

      One of many. Maven shows no judgement. If it's legal, Maven is all onboard. You should see what they mess with. big_smile

    5. paradigmsearch profile image59
      paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

      Prediction at August 3, 2020, market crash by end of month, Maven will follow. Will then buy.

    6. profile image0
      Marisa Writesposted 4 years ago

      Hi Jean, I am not very active here myself.  I rejoined to post some material that I couldn't use elsewhere but am having trouble working up the enthusiasm to do more!   

      Have you looked a Medium.com?

      1. paradigmsearch profile image59
        paradigmsearchposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        All the mentions about Medium.com. I remember how I waited too long to score off of bubblews; made hundreds; could have made hundreds more, but  I did't twig quick enough to get in on it.

        Is Medium bubblews or the equivalent or another HP?

    7. profile image0
      Marisa Writesposted 4 years ago

      Medium is neither another bubblews nor another HP.  It's a different model.  That's why I don't mind talking about it here, because it's not a competitor, it's complementary.     You'll find you need a completely different style of article on Medium to do well.  I think it would suit you, actually.

      1. paradigmsearch profile image59
        paradigmsearchposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        ---

        The phone rang.

        She answered. A strange, hissing sound; then a melody. Then some more odd sounds.  She hung up.

        She went into the kitchen. She opened the microwave oven door. By simply pushing down, the door was removed. She taped the safety button.

        She put her head in the oven. She pressed: "5 minutes".

        The phone rang.

        He answered. A strange, hissing sound; then a melody. Then some more odd sounds.  He hung up.

        He went into the kitchen. He opened the microwave oven door. By simply pushing down, the door was removed. He taped the safety button.

        He put his head in the oven. He pressed: "5 minutes".


        The autodialer continued...

        ------------------

        The above was both somewhat dumbed down and not. Copyright is not released. Comments welcome.

        1. paradigmsearch profile image59
          paradigmsearchposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          And while qe are at it. Am still looking for the final draft. I really like flash fiction; too bad no markert for it. you should see what I've written before; sero on HP. daily vies elsewhere.

    8. paradigmsearch profile image59
      paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

      How woudd that do there?

    9. paradigmsearch profile image59
      paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

      Auiting. sorry,

    10. paradigmsearch profile image59
      paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

      I like what hits home.

      Your door.

      Again.

      You cower or you approach.

    11. paradigmsearch profile image59
      paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

      The door is knocked down.

    12. paradigmsearch profile image59
      paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

      One person enters.

    13. paradigmsearch profile image59
      paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

      He is eager.

    14. paradigmsearch profile image59
      paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

      He sees you.

      (wrong thread for this)

    15. paradigmsearch profile image59
      paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

      He rapidly comes towards you.

    16. paradigmsearch profile image59
      paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

      You lay there.

    17. paradigmsearch profile image59
      paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

      You reach for the floor.

    18. paradigmsearch profile image59
      paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

      He stops. He looks around.

    19. paradigmsearch profile image59
      paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

      He looks back at you, laying on the floor.

    20. paradigmsearch profile image59
      paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

      Again, he approaches you.

    21. paradigmsearch profile image59
      paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

      You scramble to the room you know.

     
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