Promotion of hubs through HP violated TOS Forum

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   Prakash RnPposted 11 years ago

   A fellow hubber didn't like my plan to seek to promote my hubs through the HP Forum. Is it unfair ? Please reply giving reasons.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Of course it's not unfair.  These forums are a place for us to take a break from the business of writing online. Polluting it with self-promotion would spoil that. 
      
      Since the forums are visible only to people who are logged in, posting links on here doesn't achieve much anyway.

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         agvulpesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Marisa the 'forums' can be read when not logged in but you must be logged in to 'reply' (I just checked)

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            Writer Foxposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            And the forums are read by search engines.

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            Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            I know that used to be the case, but for the past few months I've been unable to see the forums without logging in (previously I always used to check the forums before I bothered to log in).   I must say I haven't even tried to see them without logging in recently, so maybe it was just a glitch!

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            Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            I just checked again.  I'm sure you can look at the forums if you have the link, but if you're not logged in there is no link on the front page of HubPages to reach the forums.

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               WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               I have arrived at forum threads via search before.

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                  wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  Good point; the forums show up in the search results all the time.

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      Uninvited Writerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      It's against the terms of service and the forum rules:
      
      " Do not start threads for the sole purpose of promotion or posting links."

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      psycheskinnerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      It's a bad idea that will get you banned from the forums if you persist with it.

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      Matthew Meyerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      As several authors have mentioned, it is against the terms of service to promote your Hubs in the forums. 
      Here again is the link that Relache shared.
      
      The Forums are for discussion, not self-promotional link-posting. We encourage you to avoid posting promotional or irrelevant links, be they to Hubs or external sites in which you have a vested interest. The three places where we do encourage you to post links to your Hubs are in the HubChallenges section, Extreme Hub Makeover section, and in Weekly Topic Inspiration threads.
      
      http://hubpages.com/help/forum_rules

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      Pearldiverposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hey there...
      Way d
              o
              w
              n
      here in the Southern Hemisphere....
      we tend to view things up there like that in their worst state!
      Blatant self promos tend to be seen as about as popular as skidmarks on a high diver's white speedos! 

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   Mark Ewbieposted 11 years ago

   You are not allowed to obviously self-promote.  Lots of people do it subtly.  It is a complete waste of time anyway.  Who is going to read your page that you say is good?  Anyone?  No-one?  A handful of disinterested people who only want to do it in order to promote their own stuff?
   
   Write good stuff.... and pray.  That's all you need to do.
   
   Ignore ALL internet advice.  They are all selling you something.

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   relacheposted 11 years ago

   If you take the time to read the forum rules, you'll see that #5 clearly begins "The Forums are for discussion, not self-promotional link-posting."
   
   http://hubpages.com/help/forum_rules

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      Prakash RnPposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for the reply and for pointing to my mistake. But one thing isn't clear yet. The same rule also says 'The three places where we do encourage you to post links to your hubs are in the HubChallenges section, ...' But the 'HubChallenges' is also a sort of 'Forum', isn't it? Forums are not for 'self-promotional link-posting'; hubbers are encouraged to post links to their hubs 'in the HubChallenges section' -- the two statements evidently contradict each other, don't they?

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         psycheskinnerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Yes they have stated exception where the link to a hub is clearly not blatant me-me-me self promotion.  This includes *full participation* in challenges, and seeking help to improve your hub (not just people to read it).
         
         Honestly, we are not your audience--we are your peers.  You need to be looking elsewhere for traffic.

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            Prakash RnPposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            The main limitation of your reply is, from my viewpoint, the fact that it doesn't contain any corroborative reasons for your views. Can't my peers be my audience? Don't my peers really expect me to read their writing?

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               psycheskinnerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Can't my peers be my audience?
               1) It is not why we are here
               2) Hubpages does not allow it
               3) You should be a tad more ambitious that reaching a few hundred forum users most of whom have zero interest in your views
               
               Don't my peers really expect me to read their writing?
               3) No, this is a content site -- not a clusterpluck.
               4) No, hubber readers don't make us any money

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                  Prakash RnPposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  'It is not why we are here'
                  Should I take it to mean that at some place other than the HubChallenges section you're agreed to be a reader of works of your fellow hubbers?
                  'Hubpages does not allow it'
                  I cannot see eye to eye with you on this point as one of the HubPages rules states that the 'three places' where hubbers are encouraged 'to post links' to their hubs include 'the HubChallenges section'. (Please visit HubPages Forums: Rules of Conduct @ http://hubpages.com/help/forum_rules .)
                  The 'links' in question, as I see it, cannot be other than 'self-promotional' just because if all forums (including 'the HubChallenges section') were meant only for postings different to 'self-promotional link-posting[s]', it should have been useless and senseless to add a statement meant to encourage hubbers 'to post [non-self-promotional] links' on 'the HubChallenges section' after stating unequivocally that the 'Forums are for discussion, not self-promotional link-posting,' and for that reason it shouldn't have been added at all.
                  'You should be a tad ...'
                  Is there any conclusive logical connection between some hubber's 'zero interest' or full interest in something and all the other hubbers' interest or disinterest?
                  'No, this is ... clusterpluck.'
                  I should like to seek an elaboration of this argument.
                  'No, hubber readers ... money'
                  I should like to seek an elaboration of this point too. How does it relate to my query, i.e. whether my fellow hubbers expect me to be their reader ?

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               relacheposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Which Hubs authored by the people who've taken the time to reply to you in this thread have you read?

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                  Prakash RnPposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  I haven't so far read any hubs authored by you who've cared to post replies to my posts on the HP forum. But what led you to ask this question? I feel curious to know it.

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                     relacheposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     You said "Don't my peers really expect me to read their writing?" 
                     
                     All the people who have taken time to reply to you here are your peers.... So I asked, given that these people made the effort to help you with your question, are you reading their Hubs?

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                        Prakash RnPposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        Thank you for the reply. What I find very intriguing is what is implicit in it. You seem to have suggested that I should have read your hubs just because you answered my queries and ignore works by those fellow hubbers and other writers who didn't do so. By 'peers' I meant all the fellow hubbers and other writers, not only those you took this term to mean.

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                           relacheposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                           I don't know where you got the idea that I have been suggesting that you read just my Hubs because that is not what I have been saying.  However your chosen interpretation plus your skirting of the actual question definitely does provide an answer.  Not to mention the fact that only 12% of your Hubs are featured.
                           
                           Good luck with your chosen methodologies, I suspect they will make you as content as your beliefs on marriage!

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                              Prakash RnPposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                              I fail to see why you claim that I've interpreted your reply as your suggestion that I should read only the Hubs by yourself. The English terms 'you' and 'your' refer to both one person and more than one person, don't they? I wrote 'By "peers" I meant ..., not only those you took this term to mean.' Does the term 'those' refer to only yourself?
                              I should like to seek an elaboration of how I skirted 'the actual question'.
                              As regards the unpleasant fact that 'only 12%' of my Hubs are featured, I should like to call your attention to the fact that a few months back 5 out of 7 Hubs of mine (i.e. no less than 70 per cent) got featured, and the fact that afterwards they lost that status because of insufficient engagement, not because of poor quality.
                              Thank you for wishing me 'Good luck'. Nevertheless, this satirical insinuation that clearly amounts to your disapproval of my 'methodologies' and 'beliefs on marriage' moves me to seek an elaboration of your position. Why do you consider they don't deserve your approval? What's the rationale for your position against mine? Do you have a clear concept or good knowledge of my 'beliefs on marriage'? Are you sure that they're all wrong? Would you let the world know the reasons that led you to your conclusion?

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                                 psycheskinnerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                                 That is exactly what you said.  Thus that is how she interpreted it. As did I. 
                                 
                                 This thread is not about the content of your hub, it is about why you shouldn't spam us--and in fact why it is not allowed on this site.

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                           psycheskinnerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                           She was not talking about her hubs, but *any* of our hubs.  You are a peer too.  By yourlogic you should be reading our hubs.
                           
                           Unless you are all take and no give.
                           
                           IMHO you are projecting a selfish motivation that is not there, suggesting the latter.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I agree it's not well-expressed, but the intention is that the HubChallenges forum is the exception to the rule.

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            Prakash RnPposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Whose views are right, yours or psycheskinner's ? Please reply giving reasons.

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            Prakash RnPposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            I'm still expecting to hear something more in this regard  from you. I'd also like to call your attention to psycheskinner's arguments for her view that my peers cannot be my readers, and the view that my peers don't expect me to be their reader. I really find it extremely difficult to accept the view that a writer shouldn't expect other writers to read his or her works or want to read works by other writers. What's wrong of a novelist to read a novel by another novelist or an actor to watch the performance of other actors?

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   epsonok0posted 11 years ago

   I started a forum like that. I posed it different. I said explain one of your hubs and why you wrote it without listing a title or a link. I dont think that was wrong. But yes, comming to the forum to promote your self.. Well thats not what the forum is for.

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      2uesdayposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      If it achieves anything the effects are short lived.

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   psycheskinnerposted 11 years ago

   You neighbor can be your customer, but if you only ever advertise to you neighbor you are a very incompetent businessman.

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   2uesdayposted 11 years ago

   If HubPages wanted us to promote our own hubs here in the forums (other than in the ones they say are for that purpose) why would their moderator's waste their time snipping out the 'offending' links.
   No need to reply it is just an observation.

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