Hub Content Rules and Guidelines

What prompted me to make this Hub was seeing just how many authors could be on this site for weeks, months or even years when they suddenly got a Hub flagged and found out they didn't actually know the rules that govern what is and what is not acceptable content on the HubPages site.

You'd think that when people did something like register to use a site, they'd read the Terms of Use so that they understood exactly what sort of legal contract they'd just entered into, but it turns out that over 90% of people are willing to just sign up blindly for nearly anything.

However, if you really want to have a productive (and profitable) HubPages experience, it's well worth it to learn the content guidelines and rules. After all, if your Hubs break the rules, they'll be unpublished by the admin team, and then you won't have page views, readers or any potential for advertising income.

At the top of every HubPages page, in the righthand corner is a small button that reads "help." This is one of the most helpful of all help pages on HubPages, as it's the Frequently Asked Questions list, aka the FAQ. This is a reader-friendly version of everything said in the Terms Of Service, along with other common questions about the site. The "questions" are found in the blue boxes that run down the righthand side of the page, and if you click on a question, it will jump you down the page to the specific answer. If you haven't ever read the entire page before, it's really a good idea to do so.

The Terms of Use

Section four of the HubPages terms of use is all about what's NOT allowed in Hub content or what sort of conduct is prohibited. Here are just a few of the points specified. As a HubPages user or Author, you may not create

• Content or links that is pornographic, defamatory, libelous, tortuous, vulgar, obscene, invasive of privacy, racially or ethnically objectionable, hateful, promotes or provides instructional information about illegal activities, or promotes any act of cruelty to animals.
• Use Hubpages, the Website or Service to violate any Federal, state or local laws. Your Hubs must comply with all local laws regarding online conduct and acceptable content.
• Link to pages or sites that are unrelated to the topic and content of Your Hub.
• Impersonate another Author or any representative or employee of Hubpages.
• Create Hubs for any illegal activities or to promote or make solicitations for any illegal or unauthorized activity.
• Harass, threaten or intimidate Authors or others who use the Service.

Really, since every user on the site has legally agreed to abide by these terms (and more), it's important to actually read this entire document.

One thing that is listed in Google's AdSense terms of service that many Hub Authors miss:

Sites with Google ads may not include or link to content regarding programs which compensate users for clicking ads or offers, performing searches, surfing websites or reading emails.

Here's where you can read more about Google's AdSense Program Policy. Remember, if it's against the rules to Google, it's also against the rules at HubPages.

"Flagging" a Hub is when a site user sends an alert to the HubPages admin team to let them know that something about the content of a Hub may be breaking the rules. The flags are not seen by the Hub author. They are just to alert Admin that something may be wrong. If Admin gets a lot of flags about a Hub, they'll be sure to take a look at it quick. In the end, it's Admin's call as to whether a Hub is actually breaking a site content rule or not. If not, the Hub just stays "as is" and the author will never know. If a true problem is found, the Hub will be unpublished by Admin, and an email will be sent to the author letting them know just what the problem was with their Hub. They then have ot edit or fix the content to comply with the rules, and then send an email back to Admin to have it manually approved and republished.

When a Hub is flagged, clicking the "flag this hub" link brings up a list of common problems so that the person reporting it can check off what they think is wrong. This helps Admin review the Hub and find the problem more quickly.

Here is the list of "flags" and the reasoning behind them. These were expanded and updated following the Google "Panda" algorithm adjustment that occurred in February 2011.  Enforcement of these rules was also made more consistent.

• Adult - Contains nudity, lewd or provocative images, sexually explicit content, or links to adult or pornographic sites.
• Overly Promotional - 2 or more links to a single site, purely promotional, or teasers that require you to follow a link to read the full story.
• Mature - Graphic violent or medical images, excessive profanity, or other content not suitable for a general audience.
• Unrelated Links or Products - Promotes sites or products that are unrelated to the content.
• Purely Personal - Not useful, interesting, or easily understandable to someone that does not know the author. This may include Hubs written in the style of a blog or personal journal.
• Deceptive or Miscategorized - Incorrectly categorized, has a misleading title, or has unrelated or excessive tags.
• Watermarked or Pixelated - Contains photos or videos that are low resolution, pixelated, or prominently watermarked.
• Copied Content - Contains content that appears to have been copied from another Hub or site. Please include URL below. If your content was copied without permission, please follow these instructions for filing a DMCA complaint instead.
• Spun or Poorly Translated - Nonsensical or difficult to read, as though it were created by an article spinner or automated translation tool.
• Not written in English - Primarily written in a language other than English.
• Low Quality - Short or unfinished, rife with spelling or grammatical errors, contains a large number of broken links or videos, or is poorly formatted.
• Alcohol or Drug Sales - Contains content promoting, or links to sites that sell beer, wine, alcohol, prescription or illegal drugs, or drug paraphernalia.
• Gambling - Contains content, or links to sites, that promote gambling for money.
• Abuse - Has been promoted using spam, including email, comment, blog, wiki or other types of bulk unsolicted messages.
• Weapon Sales - Contains content, or links to sites, that sell weapons or ammunition.
• Hate Speech or Personal Attack - Contains a personal attack, racist content, or hate speech. This can be either in the Hub or in the comments.
• Other - Violates our Terms of Use in a way other than those listed above