Why are people already posting contest hubs?

1. 65

   simeonvisserposted 14 years ago

   I just checked the tag 'writingcontest' and people are already publishing hubs! The contest starts March 31, 2011 - you're way too early. More than 200 hubs have already been published.. am I missing something? Stop folks, you need to wait
   
   http://hubpages.com/tag/writingcontest/hot

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      IzzyMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      239 numpties on here who can't read, obviously

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         theherbivorehippiposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         lol....numpties!  Yay...I've learned a new word today.  I am going to make a point to use this in conversation tomorrow.  Love this!

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            IzzyMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            "Numpties" is classic! Thankyou for appreciating it Singular is of course "numpty".

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   waynetposted 14 years ago

   Hahahaha will they win the contest?? lol!
   For the World ya contest wannabes!

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3. 65

   simeonvisserposted 14 years ago

   Julie-Ann Amos also has some very long hubs about Justin Bieber in there, it's a shame they're not eligible for the contest...

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      IzzyMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I wouldn't worry about it. Justin Bieber is flavor of the month and should do well even without a contest

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4. 65

   simeonvisserposted 14 years ago

   This could also be an indication that the contest page was not clear enough on when the contest would start.

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      theherbivorehippiposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      The contest page is very clear.

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         lynnechandlerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I agree the contest page is very clear. It's up to 250 hubs now with the tag. And we wonder why the hubteam has a problem cleaning up the site. At least by scanning the titles I know the topic I picked hasn't been done, lol.

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      2. 65

         simeonvisserposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         It is not because the start date is only mentioned in the legal text, not clearly at the start. A temporary message that it's in April would have prevented this.
         
         Furthermore, 250 hubs have been posted by now for a contest that hasn't started yet. Many have understood it, but quite a few also haven't. If 250 (!) hubs have been mistakenly posted then something was not clear enough.

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         BRIAN SLATERposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         maybe for some, but the numpties have missed the important date.

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      4. 65

         simeonvisserposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         By the way, is this proof by assertion or so? What is happening now shows that is wasn't clear enough.
         
         I think the sudden appearance of a contest link may have to do with this: people think a contest is going on and they start contributing. So next time, put the start date also in the human text, not just the legal document at the end.

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            BRIAN SLATERposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            don't make excuses for the numpties- the rules are already clear.

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            1. 65

               theherbivorehippiposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               I agree..why must the numpties always have excuses made for them?
               
               P.S. IzzyM....numpties is officially part of my vocabulary.  Love it!

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            2. 65

               simeonvisserposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               I disagree. The rules are clear for the majority of the people but if you open the contest page, where does it mention the start date of the contest? It's totally at the end and 'April 2011' is in the page title. How many people do you think really pay attention to the legal document at the end?
               
               The contest page is good but as a company you can't fully blame 250 mistakenly published hubs on the stupidity of your users. If the number was far less then okay but not with 250 hubs, then there's a communication error somewhere.

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                  BRIAN SLATERposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  Contest Description
                  
                  Contest begins at 12:01 P.M. (PT) on March 31st, 2011, and ends at 12:00 noon (PT) on April 29th, 2011 (the “Promotion Period). Cash prizes (the “Prizes”) will be awarded (the “Awarding”) to the eligible entrants with the winning entries in accordance with these Official Rules.

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                  theherbivorehippiposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  It says to read the instructions!  Hubpages cannot be blamed for people who fail to read through the end.  It's common sense to read something before committing to it.  If people can't do that for themselves...how is anyone suppose to feel bad for them?  AND the fact that is says APRIL 2011...I mean really....they should at least be able to know what month it is currently.

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                     simeonvisserposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                     Well, the facts show that 250 hubs are published. You could claim that your contest page is perfect and blame it on others but if I worked at HubPages, I would write this down and learn from it for the next contest.
                     
                     It's important for a company to get its communication right.

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                        theherbivorehippiposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                        It is not the company's responsibility to hold every individual hubber's hand to make sure they fully understand everything.  While we would all like a good bed time story and to be tucked in every night, eventually we have to learn to fall asleep on our own.
                        
                        Everyone on Hubpages is an adult and should be responsible enough to be accountable for their actions.  If this means they miss out on submitting their articles for the contest...that's not the fault of the Hubpage staff.  Sure, sometimes people overlook the fine print..it happens but it certainly isn't the fault of the company that wrote it in the first place.  Things happen and perhaps these hubbers will simply learn from their mistake and just write more contest articles when the time is right.

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5. 78

   Uninvited Writerposted 14 years ago

   Somehow I don't think hubs about Justin Bieber would fit in this contest anyway.

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6. 0

   lynnechandlerposted 14 years ago

   248 Numpties now. I hope the hubteam clears that up before the rest of us who have been waiting patiently get started.

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7. 78

   Uninvited Writerposted 14 years ago

   People never read directions...

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      BRIAN SLATERposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      perhaps they have a hangover?

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      rebekahELLEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      even though it says clearly, Here is a brief summary of the rules, but please read the full Official Rules at the bottom of this page before starting, since you are bound by their terms by participating:
      
      
      
      What do you mean, the human text? It is clearly stated at the top of the official rules when the contest begins.

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8. 69

   DIYweddingplannerposted 14 years ago

   This is a WRITING site...no one ever said it was a READING site!!

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   1. 65

      theherbivorehippiposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      

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9. 0

   lynnechandlerposted 14 years ago

   Actually Simeon is right. It doesn't state until you get to the terms of the contest when the contest runs. No mention of the date is given until then and we all know that we are guilty of skimming and not reading the full thing if we get excited and want to jump in to the contest.
   
   However, the full post should be read if you are interested in writing hubs for the contest. I just hope hubpages brings out a clarification on it.

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10. 86

    rebekahELLEposted 14 years ago

    I'm not sure why it has to be any clearer. If you enter a contest, you read the official rules and terms and conditions...

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11. 0

    lynnechandlerposted 14 years ago

    I totally agree! To even be rolling out a contest with all that is going on with the Google slap, fixing the site, moderating all the hubs that have been flagged during the Google slap, how can anyone say it is their fault that a hubber didn't read the fine print.
    
    It is out there for everyone. Not only on the contest page but on the blog about the contest too. So, it isn't the hubteams fault it is the fault of the user. Could it have been mentioned earlier in the contest page? Yes, but it is not the fault of the hubteam. They should be commended for even wanting to have a contest during these stressful times when they already have enough stressors to contend with. Cheer them on for wanting to add to the site by having a contest where you can show off your skills as a writer on any topic you choose.
    
    The ones that are at fault are the writers who are already submitting hubs for the contest and posting on facebook to have people come here and vote for them. They have no clue.

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       theherbivorehippiposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I agree!  They are offering some outstanding prizes too.  They have to be very overwhelmed with the whole Google thing too but this is a contest that will help bring spirits up and I love that we can write about what we want this time.

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       Peggy Wposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       You said this perfectly, lynnchandler!  Kudos to the HubPage team!

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12. 70

    waynetposted 14 years ago

    I skimmed the entry policies and still I seemed to know the contest starts on 31st march. Suppose it's different strokes for different folks I suppose....

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13. 65

    simeonvisserposted 14 years ago

    Look, I see room for improvement here and if you don't agree that's fine. I'm not critizing HubPages for doing a bad job. Organizing a contest is a major effort and this is, in comparison, only minor. I'm just pointing this out and if HubPages reads this then they can decide what to do with the next contest.

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    1. 70

       waynetposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I'm glad you pointed it out, as a nice clearer entry start date needs to be clearly visible right at the top of the contest info for those who skim the details!
       
       But having said that it's a minor detail that has probably been overshadowed by everything else like dealing with hubpage violations and the ad program and everything else on top of that...so let us hold hands and start writing great hubpages and praise Jesus! (Ok maybe not praise Jesus! lol!)

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14. 74

    IzzyMposted 14 years ago

    Does anyone remember the exact date the contest was published? I think it was maybe about 10 days ago, but some of the hubs in the contest feed were published 3 weeks or more ago. One was published 5 months ago!
    So it's not just the contest start date they missed.

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15. 74

    IzzyMposted 14 years ago

    Just found one that was published 16 months ago...

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16. 0

    lynnechandlerposted 14 years ago

    The blog entry is from the 17th of March and the contest page popped up a couple days before that. There was a thread about it here a bit before that because someone posted on a forum other than hubpages about it~~if memory serves and it doesn't most of the time now I believe it was tweeted. At the time of that entry the contest page still showed information on the last contest that went on.

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       IzzyMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       So about 12 days maximum then?

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    Mark Ewbieposted 14 years ago

    I was thinking of deleting all my work and throwing my computer out of the window in response to the Algae change till I read about this.
    
    Am I too late to join the competition?

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       IzzyMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Yes.

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          Mark Ewbieposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Oh.
          
          I feel like a right numpty.

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    lynnechandlerposted 14 years ago

    That is what I would guess Izzy. So, yeah they missed the point entirely that these had to be new hubs or did another contest happen with the same tag and that is what we are seeing and not truly hubs that were created for this contest?
    
    I believe I saw somewhere yesterday in the forum that the writing contest logo pic had to be in the hub as well as tagging it. I haven't looked at any of the hubs that that link brought up so now I'm wondering? Of course the ones posted just within the last two weeks would be for the new contest, I guess, but could the older ones relate to a former contest?

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       IzzyMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I don't think they used those tags before else we'd be seeing a lot more real contest hubs in the feed. I think its a new tag each time. So it's just more folk (numpties) that don't understand the rules even though they are printed there in black and white for all to see.

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          lynnechandlerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Just to clarify no logo pic is needed just the tag writingcontest.  And, yes then if they use a different one each time this would be a case of extreme numptiness,

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19. 74

    sofsposted 14 years ago

    lol people are eager to make some money after the panda quake ... may be getting a little desperate 

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