4 ms·

What do you find sneaky about affiliate links?

• jessaustin 13y ago
  There is nothing sneaky per se about affiliate links. I certainly expect them on most sites. I have wondered, however, about HN links to what were essentially affiliate-link farms. It seems to muddle the purpose of interaction on HN: is the link here because it is interesting, or because it might make somebody a few dollars? I think if gaming HN becomes common, HN won't be as valuable to all of us. So it's something of a moral duty to punish attempts at gaming. (Commercial attempts, anyway. If it's for the lulz then it's probably OK.)
  • jlarocco 13y ago
    If it's interesting enough that significant numbers of people click through then I'm not sure it matters.