Why is HubPages so nitpicky these days?

1. 59

   kcreeryposted 14 years ago

   Dear ...,
   
   "Your recent question "Is HubPages becoming too nitpicky?  It seems like everything gets flagged these days.  What gives?" has been removed because it encouraged a discussion rather than a Hub or short answer. Surveys and poll-type questions do not belong in the Q&A section.  To engage in a discussion or conversation, please post in the Forums section at http://hubpages.com/forum/, or for private conversation you can contact another Hubber directly from their profile page."
   
   It seems my questions are getting flagged these days.  What has happened to HubPages?  Is this part of a crackdown from advertisers?

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      tritrainposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Google came down hard on many websites, including HubPages, due to being considered "spammy" sites, with little value.
      
      It's been frustrating for many people, but it's a necessary thing.

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      Daffy Duckposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I just had 2 questions rejected today.  I know what you mean.  Why bother have a Q and A if the answers are going to be too short or too long.  They have to be perfect and it's tickin' me off. 
      
      Necessary my A**.  Yes and no questions are ok.  What's wrong with those?

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         tritrainposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         What is necessary is for HubPages to try to recoup our ranking and traffic by limiting and removing spam and short, nonsensical Hubs.
         
         I've had many questions closed on me too.  I don't like it, but that's the way it goes.  Maybe the question is better asked in the Forum.  The Q/A feature has a lot of limitations, including only one answer per person.
         
         I've kind of given up on that myself.

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            Daffy Duckposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            If enough people give up on it, maybe they'll just shut it down.  One can only hope.

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               Will Apseposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               I answered a question myself since it seemed tailor made for me. I'll see if it gets rejected.

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                  Daffy Duckposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  Answering questions is ok.  Asking them is another thing.

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         psycheskinnerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         The questions are meant to be the sort of thing you could write a hub on.  Seems clear enough to me.  Not to ask for help using hub pages, bitch about hub pages, post long rants, etc etc.

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   frogdroppingposted 14 years ago

   No. It's part of HP's new TOS. The question is better suited to the forum. But I suppose you're seeing the irony in what it is you've asked.

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3. 66

   Maddie Ruudposted 14 years ago

   I don't think our rules have changed too much recently (certainly not in the Q&A section), we're just getting better at enforcing them, and communicating the problems to users.

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      kcreeryposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Maybe it's more enforcement these days.  Fantasy Football and Basketball is over so HP can enforce the rules more these days.

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4. 66

   Greek Oneposted 14 years ago

   to get rid of the nits?
   
   

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      Rosie2010posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      lol  Oh Greek One, you're making me laugh so much.  I just love your sense of humour.

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      kmackey32posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      

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5. 70

   Rosie2010posted 14 years ago

   This happened to me too.  I asked a question if people were participating in the April writing contest and my question disappeared.. just went to limbo or something... then came the notice that my question was best asked in forums, same as what you got.

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   kmackey32posted 14 years ago

   They really need to start nitpicken the religious crap on here....

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      Daffy Duckposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Absolutely kmackey32!  Aren't those questions more of discussion questions anyways?

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         kmackey32posted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I think so and I hate them dicussions. Seems its always arguments of what religion is better....

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            Jean Bakulaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            I know. If you go on the Hopper, about 5 out of 10 hubs are Christian. And they are not original content, they are ripped straight out of the Bible. I'm really disgusted after 6 months of writing and no money. Even many of the hubs in the contest are full of graphs and maps, but are just about personal vacations, something listed as boring to readers in the first place and not encouraged as interesting content. There seems to be a double standard for a certain group.

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7. 0

   Will Apseposted 14 years ago

   Can anyone tell me what the questions thing is about? I haven't taken much interest but Hubpages seem serious about it. Is it supposed to be a rival to Yahoo questions? Or is it an SEO thing?
   
   Just curious.

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      Daffy Duckposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I'm not exactly sure, but it's giving me fits.  If the answers are too short or too long the question is rejected.  It has to be just perfect and I'm about to stop asking questions and just concentrate on the forums.

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8. 69

   Michael Willisposted 14 years ago

   I thought the Question section was to be about a Question Asked that would inspire a Hub be written for the answer.

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      Will Apseposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Yeh, that would sound reasonable. Except that if someone is trying to micromanage the content of the questions and answers you start to think something else is involved.

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9. 0

   Will Apseposted 14 years ago

   I just looked through the questions list and found this gem:
   
   Is all the processed foods damaging our organ?
   
   It made my day.

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      Rosie2010posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      lol

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10. 85

    WriteAngledposted 14 years ago

    I wanted to alert an author here that her hub had been stolen by 68Articles. Since she had disabled the direct messaging facility, the only way I could attempt to reach her was by addressing a question to her.
    
    However, the question has been wiped. Obviously, some subjective interpretation of what is or is not a question is more important to the petty bureaucrats running this site than the fact that someone was trying to help an author maintain her rights over her work. 
    
    This plus the banning of Pearldiver is the last straw. No more hubhopping. Let the paid lackeys clean up this site as far as I am concerned. I will not waste any more effort trying to help.

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       EmpressFelicityposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Pearldiver was banned?!
       
       This site has gone bonkers.
       
       Totally with you on the hubhopping thing.  I don't get paid to hubhop, so I won't do it.

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          Maddie Ruudposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Pearldiver has been temporarily banned from the forums for personal attacks.

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             EmpressFelicityposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             Sounds like a bit of an overreaction on someone's part to me.

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    2. 88

       Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       WriteAngled, this problem pops up in the forums from time to time, and I do wish HubPages would rethink the Q&A section - it lends itself to misunderstanding too easily.
       
       The Questions section is NOT a place to ask simple questions of other Hubbers about Hubbing. It never has been.  The place for that is in the forums.
       
       The Questions feature is a way to ask a question to which you would like a long, thorough answer, preferably written as a Hub.  Always has been.
       
       I think the HP team has never paid much attention to moderating it, so inappropriate questions have been allowed - and that's now changing.  But the rules haven't.
       
       I can see why you used the section as you did and I would probably have done the same - let's hope the Hubber concerned read it before it was wiped!  Maybe you could email the HubPages team and ask them to pass on a message? 
       
       As for PearlDiver - I saw him making nasty attacks on a couple of Hubbers yesterday, which I thought was out of character.  I thought at the time, he's heading for a ban. Remember, most bans are only for a few days to give the culprit a chance to cool down - it's not permanent.  You can only be banned permanently if you repeatedly offend, multiple times.

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          Maddie Ruudposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          I did offer to do so, despite being told that our policy is fascistic.

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             Will Apseposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             I don't reckon that hubbers think you are fascistic- whatever they might say. They think you are their Mom (or maybe older sister) and are just downright unreasonable for complaining when they break their toys over the other kid's heads.

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                Maddie Ruudposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                I think some Hubbers think of me as the evil stepmother, but some definitely think I'm "The Man."  There are some pretty amazing conspiracy theories around myself and HubPages as a whole.  I'm not whining about it.  I signed up for it when I took this job. 
                
                (For the record, my mum thinks it's hilarious that a major part of my job has to do with rules enforcement, since I was... ahem... not the model child.)

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                   sofsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                   What a thankless job moderating the forums must be.. I just wanted to say that I appreciate all the efforts you  Maddie Ruud and the HP staff put in to make life  easy and pleasant for everyone here!! Thank you Law enforcement officer !! lol

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                   Joy56posted 14 years agoin reply to this

                   aha so you are getting your own back on us....... it is your mum's fault.

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11. 85

    WriteAngledposted 14 years ago

    I have not yet gone through that email account for today. If you did subsequently offer to do this, than thank you; I will pass the details to you.
    
    The first message I received was abrupt, hectoring, unpleasant and did not take any account of the circumstances nor make any such offers. It is hardly surprising I reacted in similar vein.
    
    I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume it was a poorly written message programmed into some computer some time in the past to be spat out automatically at offenders when a moderator's finger pressed the button.

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    talfonsoposted 13 years ago

    I got my question recently removed too, but this discussion gave me quite a lift! Thanks for this useful advice!

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    Uninvited Writerposted 13 years ago

    I see a lot of questions that would belong on MyLot or Yahoo answers rather than here. I agree, they are meant to inspire hubs not ask a question that belongs on Dear Abby.

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