What happened to comments?

1. 82

   TimArendsposted 3 years ago

   I know comments have been gone for a long time on HubPages and the various topical sites, such as HobbyLark and Owlcation, but I missed the discussion on why they were removed. Doesn't that adversely impact engagement? It's hard to know how my hubs are impacting readers or if they're making any impact at all without comments.

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   1. 89

      Jodahposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Tim, I commented on your article What Was Farm Life 100 Years Ago Really Like? on LetterPile. We don't get notifications but can comment on some of the niche sites.

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2. 96

   Rupert Taylorposted 3 years ago

   I don't recall any explanation as to why comments were disabled. It just happened. It probably had something to do with incompatibility in migrating to the Maven platform.

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3. 96

   Rupert Taylorposted 3 years ago

   Without notifications the re-opening of comments is useless. Those of us with hundreds of articles can't possibly scour them on a regular basis in case a comment has appeared. Any clown can therefore leave malicious comments without the author of the article's knowledge. So, they will be left to fester and appear as though they have the writer's approval. A horrible situation.
   
   Please admin take note of this and act accordingly.

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   1. 83

      bravewarriorposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with you, Rupert. Without notification of comments, they're useless and could perhaps even be damaging.

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   2. 73

      Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      My opinion is that HubPages likely in agreement with Maven not to show notification these days.

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4. 89

   Jodahposted 3 years ago

   You are right if course, Rupert. This is almost worse than having no comments at all. Without notifications and the author being able to monitor, approve or deny it is useless. I am hoping they fix this soon.

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   1. 73

      Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      John, will Hubpages fixed it? Will they?

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      1. 89

         Jodahposted 3 years agoin reply to this

         I honestly don’t know, Miebakagh. But I have been told they are genuinely trying to do so. I guess it is just a waiting game.

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         1. 73

            Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

            John, let's wait and see.

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5. 96

   Rupert Taylorposted 3 years ago

   I have just submitted the following to the team.
   
   If you can't install a notification function with restored comments then please don't restore comments at all.
   
   In the past, we have all received comments that are obscene, personal attacks on the writer, spam, complete nonsense, or otherwise inappropriate. With notification that a comment has come in we can moderate and remove as necessary. If we don't know a comment has arrived, and it is scurrilous in nature, it will remain in place and look as though the writer gives it her or his approval. This will be extremely damaging to the writer's reputation and to HubPages also.
   
   It's impossible for those of us with hundreds of articles published to review them on a regular basis on the off chance that something odious has been added to our work.
   
   So, I repeat, if you can't add a notification function then don't restore comments, or give us the ability to opt out of comments.
   
   Rupert Taylor
   
   p.s. From forum discussions, I know I speak for others,

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   1. 83

      bravewarriorposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      I'm curious to see what type of response you receive, Rupert.

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      Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Well done, Rupert.

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6. 96

   Rupert Taylorposted 3 years ago

   I will keep you posted, but I'm not overly optimistic that my suggestion will be acted upon.

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7. 99

   Peggy Wposted 3 years ago

   I agree 100% with Rupert.  It is impossible to monitor comments with no notifications that they exist.  The default setting should always be to approve them by the author first before they show up on the feed.

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8. 96

   Rupert Taylorposted 3 years ago

   Woo Hoo. This from Matt "Thanks for your suggestions. We are working on comment notifications. We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you."

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   1. 83

      bravewarriorposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      That's good news, Rupert. Let's see how long this new development takes to come to fruition.

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9. 97

   PaulGoodman67posted 3 years ago

   I am not generally a fan of comments, they've caused me more problems than benefits over the years, but I agree with the sentiment that if we're going to have them, we need to be notified.
   
   Like Rupert, I have hundreds of hubs and there's no way I could monitor new comments otherwise. The result would be lots of spam slipping through, which nobody wants.
   
   Hopefully, Matt can figure something out.

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10. 90

    alexadryposted 3 years ago

    Glad to hear that notifications will be restored. This way we can monitor spam and on top of that help others. After all, if we aren't notified, how can we answer questions readers may have? Take Pethelpful for example, the word "helpful" to me implies it's a supportive community where readers can look for help. If they don't find help in the article, they have the option to ask or leave and find another website. How can we help them if we aren't notified? This type of support is what can make us stand out over the many competitor websites which hire people to write without having first-hand experience on the topic and just parrot what they find on other websites. It would be great if the commenters can get a notification of our reply as well so they get to return to our website and have a positive experience. This way we can become their go-to place for info and support in the future.

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    1. 73

       Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

       Alexa, in the first place, it seems your making a mistake. Hubpapes is working on the notification system. That's implied and it's not equate to notification.                                          But I agree entirely with the rest of your talk.

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