Be careful when revising an article

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   Pamela99posted 3 years ago

   I rewrote, then deleted an article that I had written 10 years ago. The, I was wrongly accused of plagiarism, when it was my own article that apparently causing the problem.
   
   It was so frustrating, especially on a holiday weekend. It finally was cleared today. I have been writing here for 12 years and was never accused of plagiarism until now.

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      Misbah786posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Oh Pamela, So sorry to hear that. It happened to me as well. It is really frustrating. Did you previously publish that article on HP or elsewhere?
      
      I believe we should delete first, then rewrite and publish it after 8 hours. That, I believe, is why they consider it plagiarism. I'm glad to hear that it's all sorted out now.
      
      I read your article. It's really interesting, but it's not showing up in my feed. I always appreciate your efforts. Your articles are always very interesting, helpful, and informative.
      You are a very valuable member of our beautiful community.
      
      Blessings and Love to you!

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         Pamela99posted 3 years agoin reply to this

         Sweet Misbah,
         
         I had posted this article on Hubpages 10 years ago. I did some research, got some new videos, etc. Then, I deleted the old article right before I published the revised article. Live and learn!
         
         I'm not surprised it is not in your feed as it just got okayed today after I wrote them a complaining email. I have been here 12 years and never had this happen before.
         
         I am glad you find my article interesting, Misbah.
         
         Much love and blessings for you always!

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      NateB11posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      It's just not a good idea to delete an article unless you absolutely just want to get rid of it, for two reasons: One of them is because it will remain in the search engine for awhile and if you re-write it like you did, it will come up as duplicate content. Then the other reason not to do it is because it gets rid of its age, and age is a factor in ranking in the search engine. This was an avoidable problem.
      
      This is not the same as Rupert's case in which someone actually stole his article.

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         Pamela99posted 3 years agoin reply to this

         You make some good points,. Thank you.

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   3. STAFF

      Matt Wellsposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      When you revise an article you should not delete it and create a new one. You should revise the existing article. Here is what happened. A few sites copied your original article from 10 years ago. When you deleted your original article and created a new one instead of revising, the copied version became the oldest copy published on the web. That is why your article was detected as duplicate. If you revise your existing article the original publication date is kept. If you create an entirely new article it creates a new publish date. Please email team@hubpages.com if you would like further assistance.

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      Abby Slutskyposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Glad it was worked out.

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         Pamela99posted 3 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you Abby.

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      Shing Arayaposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you. This is informational to me. I'm sorry to hear though about this experience

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   Jodahposted 3 years ago

   Pamela, it is hurtful to be accused of plagiarism especially when you put as much effort into your articles as you do. The lesson here I think is to wait a day or so after deleting before publishing a new updated article so that the previous one has been cleared from records. The alternative is not to delete the previous one but just upgrade it.
   
   I have been hit with duplication a couple of times for reposting a poem here that I had previously published elsewhere because I hadn’t allowed enough time after deleting it at the other site. I think it is recommended to allow Google three days to clear it from their search engine.
   I am glad you sorted it out with HubPages staff eventually and it is now cleared.

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      Pamela99posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks John. I agree that I need to wait more time if I want to update an article. If I have relevant new information I want to update and then post it so people will know. I learned a lesson anyway!

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         bravewarriorposted 3 years agoin reply to this

         Pamela, I would suggest you revise but don't delete. When you revise, the original copyright date remains, so there's no question that the article is yours. We're encouraged to update our articles from time to time so they rank with the SERPS and bring more/new traffic. I would not delete anything unless you really do want it gone.
         
         Updating is the way to go.
         
         Sorry to hear you were accused of plagiarism. The good news is the original version was recognized by Google. All the more reason to update/edit rather than delete and re-create.

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      Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Jodah is correct. It's much better to update the old article on a word document. One can then copy and paste this into a new capsule as a new paragraphe, or within the text, with new pictures and video. Then hit the publish now button, and viola, you're done.                                    Apparently, a warning will appear when an article is being delete. It's a 24 hour waiting period that the page will be cleared onlne. Some have known to ignore it and go ahead. And the result of re-publishing within this 24-hour period can be plagiarism or duplicate content.

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         Pamela99posted 3 years agoin reply to this

         It is a good idea. Thank you.

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            Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

            Pamela99, you're welcome.

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   john000posted 3 years ago

   So sorry, Pamela, about the accusation. We live in a time of increasing speed. It would be nice if some things had governors, like accusations of plagiarism. Oh, well, be back to the writing board.

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      Pamela99posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you. We do live in a time where things occur with increasing speed So, I leaned a lesson!

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   Brenda Arledgeposted 3 years ago

   Pamela
   Oh wow! 
   I guess deleting it caused the problem, but they certainly should know you better than that after all this time.
   I'm glad it got cleared up.

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      Pamela99posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you Brenda. I guess I need to update and not delete.

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   Charles Emerenwaposted 3 years ago

   So sorry to hear what had happened, Ms Pamela. Thankfully the issue has been cleared and your good name restored. Appreciate you sharing your experience as a testimony of what not to do or how it could have been done better. Will heed the advise moving forward when I plan to update some of my old hubs.

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      Pamela99posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      We learn so much from each other, and from our mistakes. Thank you for commenting, Charles.

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   bhattucposted 3 years ago

   Does it mean that we should not delete it and simply edit and update it online.

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      Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Most assurdly yes. Just update it online and hit publish now button.                                                It's much better if you update on a word document. Then copy and paste on hubpages.

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         Pamela99posted 3 years agoin reply to this

         I appreciate your input, Miebakagh. I think you are right. Thank you.

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      Pamela99posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Some people think that is exactly what we should. If we do want to delete it I think it is important to wait a couple of days before posting it again after updating or rewriting the article.

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   MariaMontgomeryposted 3 years ago

   That happened to me, too, when I was moving some old blog posts to HP. The HP Edit Team told me to delete the old one at least 24 hours before publishing the new one -- also said 48 hours is better. I have re-done a couple of HP articles, too. My reason was to get a better URL. The old ones were too long, and misleading, as the content had changed drastically for the better. Glad you got it straightened out.

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      Pamela99posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you Maria, that sounds like a good timeframe. Articles that I wrote 10 or 12 years ago need updating sometimes.

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   Carola Finchposted 3 years ago

   You also have the option of asking Google (or other browsers, I imagine) to remove the link you want to take down.  I had to do this with a business website that I shut down.  It was up for months otherwise. Here is the link:
   https://developers.google.com/search/do … 2&rd=1

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      Pamela99posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you Carola. I appreciate the link as I didn't know you could do that.

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   Pamela99posted 3 years ago

   I didn't know about the date being kept. The old articles can be updated, but they are never featured in any way, which is another reason I was posting a new article. I appreciate the information you provided.

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    Miebakagh57posted 2 years ago

    Glad the issue is over.

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