A hub about homosexuality in animals has ads disabled

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   Bard of Elyposted 12 years ago

   I have a hub about homosexuality in monarch butterflies with ads for books on Amazon about homosexuality in animals, however, ads have been disabled and in the warning why details it says: "Because this Hub was identified manually, and not through our automatic filter, this status will not change if you modify the contents of your Hub."
   
   I fail to see why ads are disabled when they relate to the subject of the hub. Can anyone explain this please? Is animal homosexuality against the rules here? This seems crazy!

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      Friendlywordposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      The ads were disabled on the best hub I ever wrote because it was about a gay subject. I do see hubs about gay people on hubpages. I'm still trying to figure out what I did wrong in my hub. I going to talk to the hub team directly and find out how I can edit the hub so I can put it back on hubpages.

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      Pearldiverposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Homosexuality in Butterflies is frowned upon by many less liberal advertising agency personnel, hardline religious groups and members of the pushmepullme foundation - All of whom may well support the manual manipulation of far more than your ads Sir Bard! 
      
      Sorry to see your butterflies picked on like that! Good luck!

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         Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you, Pearldiver! And there I was thinking that people liked butterflies!

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            Pearldiverposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Well exactly! And you are welcome... but always keep in mind that parts of the world are full of woolly buggers, rising trout and men in chest high waders... while others have absolutely no idea whether to use a woolly bugger, butterfly or nymph, what they are or how to tie them effectively! And isn't it a queer thought that such ignorance has a major bearing on local trout stocks and how we are viewed by robotic thinkers and manual digital manipulators!  
            How sad!  
            
            Ha!!! As if consumerism is going to change the sexual tendencies of butterflies or spayed cauliflowers!

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               Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Great comment that just about sums it up!

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      diyomarpandanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Deleted
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         Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         HubPages eventually allowed my hub after reviewing it. I think you should mail them an explain. Good luck!

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   psycheskinnerposted 12 years ago

   This has come up in the past.  Apparently homosexual = sex = bad.  The same is not apparently true for heterosexuality.  Double standards, I think.

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      Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      It appears that this is what has happened with my hub!

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   Sally's Troveposted 12 years ago

   The same thing happened to one of my older hubs about resources for understanding abusive relationships, and I got the same notice you did.
   
   I first checked out the HP reasons for ads being disabled here
   
   http://hubpages.com/faq/#adsdisabled
   
   and saw that my content didn't violate any of the rules.
   
   I emailed the team explaining why I didn't think ads should be disabled on my hub just because the words "sex" and "sexual" appeared in the content (how can you possibly provide a useful resource list on understanding the different kinds of abuse without using the word "sexual"?).
   
   Long story short, they did re-enable ads.

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      Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      The problem with mine is that this has been done by a moderator because it also says: "Because this Hub was identified manually, and not through our automatic filter, this status will not change if you modify the contents of your Hub. Therefore, if you do make significant changes please contact us and we will review them as soon as we can (please include the title or URL of this Hub in your message)."

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   Ron Montgomeryposted 12 years ago

   Michelle Bachman is filling in as a guest moderator this week.

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   IzzyMposted 12 years ago

   I got my ads disabled on my world's youngest sex change operations hub (don't look for it, I unpublished it), after some airhead complained on the forums that his hub on a similar title had ads disabled, while mine wasn't!
   
   The annoying thing was that I knew sex was taboo on HP, so it wasn't mentioned, nor were body parts or anything.
   
   The hub focussed totally on the kids and how they had felt inside, how they had been treated at school etc.
   
   Still..thanks to 'mouthy' - ads disabled.
   
   It really has got right down to whole topics being taboo.
   
   I know its got to do with Adsense and their advertising partners, so at the end of the day, this is not the place to post any articles, no matter how well written, on any topic that might not be advertiser-friendly.

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      Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      This is really sad! One of the reasons I first liked HubPages was because it was somewhere to publish and read intelligent articles. How can the word homosexuality  be classed as non-advertiser friendly? Surely for anyone who is homosexual that would be seen as offensive to discriminate this way?

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         IzzyMposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Turn it into a poem and you'll be fine
         
         No, seriously, you are 100% correct. As far as I know, Hubpages is still a place where you can publish anything, but not on things that advertisers might not like.
         
         It's extremely annoying to learn after the event that ads are not being allowed.
         
         I don't know about you, but most of my hubs took time and effort to write, and to have their ads disabled is like a slap in the face - especially when you know that after publication half the web have probably stolen it!
         
         I've been doing some editing recently, and discovered many hubs that Google seems to think everyone else wrote, as my hubs are well-down the list. But I wrote the text.
         
         I was nearly in tears last night wondering where to start - 3,500 people had stolen my exact wording. In the end, I unpublished yet another hub.
         
         I'll rewrite it at some point in the future, but right now there are too many thieves out there for me to deal with.
         
         How much worse if they had stolen an article of mine that had ads disabled (while they merrily showed them).

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            Jason Menayanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Not quite. The Hub is still published. It's just that ads aren't turned on for them.
            
            We turn off ads on topics Google has told us they consider sensitive and that they do not want ads showing on. Considering they are our main advertising partner, we must respect their rules. Note that when we shut off ads on a Hub, we do so on our share of impressions, too, not just the author's.
            
            As a gay man myself, I can understand resentment at advertiser prickliness on the topic of homosexuality, but that's the way it stands today.

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               IzzyMposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Thank you for replying in this thread, Jason.
               
               I knew of course that this subject must be close to your heart, and you are doing your best to explain HP's stance.
               
               I know also that this is Google's decision.
               
               Google, the new 'ethnic cleanser', Hmm.

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                  Jason Menayanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Yes, it's their decision, but one I'd imagine they did in order to protect their own advertising model. Google as a corporation is not homophobic.
                  
                  Note that there are two categories of "ad unsafe" content that Google has explained to us:
                  - content they're comfortable with existing on our site but that we can't put ads on (like Bard of Ely's Hub)
                  - content that we can not leave published, even if we do not put ads on it.

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                     Flynn the Catposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     Sorry? Where in their content policy do they advocate against ads on LGBTQ content?
                     https://www.google.com/adsense/support/ … opic=16754

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               Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Jason, thank you for explaining and doing your best in this crazy situation!

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      Flynn the Catposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      <i>I know its got to do with Adsense and their advertising partners...</i>
      
      And yet it these topics are perfectly okay on other sites. I know, because I ran into this myself writing an *informative* article about bisexuality (which I thought would work better here) only to get a notice that LGBTQ stuff isn't eligible for ads. So I just moved it right off Hubpages again and back to Squidoo.
      
      And they specifically single out "...LGBT issues". So they don't care what kind of issue it is, only that it is LGBT.
      
      Nowhere in the linked Adsense content policy does sexuality or LGBTQ feature (they do say 'no sex/porn, no biased/hate groups' and a list of 'Adult content' exampleswhich in NO way mentions sexuality, only outright 'sex' content). The only other cited policy is Hubpage's own. This is entirely on Hubpages.
      https://support.google.com/adsense/bin/ … 8&rd=2

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         IzzyMposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         HP is hypersensitive to Google. What is acceptable to Google and on other sites is not acceptable here it seems.
         
         It is probably best to avoid all such content and issues, or put these articles on other sites.
         
         I was sorry to see mine go, I had a lot of sensitive comments that will be lost when I press the delete button. Or maybe I should just re-publish with the ads disabled, but what is that point?
         
         I put a lot of work and a lot of research into that article, and for what? So long as it remained published without ads, it was just bait to the article thieves of this world. It might even have already been stolen, I haven't checked, but this isn't the first time I have fallen foul of the moderators.
         
         You'd think I'd learn and stick to writing recipes or something! I never was much good at writing them. I just cook and never remember to get the camera out! How do you capture a flavour anyway?

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   psycheskinnerposted 12 years ago

   The behavior does discriminate because it applies to homosexual and not heterosexual. I may get the economic necessity but I think it sucks. I mean, really--who is offended by gay butterflies other than someone who is homophobic?

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   jenb0128posted 12 years ago

   Homosexuality in BUTTERFLIES is a "sensitive topic?"
   
   *facepalm*
   
   Anyone who would be offended over something that happens in nature really needs to learn to relax. Or something.
   
   Good to know that Google finds certain wildlife and nature topics "sensitive." I was actually considering writing a future hub about homosexuality in birds, but I guess I'll have to scrap that one.
   
   Sorry you were stung, Bard of Ely!

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      Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you! I suppose this makes me a 'sensitive topic' too if I write about such matters and see nothing wrong with doing so?

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         jenb0128posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Then I'm a "sensitive topic" right along with you!
         
         Homosexuality in animals is simply a science and nature topic, so there's nothing wrong with sharing that information.

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            Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            I totally agree and that is what annoys me about this!

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   CJStoneposted 12 years ago

   I had the ads on one of my hubs disabled because, in a humorous piece about my Mum, I recounted a story about her 60th birthday, when my sister hired a male stripper. The words "male stripper" were flagged and the ads disabled. They did come back in the end though. I think there may be an over sensitive or possibly fundamentalist Christian moderator behind your ads being disabled: possibly the idea that homosexuality is natural offends them.

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      Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for posting, Chris! This means that as journalists and reporters, which we both are, we are not allowed to report on real issues in the real world without this offending an advertiser or a moderator!

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         WriteAngledposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Given that we are working under the rules of corporate USA here, it is only to be expected that the real world is something that will trigger various alarms!
         
         It comes down to a choice between
         (a) the convenience of having a simple way to publish things here with a chance to make a bit of money through channels selected by site owner
         (b) having the freedom to publish whatever you desire on a personally-owned site, which might also make some money through less prudish advertising and sales channels (there are even plenty of sites with material that is probably far stronger than you or I would want to publish, which obviously do well financially or they wouldn't exist).

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            Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, what you say is true!

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            jenb0128posted 12 years agoin reply to this

            True, but it doesn't make some of the alarm triggers any less ridiculous.

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      Jason Menayanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Um, no.

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         Pearldiverposted 12 years agoin reply to this

           Hahaha...

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      jenb0128posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Wow. That reminds me of a time I joined a pet forum and was put on moderation for talking about my pet cockatiel. The first four letters set off the trigger. Fortunately, the moderators quickly caught it and removed my restriction, but from then on, I had to say my bird was a c.o.c.katiel.

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   peeplesposted 12 years ago

   The whole system is screwed when it comes to what they manually take ads off of. I can do a hub about sexy outfits but my serial killer stats get the ads removed because I state they were sexually abused as children. So it's okay if I market sex but I can't mention a real problem in the world. As for your issue, there are many hubs on hubpages that are about homosexuality that have ads. So I would write them and ask for a review and an explanation. I have done it in the past and it worked one of the 3 times I did it. The joys of writing under someone else's rules!

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      Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I have written asking if they can be specific about what I have done wrong!

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      SimeyCposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Shhh - your 'sexy outfits' hub hasn't been moderated and has slipped through! My hub on sexy halloween costumes has no ads on it...

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    Aneegmaposted 12 years ago

    Well any topic relating to any form of sex is frowned upon here. I too wrote a hub regarding human sexuality and it said this hub violates hub rules and my ads were disabled too. So best to just not write about it or use innuendo terms..

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       WriteAngledposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Exactly. Write on the most prurient topics in sniggering schoolchild style and the nannies will turn a blind eye if no naughty words have been used.
       
       Of course, writing about murder, pillage and violence in general, and even glorifying them, is totally acceptable to the corporate mentality, provided these acts have been committed by those "with [the right sort of] God on their side".

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       jenb0128posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       The difference here is that Bard was writing about animals. Not humans. Homosexuality in animals is a science and nature topic more than it's a  "sex" topic.  I'm curious as to whether a hub about heterosexual mating behavior in animals would get its ads removed as well.
       
       Or maybe I'm just looking at this completely differently than others because I'm an animal and biology nerd.

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          Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          I have been trying my best to give these butterflies a helping hand here and it was surprising for me to see that some of them acted in a homosexual way even when there were females available. This was evidence that this insect behaves in a homosexual way and that this is natural behavior. This I confirmed in Wikipedia where it says that this species is known to exhibit this. I really didn't think that sharing the info would cause all this problem!
          
          What do people think plants are doing when they release pollen? They are indulging in sexual behavior!

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             WriteAngledposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             Careful, Bard! You'll get pollen put on the list of trigger words next!

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                Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                Haven't you heard that we have a serious problem because bees that are a major source of pollen collection are suffering Colony Collapse Disorder? It is all being left in many cases to other insects that are pollinators. Is this a 'sensitive' subject and would it result in action being taken if it was explained that all pollen is a means of sexual reproduction?

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       Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Basically then we cannot write about a main drive for all life forms on this planet then? How insane is that?

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          jenb0128posted 12 years agoin reply to this

          No kidding. If you take away mating behavior in animals, you take away a HUGE part of animal behavior (and a fascinating part, too).

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    Will Apseposted 12 years ago

    Do you really need to make money from Gay butterfly sex? Couldn't you just to do it for the love?
    
    ps. 'Advertisers as editors of the media' is one of the main planks of Chomsky's thesis in 'Manufacturing Consent'. Interesting read.

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       Pearldiverposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Mai khaw jai Will Apse! (That's perfect Thai grammar btw!)
       
       I believe the gentleman had already established that it was all about Butterflies 'doing it' for love! (Not him!)     - this was referring to your Pre-Edit comment!

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          Will Apseposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          I believe the gentleman had already established that it was all about Butterflies 'doing it' for love!
          
          I think you sort of got the irony.

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             Pearldiverposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             I assume you are referring to the antics of the boy flutterbies just above the left ear of your avatar pic! 

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                Will Apseposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                I think this might be a projection. That is a Nipa Palm. At a guess.
                
                Nipa palms are sexual organisms, of course. And I am not judging anyone.

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                   Pearldiverposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   Well then.... Say No More!!!
                   
                   Clearly, it is aroused at the sight of your bobbing head!  

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    kerrygposted 12 years ago

    Yeha, the same thing has happened to most (probably all) of my hubs on LGBT issues, domestic violence, etc. I didn't write those hubs for the money anyway, but it's still frustrating, especially since Google has been known to smack ads for wet t-shirt contests all over my hubs on economic development for third world women. One of the keywords is "women," you see.

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    Reality Bytesposted 12 years ago

    Would it make a difference if the word homosexual was replaced with same gender relationships?

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       Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       If it was then the word homosexual is being discriminated against and anyone doing this is blatantly sexist and homophobic!

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          Reality Bytesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Bard, I agree 100%.  It is all the worst that you are writing about butterflies.

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             Bard of Elyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             Thank you, Reality Bytes! It is all the more interesting, I would have thought, that it is about butterflies!

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       Pearldiverposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       So a whole new hub is to be created called...
       
       'Nature's Perspective on Happy Butterfly Rutting and Grappling Techniques'
       
       - As told by a Real Human over the Age of 30!
       
       Disclaimer: For solely immature purposes the word 'Bonking' has been applied where necessary throughout this hub!

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