Spoiler markup on gaming articles

1. 93

   melbelposted 7 weeks ago

   It appears that the industry standard is a little outdated looking but it would still be nice to have bold text with a yellow highlight to warn readers that there is a spoiler in the article.

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   1. 89

      theraggededgeposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

      I don't think there are any staff left to implement anything now, Mel.
      
      https://hubpages.com/community/forum/36 … d-discover
      
      https://hubpages.com/community/forum/36 … oing-to-do

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      1. 93

         SerenityHaloposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

         There are only four people listed on staff as of this moment.
         
         https://hubpages.com/about/team

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         1. 100

            Gregory DeVictorposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

            That's a real surprise! There used to be about 15-20 editors.

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            1. 93

               SerenityHaloposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

               Right? I believe Arena laid off the whole editing team. I doubt new content will go to remaining niche sites. There are a lot of questions here.

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               1. 100

                  Gregory DeVictorposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                  Andrea, I just Googled several HP editors' names, and they are still coming up as "HP Staff."
                  
                  Regarding niche sites, Matt told me in an email earlier this week that HubPages will no longer be moving qualified articles from Discover to HobbyLark. However, I do not know if that ruling applies to other niche sites that will remain temporarily, like Owlcation.

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                  1. 91

                     WriterJanisposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                     Oh I'm sad to see HobbyLark go. It's the last place I had an article moved to.

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                  2. 92

                     Kenna McHughposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                     Oh man, this is interesting. Why still offer a submission form for a niche site?

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                        Gregory DeVictorposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                        Kenna, from what I read, HP was going to keep HobbyLark as a niche site, at least temporarily. Maybe that has now changed.
                        
                        I published a new article last weekend, and wondered if I could have it moved to HobbyLark. That is why I emailed the team.

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                        1. 92

                           Kenna McHughposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                           I hear you. It's tough for me to write or doing anything with all these conflicting facts. I thought HP was keeping specific niche sites where we can submit and have our articles moved over.

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                           1. 100

                              Gregory DeVictorposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                              Kenna, that is precisely what I thought. However, that doesn't appear to be HP's plan with all of the editors gone.

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                           2. 93

                              SerenityHaloposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                              I think they were hoping to keep some niche sites. I think Arena decided to go ahead and give the editing team the ax. I think they were on the chopping block before we started seeing the shift to Discover. Some of the LinkedIn profiles showed they were actively looking for jobs. I assume what’s been going on behind the scenes is really rough. I’ve been through two companies where they did layoffs and business restructuring, and it was awful. To the people who are still on staff, they deserve our support and gratitude.

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                        2. 94

                           Glenn Stokposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                           I have a hobby-related article about doodling that was on FeltMagnet until moved to discover last week. So as an experiment I just submitted it to HobbyLark since they say they are keeping that one. I’ll post about the results either way as soon as I get a response.

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                           1. 94

                              Glenn Stokposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                              I received a reply saying they are no longer accepting submissions to HubPages Network Sites. That's strange since they said in the last newsletter that they are keeping HobbyLark (where I tried to submit to). Oh well.

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                              1. 93

                                 SerenityHaloposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                                 I assume they can’t move articles to the remaining niche sites without editorial. Things are in a limbo. I doubt we will be receiving anymore newsletters.

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               2. 98

                  CYong74posted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                  I'm of the impression even the featured/unfeatured aspect is gone. It's more than a month since a newbie asked for help to get featured.

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                  1. 100

                     Gregory DeVictorposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                     Yes, it has been awhile since a newbie has asked for help with an article.

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         2. 89

            theraggededgeposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

            Where's Lisa? She was there before.

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            1. 98

               CYong74posted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

               Look at the glaring coding error on the About page.
               
               https://hubpages.com/about/us

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               1. 89

                  theraggededgeposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                  Saw that earlier.

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            2. 94

               Glenn Stokposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

               This doesn’t look good! They fired all the editors of the niche sites that were discontinued. That look likes they are dissolving HubPages.

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               1. 71

                  Ken Burgessposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                  Slimming it down, not shuttering the doors just yet.

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                  1. 93

                     SerenityHaloposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                     Here is what I’m interpreting… Arena is slimming things down, 100%. Their stock price is below $1. If it stays below $1 for six months, it will be delisted from the stock exchange and moved to OTC.
                     
                     It’s been below $1 since April. It has until October, essentially. I think Arena has too much debt and the problems of Sports Illustrated to recover. HubPages is getting slimmed down and stripped for parts, and if Arena goes to bankruptcy… that’s likely when HubPages will go for sale, and at that point a new owner will maybe pick us up. I think there is a strong possibility we’ll get a new owner. As much as this platform has been skinned alive, it still can be made to be profitable.
                     
                     So my theory is Arena isn’t going to survive its Sports Illustrated fiasco, and this should be a good lesson to everyone to be extremely careful with AI, rather don’t use it at all. My husband would tell you Arena had issues well before SI, it just happened to be the cherry on top.
                     
                     The best thing that can happen out of all of this is if we get out of Arena’s hands. Then and only then a recovery process can start.
                     
                     We all need to be vigilant and take note of things we’re seeing. It seems the safest place for all articles is Discover.

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                     1. 93

                        SerenityHaloposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                        Obviously, even safer is backing up your articles, but as for this platform… Discover seems like a safer fate.

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                     2. 94

                        Glenn Stokposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                        You’re right about the need for a new owner who can make it profitable. I mentioned Jeff Bozos and Elon Musk in my article about buying The Arena Group. I would imagine that a market capitalization of $23,680,000 is nothing for them. That’s what TAG could be bought for when the share price dropped to 80¢.

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                        1. 93

                           SerenityHaloposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                           I hope HP gets sold away from Arena. TAG has been nothing but trouble.

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               2. 89

                  theraggededgeposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                  Not yet. Discover will remain as a massive advertising platform. There'll be no editing and the dross will only be removed if someone reports it. I expect QAP will disappear too.

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                  1. 94

                     Glenn Stokposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                     I agree. They’ll accept anything at this point for Discover. No editing, No QAP.

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                     1. STAFF

                        Matt Wellsposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                        We still have the QAP and a team of moderators. We will not be editing anymore.

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                        1. 94

                           Glenn Stokposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                           Thanks for the clarification, Matt.

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         3. 81

            Misbah786posted 6 weeks agoin reply to this

            WOW!

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2. 88

   tsmogposted 7 weeks ago

   Just connecting dots with the new discoveries
   
   The Arena Group Reports 2024 Second Quarter Financial Results (Aug 19, 2024)
   
   " Management Commentary
   
   “Nearly all of our cost reduction initiatives are complete, leading to an expected over $40 million in eliminated costs on an annual basis,” commented Sara Silverstein, The Arena Group’s Chief Executive Officer. “As a result, our net losses significantly narrowed, demonstrating that we are on the right path.”
   
   https://investors.thearenagroup.net/new … al-results

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3. 87

   Venkatachari Mposted 7 weeks ago

   The About page shows 25 staff members are present.
   I haven't seen this page till now. It looks good for me. I don't see any issue with it except for those bold Capitalised letters trying to highlight monthly visitors. Everything else is nice.

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   1. 89

      theraggededgeposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

      There aren't 25 staff members anymore, just the four plus perhaps Lisa.
      
      The broken code is what we mean - there should be a figure there.

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4. 88

   tsmogposted 7 weeks ago

   Just for fun at the feed I clicked on each niche site to see what happens. I have not been following closely what has been announced, so this may be redundant. Anyway, the results are as of 08/23/24 9:35 PDT:
   
   Tatring = empty
   Pethelpful = alive
   Bellatory = empty
   Feltmagnet = empty
   Delishibly = alive
   Axleaddict = landing page only
   Dengarden = alive
   Exemplore = landing page only
   Levelskip = empty
   Reelrundown = empty
   Toughnickle = empty
   Wanderwisdom = alive
   Spinditty = empty
   Wehavekids = alive
   Youmemindbody = redirect to Hubpages – Health landing page
   Caloriebee = empty
   Pairedlife = landing page only
   Letterpile = alive
   Turbofuture = empty
   Holidappy = empty
   Howtheyplay = empty
   Owlcation = alive
   Hobbylark = alive
   Soapboxie = redirects to Hubpages – Politics and Social Issues
   Skyaboveus = empty
   Remedygrove = alive
   Patientslounge = alive
   Healthproadvice = alive
   Thecrimewire = empty
   HubPages (Discover) = alive
   
   As anything subject to correction.

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   1. 91

      WriterJanisposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

      Tim, Thank you so much for the breakdown.

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   2. 93

      Janda Rakerposted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

      Thanks for this research, Tsmog!

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5. 100

   Gregory DeVictorposted 7 weeks ago

   When Matt responded to Glenn's post above, he spoke about a "team of moderators." I wonder just who is a member of this team. Could it be Matt and the other three staff members?

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   1. 93

      SerenityHaloposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

      Yes, I think so. I think we should protect all of them the best we can… if a single one of them leaves, Arena might not fill the position, or at least not in a speedy manner.

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      1. 100

         Gregory DeVictorposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

         Bev asked above about Lisa. If Lisa was retained as an HP staff member, perhaps she would be one of the moderators.
         
         Pure conjecture here.

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         1. 93

            SerenityHaloposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

            I’m not going to out specific people, but there are some indications on LinkedIn as to what’s happened with editors.

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6. 96

   Rupert Taylorposted 7 weeks ago

   Glenn writes at about 3:30 pm EDT "I received a reply saying they are no longer accepting submissions to HubPages Network Sites,"
   
   At 2:00 pm EDT I received this from HP, "Rupert Taylor, We've Selected Your Article for a HubPages Network Site!" The site in question is Owlcation.
   
   Curiouser and curiouser.

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   1. 100

      Gregory DeVictorposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

      Earlier today, I was going to experiment and submit my latest article to HobbyLark. But after what happened to Glenn, I decided not to.
      
      Maybe if I had, the article would have gone to HobbyLark and gotten off of Discover.

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   2. 94

      Glenn Stokposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

      Thanks for mentioning this, Rupert. The discrepancy is very disappointing because both Owlcation and HobbyLark are two of the few niche sites they claimed would remain active. Anyway, I congratulate you for your success. At least one of us is treated like a valued Hubber.

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   3. 100

      Gregory DeVictorposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

      Earlier today, I was going to experiment and submit my latest article to HobbyLark. But after what happened to Glenn, I decided not to.
      
      Maybe if I had, the article would have gone to HobbyLark and gotten off of Discover. Who knows?

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      1. 92

         Kenna McHughposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

         That's the operative phase, Gregory. "Who knows?"

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         1. 100

            Gregory DeVictorposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

            Yup!

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      2. 94

         Glenn Stokposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

         Gregory, I would suggest you go ahead and do it. We have already noticed they say one thing and do another. Nothing has been consistent lately. So do it. Maybe you’ll be treated better.
         
         After all, they listed HobbyLark as one of the niches being kept for the time being.
         
         See that latest newsletter: https://hubpages.com/about/newsletter/2024-08-16

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         1. 100

            Gregory DeVictorposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

            Glenn, thanks for the encouragement. Yes, you are absolutely right about "they" saying one thing and doing another. That is really something about Rupert's article being moved and your article staying on Discover.

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            1. 94

               Glenn Stokposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

               Right! Especially since my article had already been on another niche previously. So, submit it Gregory. I wish you success.

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               1. 100

                  Gregory DeVictorposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                  Glenn, I submitted the 1941 article to HobbyLark yesterday. A few minutes ago, I received an email from HP letting me know that the article has been moved to HobbyLark.
                  
                  Thanks again for the encouragement.

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                  1. 92

                     Kenna McHughposted 7 weeks agoin reply to this

                     Interesting.

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                     1. 100

                        Gregory DeVictorposted 6 weeks agoin reply to this

                        I am not the only HP author who is still having articles moved to HobbyLark. Did you take a look at the site?

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                     Glenn Stokposted 6 weeks agoin reply to this

                     That is so strange that they have absolutely no consistency anymore. They do different things every day. But, nevertheless, congratulations! I’m glad at least one of us had success.

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                     1. 93

                        SerenityHaloposted 6 weeks agoin reply to this

                        I just had edits for a Pethelpful article. However, there are no editors listed as staff… I am confused.

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7. 92

   Kenna McHughposted 6 weeks ago

   You and me both. That's why I am not writing anything right now. There are too many conflicting promises and actions. But, as the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words.

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      SerenityHaloposted 6 weeks agoin reply to this

      The current state of things is definitely not motivating.

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