How are we supposed to know what is OK or not?

1. 79

   Bard of Elyposted 12 years ago

   I have just had another hub unpublished because "Prohibited links include:
   * Affiliate or promotional links in subject areas containing a high proportion of low quality or promotional content (for example, forex, acai berry, weight loss, etc)
   * Links to eBook sales pages and lead capture forms
   * Sites that contain pop-ups or pop-unders that interfere with site navigation (for example, when clicking the back or close buttons), or redirect users to unwanted websites
   * Links that initiate downloads or change user preferences
   * Links to sites that contain links to any of the above (ie, a blog that links to an ebook sales page, etc)"
   I would like to know how  we are supposed to know what links are OK or not? I just removed all of them apart from Wikipedia and got rid of Amazon ads and tried eBay instead but I question what is the point of having ads if they are not allowed? I mean if I add an Amazon or eBay module how am I to know if what products found in a search are OK or not?   
   I have recently published a hub speaking up for this place but am beginning to think I spoke too soon! We are not mind-readers and have no way of knowing what is deemed OK or not apart from these very vague guidelines!

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   1. 86

      Camille Harrisposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Bard,
      
      In general, prohibited sites contain pop-ups that interfere with site navigation, redirect users to unwanted websites, contain eBook sales pages, and/or have lead capture forms.
      
      We understand that these changes can be confusing and have tried to elucidate them in emails and blog posts such as this one: http://blog.hubpages.com/2011/04/new-pu … standards/
      
      The underlying goal of these changes is to raise the level of quality of Hubs, which ultimately benefits writers like you. We appreciate your adherence to these new standards.

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      1. 86

         Camille Harrisposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         EDIT: You can also check for violations using the "Check for violations" button on your Hub stats page (very bottom of your listed Hubs).  If you open the warning in the author center (after identifying the Hub with violations), it will show you the problematic link(s) in your Hub.

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   2. 81

      ezhangposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Bard,
      
      I'm not a moderator, but to my knowledge, if you receive such a notice, it usually means that there is a link that we consider "affiliate" and is prohibited on HubPages  for one reason or another.
      
      I think that we generally don't moderate the amazon products under the "prohibited links" warning.
      
      You should have been able to see a warning message (it's in orange) on the top of your hub in the black box. If you clicked on the message, it should show you the particular link(s) that are not allowed on hubpages.
      
      I hope this helps clarify things!

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   3. 81

      ezhangposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I should also mention that we have a new tool (implemented about a month ago) to help users check their hubs for possible violations. If you scroll down to the bottom of your "My Hub Statistics" page, you should see a button to "Check for Violations".
      
      Here's the learning center entry on the feature:
      http://hubpages.com/learningcenter/Hub-Violation-Check

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2. 77

   LuisEGonzalezposted 12 years ago

   HP Staff; In spite of all of the changes instituted for the betterment of the site, I have to agree with Bard of Ely. Several modifications are too vague to be clearly understood and sometimes hubs are taken down without warning, or so it appears. I understand and appreciate all of the effort being put forth to make HubPages better but clearly somethings need tweaking. 

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3. 79

   Bard of Elyposted 12 years ago

   Thank you for explaining more about this problem, Camille and ezhang! Thank you too for your support, Luis!

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4. 59

   carpesomediemposted 12 years ago

   Ely, I've had a few hubs flagged in the last couple of weeks for the same reason.  When I started looking into it further, it seemed that some of the links I were using had the content of the original page changed at some point.  Unless I had gone back and checked it years after I posted the original content, I never would've known until it was flagged.  In one particular case, because I use pop-up/ad blockers within Chrome and Firefox, I didn't even realize there were issues for users visiting that site because when I went there, I didn't see anything wrong.  Just some things to possibly look for if you get flagged in the future. 

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5. 79

   Bard of Elyposted 12 years ago

   Good point there! I probably don't know when there are pop-ups too as I have them blocked!

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