Possible Duplicate:
Using affliate links in answer/question
Update: just found out that the db.tt
links are not only used for all new referrals, but also for URLs to public files (for now: only if explicitly shortened by a user). I guess that makes blocking the referrals impossible — unless the risk for link rot in such Dropbox shares is considered too high too. Also, as most answers are about whether or not referral links are acceptable, I am asking to merge the answers with Using affliate links in answer/question.
If Jeff's July 2009 statement is still authoritative:
Personally, I would flag any affiliate links as spam.
Appropriate on your blog, but not on a public forum, IMO.
As far as I know, Dropbox referrals are for extra disk space (for both parties), not for money. So I guess rewriting like the Amazon links makes no sense here. So just like lmgtfy links are banned: can we ban Dropbox referrals? If yes, then things like:
www.dropbox.com/referrals/NXXzMDXXXjk
(source)www.getdropbox.com/referrals/NXXzMDXXXjk
(source)(Thoughdb.tt/NXXzMDXXXjk
(source)db.tt
is used for al new referrals, it is also used for shortened links to public file. Guess that cannot be blocked then.)
I've also seen one referral to SugerSync, but I guess it is too dangerous to ban all /referral
URLs?
www.sugarsync.com/referral?rf=bcnxxxxd6wban
(source)
(The above referral ids are mangled, but could be real after all. Some use TinyURL links, but you cannot get them all. As for non-hidden referrals, let me quote Shog9: how would you feel if I edited your answer [...] and added my own affiliate link.)
[feature-request]
about automating the blocking (which I changed into[discussion]
after I gave up that request). Possibly because I should have used explicit links rather than starting with "If Jeff's July 2009 statement is still authoritative", and instead of using inline links to refer to old discussions about wether or not such links are acceptable to start with... (That aside, I think both referrals and affiliate links are evil, as you never know if their handling might change in the future.) – Arjan Feb 9 '11 at 14:04