Negative marketing

1. 81

   Carb Divaposted 3 years ago

   Two prolific writers have left HP. They wrote weekly articles, Q&A, that relied on feedback and interaction from the HP community. But their writings also brought in outsiders. Many of those visitors became fans AND contributors.
   
   Without comments, we will not entice new contributors, and old fans are leaving.
   
   HP/Maven, without writers you will fail.

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   1. 83

      Kenna McHughposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      I am sorry to hear that. I wish them luck, and I am sure they will do well.

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2. 83

   emgeposted 3 years ago

   Hub pages has a large base and two writers going away is not going to matter. I do feel that comments were a distraction from a scholarly article , but that is my opinion and others may not agree with  me. As per Wikipedia 43 million visitors came to hub pages in 2018 and that figure  would have gone up. These people come to read articles not comments, which only a microscopic few indulged in. Thank you.

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3. 83

   emgeposted 3 years ago

   I will further add, I had thousands of comments on my articles , they were a bit of a distraction as I had to reply back and also they expected a comment back on what they had written. I am glad its over, no offence meant to those who like comments.

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4. 61

   CYong74posted 3 years ago

   There are different writing styles, objectives, strategies, etc. As a platform, I think what HP/Maven/Arena should aim for is a safe compromise for all. This, by the way, not the current system on some niche sites that doesn’t allow easy monitoring.
   
   As for me, I’m strongly against comments but I’m willing to settle for a system that allows me to manually turn off the function. Preferably, turn it off for good.
   
   I feel so because previously, spammers were able to bypass the holding system and permanently damaged some of my ToughNickel articles. There was also one guy who started harassing and threatening me via email after I refused to publish his comments.
   
   Lastly, emge is right. There are way more writers on this platform than it looks. I also still regularly discover new 10m hubbers who are barely present in this forum, so it seems the overall writing system here still works.
   
   If you look around the net, you’d also see many sites have long removed commenting. For those who insist that commenting is still the only way to socialize, receive feedback, feel good as a writer, etc, well, you’re entitled to your views. I suppose you have found effective ways to live with all the ills of the commenting system.

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5. 85

   Jodahposted 3 years ago

   Allowing a comment system that can just be disabled by individual hubbers if they wish would be the ideal for everyone. Those most affected or who are leaving are doing so because the articles they write were created and based around answering questions that were asked via the comments.

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   1. 74

      Misbah786posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Allowing a comment system that can just be disabled by individual hubbers if they wish would be the ideal for everyone.
      
      That is something I agree with, John. HP's update appears to be dividing the community. When I go through forums on the topic of comments, whether to have them or not. I feel like a government and opposition arguing with each other. It's becoming like a political issue. Lol!!
      
      I really feel sad for them who are leaving they are valuable writers of this beautiful platform.
      
      Thank you so much, Linda, for creating this forum.
      
      Blessings always!!

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      1. 85

         Jodahposted 3 years agoin reply to this

         It certainly almost does feel like discussing politics, Misbah. I was merely acknowledging the OP’s comments, and stating why those particular hubbers felt the need to leave because commenting being disabled affected their type of articles. As soon as comments are mentioned it sparks debate.
         
         It has also affected some of mine but I am not considering leaving. I just concentrate on writing different types of articles now. I have been here 13 years and will be here in another 13 years if HubPages is, whether comments are restored or not.

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         1. 74

            Misbah786posted 3 years agoin reply to this

            I agree with you, John, and I have similar point of view. Your idea of enabling and disabling comments on hubs according to hubbers' choice is a very good one.
            
            I really miss your 'poems from the porch' series. I understand you cannot continue it without community's engagement; that's sad, my friend..   
            
            Sending Blessings!!

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   2. 95

      AliciaCposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Disabling the ability to comment if we wanted to do this sounds like a nice idea, but I doubt whether HubPages would make the effort to return comments if individuals could then turn them off.

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6. 76

   EricDockettposted 3 years ago

   If their writing "relied on feedback and interaction from the HP community" it isn't likely that their exit will impact HP's bottom line in even a small way. I'm sorry they chose to leave a powerful platform that allowed them to have an outlet for their writing and reach thousands of readers for free. I think that's unfortunate, but it is their choice.
   
   You are right that HP will fail without writers, but HP needs to worry about cultivating those writers who focus on the world outside of HP . They are the ones who keep this thing afloat.

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7. 92

   Pamela99posted 3 years ago

   I agree with your statements. I am not writing as often as I once did as the loss of comments makes it much less interesting.

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8. 72

   abwilliamsposted 3 years ago

   Speaking of politics...the majority of what I write about has to do with politics, current events, headlines and I do miss the discussion and the debate, the give and the take. I miss the camaraderie built over ten years, but I also miss my sparring partners. We could walk away unscathed, always prepared to go another round on a different subject, on any given day. I am writing less these days, don't know if I am in for the long haul, but still here for now. I wish only the best to those who have or will soon be, moving on.

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9. 64

   psycheskinnerposted 3 years ago

   Long standing and successful writers leaving is a symptom.  Bring back comments, people who don't want them can always turn them off.  Actually doing this, when they said they would, would indicate Maven is making some small amount fo effort to keep this site evolving.  Speaking just for myself I have stopped making hubs and started backing them up.

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