Seen any Hubpages Staff since Maddies brief we are on it?

1. 48

   Mark Writerposted 13 years ago

   I may be wrong but since the site has nosedived only one thing has been issued from hubpages and that was Maddies we are on it.
   
   Just 4 words for all the work put in by the writers on here and I think we deserve more than that. It's clearly obvious that hubpages is sinking and they haven't the decency to even respond.
   
   Hubpages are nothing without it's writers and it's time we demand some action from them.

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      Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      http://blog.hubpages.com/2011/02/recent-google-changes/

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         Mark Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         And that said what exactly?

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            weblogposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Did you care to read it..?

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         2. 91

            Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            What did you expect it to say.  How about:
            
            "Here we are on day two of a massive algorithmic change and we really don't know what changes, if any we will need to implement, but just to keep Matk Writer happy, here's what we are going to do - subject to immediate change on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as we find out more!"
            
            Sheesh!

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      Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I've been involved in fire and emergency management for years.
      
      When a fire alarm goes off, it amazes me how many people pick up their phone and call me or one of my staff.
      
      I feel like saying to them, "What would you prefer me to do?  Sit down and explain what's happening, or actually go and do something to ensure your safety?"
      
      The HubPages team are working on it.  What else do you need to know?

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         weblogposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Nothing is enough, the sock puppet is just having great(?) fun around here!

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      darksideposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Settle down Chicken Little.
      
      How long have you been here? How many hubs do you have published? What makes you think you can demand explanations?
      
      I've been here for a little while and the number of hubs on this account is only about 10% of the total hubs I have published across the site.
      
      I'm not demanding anything from them. They're smart individuals, and their collective talent and skill has seen this site make it into the Quantcast Top 50. Their livelihoods rely on this site far more than any of us.

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      1. 73

         lorlie6posted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks, darkside, for such refreshing words.  I think it's time for Hubbers to stop pointing fingers at staffers and engage fully in improving this site at the grassroots level.  Why do we insist on interrogating, blaming them when there's plenty we can do to rid this site of substandard, duplicate content and spammers.  Let's take some responsibility for the current Google situation-flag and report if need be.
         How about improving this site?

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            darksideposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Indeed. And in the last 24 hours I've published another 3 hubs (on other accounts).

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      2. 59

         Mark Knowlesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Is the sky falling?
         
         I was fine with Maddie's "we are on it," because I am certain they are. I cannot imagine they are not going to be "on it," and I would be worried if they were all over the forums telling us not to worry about it.
         
         As for the sock puppet - grow a pair and use your real persona.

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            Andrew0208posted 13 years agoin reply to this

            

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2. 54

   Footballersposted 13 years ago

   You have already commented on the Paul Edmondson comments, you quoted it in another thread.
   
   Of course, as you don't have any hubpages, it doesn't really effect you does it

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      David 470posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      LOL!

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   skyfireposted 13 years ago

   Just curious from your trolling, are you religious ?

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      weblogposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      

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      David 470posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      

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   3. 83

      CMHypnoposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Seems strange - if someone really feels that negatively about the future of HubPages and the HP staff, why can't they at least have the courage to use their main identity?
      
      Wonder how long it will take us to work out who's sock this is?

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         Footballersposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         He/she is quick to criticise under the guise of a fake login, bet they wouldn't be so quick using their primary login.

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      2. 91

         Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I think sockpuppets are among the worst features of HP.   
         
         Fine, let them write under different names.  But don't allow that in the forums ever.

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            weblogposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Yeah, alternative accounts may not always mean sock puppets unless and until they use it for gaming in forums.

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            CMHypnoposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            You know a lot more about web technology than me Pcunix, would it be possible to implement a fix so that if a hubber has multiple accounts that only one of them can post in the forums?

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               Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Of course.
               
               It could also be that if you try it, it immediately exposes all your accounts as punishment.  THAT I would like to see!

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                  weblogposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  

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                  CMHypnoposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  Well as some people don't seem to be able or willing to follow a simple rule, then it should be implemented. It would be interesting to see how many hubbers have spent whole threads talking to themselves! LOL

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               3. 67

                  bgamallposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  PC, are you that guy who sat behind home plate with the rainbow hair and the white gloves back in the last century? Not sure exactly when that happened but I think you could be him.

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                  1. 91

                     Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     I detest all professional sports.  I have been to one baseball game in my life and that was only because my father took me when I was very young.
                     
                     Zero interest in watching overpaid jocks run around.

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            skyfireposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I think there is a rule for not using alternate accounts for posting on forums. I'm sure this guy is going to enjoy weekend inactivity of moderators.

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               rmcrayneposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               
               
               Not my experience.  Moderators have been very responsive, including weekends and late hours in removing spam from the HubMob threads.

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4. 88

   Len Cannonposted 13 years ago

   He has a classy picture of a pen; I feel like I can trust him.

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5. 82

   David 470posted 13 years ago

   I smell a sockpuppet somewhere...

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   1. 48

      Mark Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Perhaps unchanged boxers?

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      kirstenblogposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Love the smell of toe jam in the morning

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         EmpressFelicityposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Does anyone else feel a bit Harry Hill today?
         
         Sockpuppet fight! Sockpuppet fight!
         
         OK, so I know this comment is probably completely lost on most people here, unless Harry Hill's TV Burp enjoys a wider, more international audience than I'd hitherto thought

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            mistyhorizon2003posted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I get it, I love 'Harry Hill's TV Burp' so much. Hilarious

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6. 57

   weblogposted 13 years ago

   May or may not be a sock puppet, but definitely a troll.

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      Footballersposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      They new what 'blue arrows' were, so definitely a sock puppet. Of course, I am just a sock puppet too, but not a cowardly one.

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      David 470posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Both lol

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7. 48

   Mark Writerposted 13 years ago

   Sock puppet, not a troll.

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      simeonvisserposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      What is the difference in this case? Why do you need a sock puppet to critize HubPages?

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         Footballersposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         It is cowardice.

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      2. 48

         Mark Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Because I am taking a stand for you cowards.

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            Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I think you deserve banning.
            
            Just my opinion.  Feel free to take it personally.

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               weblogposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I suspect that the main account is already banned from forums, and hence the puppet is playing.

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            2. 48

               Mark Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Looking at your photo, your age I don't think I would listen to your opinion, does anyone?

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               1. 91

                  Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  Ayup.  About a quarter million people every month.

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                  1. 48

                     Mark Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     Nice going, I am about the same myself so you have my respect.

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                        Footballersposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        Pcunix must be very proud, he has always dreamed of the respect of an anonymous sockpuppet, the stuff that fairytales are made out of.

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                     2. 91

                        Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        I don't respect people who feel the need to criticize from behind a mask.

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                           Mark Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           Damn I won't sleep tonight.

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                  2. 60

                     Jim Hunterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     How many people are you again?
                     
                     The chance of you receiving a quarter of a million hits a month is as about the same as me ever caring what you have to say.
                     
                     That would be zero.
                     
                     But thanks for the comedy relief.

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                        darksideposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        Jim, head on back to the Political sub-forum. I think there's an argument or a debate feeling lonely without you.

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                           Uninvited Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           

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                     2. 78

                        Sufidreamerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        I think you will find that his main site does receive that many hits, Jim
                        
                        Why don't you let the people who actually use Hubpages for writing hubs discuss these important developments, without being subjected to snide remarks? PCUnix's internet experience and input is proving invaluable here.

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                           viryaboposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           About PC, i agree with you Sufi.
                           
                           He's been screaming his head off about such issues for a while back now. To the chagrin of many it seems. But he is right in ways.

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                     3. 91

                        Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        You are right, Jim.
                        
                        After all, "every month" also includes this February, which is a bit light at only 218,000 uniques so far.
                        
                        So, as usual, you have caught me in a heinous lie.
                        
                        I should have known better than to try to fool you, Jim.
                        
                        So, in the interests of total honesty, I went back to Analytics and asked for yearly figures, which I then divided by 12. After all, not every visitor shakes their head in horror and never returns - some keep coming back, and of course that means a lower yearly average of truly unique readers.
                        
                        Because I can't lie when the eagle eyes of Jim are watching, the true  figure was only 2,433,171 yearly uniques, which is a paltry 202,764 per month on average.
                        
                        So, I fibbed, Jim, and you caught me.  Thanks for making me be honest.

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                        1. 91

                           Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           By the way, Jim, I have to thank you for something else.
                           
                           I forgot that I had added Quantcast measuring to my main site some time ago. Because of my shame at being caught lying (again!) by you, I went and checked that site there and was horrified to see that they only see 183,000 monthly visitors!
                           
                           I knew that was wrong, so I investigated and found that I had left off the Quantcast javascript from a significant section of my site!
                           
                           That's not good, because potential advertisers use that data to see if they want to bother with you (I'm sure YOU know all that, Jim - I'm just explaining for the others).
                           
                           So, your catching me out will actually help me in the end!  Thank you, Jim, thank you so much!

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                              lorlie6posted 13 years agoin reply to this

                              YOU, PC, are a wonderful, knowledgeable spokesman here on HP.  I really mean that.  Another thing, my friend, sarcasm becomes you!!

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                        skyfireposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        says prof internet troll tksensei? Hear hear

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                        1. 91

                           Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           I think it is interesting how the folks who plague the political and religious forums don't seem to have anything to say about all this shakeup.
                           
                           Of course they don't care, do they? They aren't here for any reason but their forum agenda.
                           
                           i really, really wish HP would not let these people post.

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                              thisisoliposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                              I use edweirdos filter, has made me much mroe productive

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                              1. 91

                                 Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                                 I do also, but then I use my iPad a lot and..
                                 
                                 Anyway, Jim popped in here.  Not to say anything about the algorithm or HubPages, of course.

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                              Aya Katzposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                              Would you rather they came in here and started praying for Hubpages' traffic to be miraculously restored through divine intervention?

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                                 Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                                 You have a point

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                              Mishaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                              I think google worshipers should be banned from posting first.

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                  viryaboposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  Oh, you can bet some of us do.

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            Footballersposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            No, because you are being a scardy cat. You logged out of your primary account to post a message criticising ryankett and to call him a "big girl", because you didn't have the guts to come out and say it to his face - if you wish to prove otherwise then feel free to log back into your primary account and call him out like a man

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            skyfireposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Really ? Please explain. I'm in desperate need for weekend entertainment.

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               weblogposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               For that you felt a need to feed the troll?

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                  skyfireposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  

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            simeonvisserposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Wait, you need a sock puppet to say what you want and we are the cowards?

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8. 0

   Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

   What can HP ownrs say except that they believe in their Biz Plan? Don't forget there are venture capitalists and investors involved as well.
   
   Really, no one except for the guys at Google know how this is going to shake out.

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      Mark Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      They can keep their bread and butter writers informed, they are totally selfish and leave their writers in the dark.

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9. 57

   weblogposted 13 years ago

   The puppet admits

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   1. 48

      Mark Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Sock puppet, give me my dignity.

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10. 48

    Mark Writerposted 13 years ago

    Footballers 6 weeks in and still no avatar, sort it out man you look so the new guy.

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       Footballersposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Yes, the difference being that I am unable to use my primary login and you are choosing not to. I don't think that you need to ask who I am.

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          Mark Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          You are a nothing.

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             Footballersposted 13 years agoin reply to this

             You know who I am, who are you? A coward, weak, pathetic, the cretinous type who doesn't have the balls to stand up and be counted, instead hiding behind a fake identity in order to dish out remarks in an attempt to discredit or hurt people, without the security to allow them the opportunity to do it back.
             
             You, it seems, are nothing.

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11. 74

    Hauntyposted 13 years ago

    Very well-written, informative thread. Voted up and useful.

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       skyfireposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       I totally agree with you, Haunty.

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       weblogposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Welcome, better late than never

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12. 48

    Mark Writerposted 13 years ago

    I like Haunty, he loves his animals.

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13. 81

    Mark Ewbieposted 13 years ago

    Please can I point out in case of confusion this is nothing to do with me.

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       weblogposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       

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14. 82

    David 470posted 13 years ago

    Trolls, sockpuppets, and anything similar are poor corrupted souls that are not aware of neither their arrogance or ignorance.

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       Mark Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Probably why I am on your friends list David lol.

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          Footballersposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          And do you follow him?

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       Footballersposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Can I just point out that I am not currently a sockpuppet through choice

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          Mark Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          He just follows me about ; )

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15. 91

    Pcunixposted 13 years ago

    And just as another point of reference, my Google traffic here is down only 10% - if that, it's the February vacation weekend for crying out loud! - and I see a bunch of pretty red triangles in my traffic reports.

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       Mark Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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       David 470posted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Are you referring to your hubs alone or everything?

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          Mark Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Say what??

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          Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Just hubs.  Traffic isn't down at all at my main site.

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             Mark Writerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

             Nor mine.

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                Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                So?
                
                As you are cowardly hiding, what does that mean to us?  We can't look at your hubs, can we?

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    thisisoliposted 13 years ago

    my personal sites are all on the upswing, my Hubs took a hit.  My personal opinion is that duplicate content has had a greater affect on hte domian trust of Hubpages, which has in turn negatively affected the page trust of individual articles. 
    
    I also think that we all need to wait for the dust to settle.  This is a big change, at a slow time of the year.  Most of the real complaints have been coming from sites which are notoriously filled with spammers and dupe content users.

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17. 0

    Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

    Thisisoli, does this include your revenue sharing site as well? BTW, this wasn't a slow time of year for me until two days ago. I was going gangbusters.

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       thisisoliposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Yes, the revenue sharing site is holding steady with a fairly significant boost in traffic over the last few days.  I don't want to claim all of that as a change in the google algorithm, since it coincided with a rash of stumbles on one of the articles, but half of the above-average traffic was organic.

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          Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          That's great news. I'm glad to hear that!

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18. 81

    earnestshubposted 13 years ago

    Track record speaks louder than assumptions.
    Hubpages have always kept us informed at other times, and their track record is damn good by any standards.
    
    If Maddie says they are on it, then as far as I am concerned it is all in hand and we will hear back as soon as there is something to report.

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       Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Me too.  Like I said: when your house is on fire,which would you prefer - that every firefighter is in there trying to save it, or that some of them sit with you and hold your hand while you're waiting?

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          ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Good analogy

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19. 94

    Dolores Monetposted 13 years ago

    Not that I know anything but I would imagine that the hub staff needs to think some things through, have some meetings, discuss strategy before jumping on it. Also, maybe some hubbers have made helpful suggestions they may take into account.
    
    Now ezines, for example, has already said they are going to no follow and drop the do follow. I think that is jumping the gun.

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       ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       What Ezine have also said however is that they are going to increase the rejection rate from 40% to 50%, block posts which are less than 400 words long, and refuse ALL duplicate content.
       
       I doubt that Hubpages blocks 50% of content, and neither do they have a filter in place which blocks short hubs, neither do they block all duplicate content. So there is plenty that perhaps can be learnt from Ezine.

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          Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          It's funny, because I remember when Ezine used to insist on unique content.  Then they changed their rules and accepted duplicate articles - in fact they were so keen on the idea, they published a video encouraging people to re-post their Helium articles and even auto-publish using a Wordpress plugin!
          
          So it looks as though they're just going back to their original philosophy by returning to original content.
          
          The 400 word minimum is interesting.  Helium has had that in place for a long time - I know it doesn't guarantee quality but it does force people to make more of an effort, and it would be easy to implement.

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             ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

             Have Helium been slapped? By the way?
             
             The wordpress plugin is being disabled too

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                Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                Yes, Helium didn't get a mention on any of the analysis sites for a while - I think because it's a much smaller fish - but it's now listed as having lost 66% of keywords.
                
                As you know, you don't earn affiliate income from Helium, they pay writers rev share themselves.  And you don't have access to traffic stats.  I suspect there's a fair lag before they pass on the earnings, so there's no sign of a change yet. Heliumites over on their forums are congratulating themselves on surviving the storm - they may be in for a surprise!
                
                I haven't written an article there for three years, the earnings are so absymal - but I do have to go and "rate" to keep the existing articles earning, so I pop in to the forums now and then and stir things up a bit...

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                   Rising Carenposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                   Heliumites can have links in their articles and I've seen a few with affiliate links.
                   
                   Also the Helium Zones (that everyone forgets about) have amazon, and I think adsense too. So Helium isn't completely devoid of affiliate income.

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                      Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                      Interesting, I didn't think they allowed affiliate links.  I do know their links are "no follow" so Helium isn't useful for promotion.  I may have to go and leapfrog a few and see if I can get some affiliate links in there!
                      
                      
                      
                      Yes, they do - but as you say, everyone forgets about them!  I wonder how many visits they get?  The zones do have Adsense, but then so does the main site - that's the source of the passive income side of the site, but you don't get paid directly by Adsense.

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       Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Hmm.  So EzineArticles doesn't pay their writers anything, and now all their links will be no follow?  How are they going to get anyone to contribute articles, then?
       
       Edit:  I just looked at the blog post, and they've struck that idea out.  I think it's dawned on them that they'd lose a lot of their writers if they did it!

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          earnestshubposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          I'm glad of that Marisa. I was going to stop contributing if they had gone on with that. Thank you for letting us know.

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             Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

             I found it amusing that they were surprised by the backlash. 
             
             Their reaction was (I'm paraphrasing), "but we stopped advertising EZA as a source of backlinks in 2005".   Their argument is that you write on EZA so real people will click on the links in your resource box.
             
             It makes you wonder how savvy EZA's management really are.  On a site that's so Adsense-heavy, most readers will have clicked on an ad long before they get down to the resource box.  And on blogs which re-use EZA material, the resource box is often stripped out anyway.  Surely EZA know that - who are they trying to kid?

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    Dolores Monetposted 13 years ago

    Exactly - because, since they don't pay anything, why else write for them?

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       Randy Godwinposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Scumbags at Helium!  My stolen Helium articles outrank my Hubs now!  I'm beginning to think there are no honest sites to write at, at all! 
       
       I abhor liars and thieves!  I do my best to torment any I find out about.  Ask Helium! 

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