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I understand that the submission is going to naturally draw people who already have an interest in affiliate links, however I still have to ask -- are people re

I understand that the submission is going to naturally draw people who already have an interest in affiliate links, however I still have to ask -- are people really this profoundly naive? Is there a complete ignorance about the whole unavoidable reality of conflicts of interest? Why do you think Amazon has affiliate links? Why are they busy handing out millions (though, as so many say, it's "free") to thousands of shills pimping products and consumerism? Why don't they eliminate the product because people are just naturally talking about things they like.

batista 14y ago
>I understand that the submission is going to naturally draw people who already have an interest in affiliate links, however I still have to ask -- are people really this profoundly naive? Is there a complete ignorance about the whole unavoidable reality of conflicts of interest? Why stop there? Do you assume people are THAT naive to not be able to tell a honest review/mention + link from a dishonest push? >Why do you think Amazon has affiliate links?* To get people to send traffic to them? >Why are they busy handing out millions (though, as so many say, it's "free") to thousands of shills pimping products and consumerism? Amazon is pro-consumerism? I'd never...
- huggyface 14y ago
  Do you assume people are THAT naive to not be able to tell a honest review/mention + link from a dishonest push? You underestimate the influence of a conflict of interest: The people peppering their entries with affiliate links will probably pass a lie detector test that they are just completely "honest", but the pervasive influence and guiding force is inevitable. The moment you're being effectively paid to pitch something, your opinion loses all merit.
  - batista 14y ago
    >The moment you're being effectively paid to pitch something, your opinion loses all merit. Your statement doesn't hold for everyone, YMMV. Especially since the "effectively" is quite obscure when talking about "affiliate" links where one can chose among products he DOES respect. By your logic people wouldn't trust magazine and site reviews, since they carry ads from the companies making the products...

batista 14y ago

>I understand that the submission is going to naturally draw people who already have an interest in affiliate links, however I still have to ask -- are people really this profoundly naive? Is there a complete ignorance about the whole unavoidable reality of conflicts of interest? Why stop there? Do you assume people are THAT naive to not be able to tell a honest review/mention + link from a dishonest push? >Why do you think Amazon has affiliate links?* To get people to send traffic to them? >Why are they busy handing out millions (though, as so many say, it's "free") to thousands of shills pimping products and consumerism? Amazon is pro-consumerism? I'd never...

huggyface 14y ago
Do you assume people are THAT naive to not be able to tell a honest review/mention + link from a dishonest push? You underestimate the influence of a conflict of interest: The people peppering their entries with affiliate links will probably pass a lie detector test that they are just completely "honest", but the pervasive influence and guiding force is inevitable. The moment you're being effectively paid to pitch something, your opinion loses all merit.
- batista 14y ago
  >The moment you're being effectively paid to pitch something, your opinion loses all merit. Your statement doesn't hold for everyone, YMMV. Especially since the "effectively" is quite obscure when talking about "affiliate" links where one can chose among products he DOES respect. By your logic people wouldn't trust magazine and site reviews, since they carry ads from the companies making the products...