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First, the guy clearly didn't do this, which would have been obvious if you would have taken 5 seconds to check before accusing him. Second, even if he did, so
by ryanwaggoner 16y ago
First, the guy clearly didn't do this, which would have been obvious if you would have taken 5 seconds to check before accusing him.
Second, even if he did, so what? I don't understand this animosity that a large part of hacker news seems to hold toward affiliate links. The tip he shared is clearly useful and might result in someone signing up for a rewards program. Is there anything wrong with him being rewarded for sharing that tip? How are affiliate programs worse than advertising, subscriptions, donation links, or any other form of monetizing content? Or is it literally making money that you object to?
- _delirium 16y agoThe worry about affiliate-link posts, I think, is insincerity: that someone might be flogging a product because it pays them a nice kickback, not because they actually think it's good, or better than an alternative product that doesn't have an affiliate program.
- ryanwaggoner 16y agoIn general, who cares? If the content of the post is good, then it'll get traction on HN. If not, it won't.
- _delirium 16y agoPart of what makes the content of a post good, though, is that it's someone saying something they actually think is true / is good advice / whatever. If someone's saying something because they're being paid to say it, it seems just not worth spending any time on. Same with other kinds of insincere writing; I wouldn't be very interested in someone's story about their startup if it were totally fabricated, for example.
- achille 16y ago> First, the guy clearly didn't do this, which would have been obvious if you would have taken 5 seconds to check before accusing him. Actually he is using affiliate links, it's transparent (see http://skimlinks.com http://skimlinks.com ) See my comment below.