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Linode VPS Review

feross.org

13 pointsfeross9 comments

Referral links all the way through the post every time Linode is mentioned, not really cool.

It makes what might be an interesting post read as an advertisement, which lets face it, it basically is.

I thought the exact same thing. blah

I've always hoped one day it'll become "standard" to have a disclaimer at the top with an "enable" and "disable" button for affiliate links, which is just simple javascript that switches out the affiliate links if the user opts to disable.

I didn't even get past the "Pure. Concentrated. Awesome." header, the douchey picture, and "You Should Follow Me" when I closed the tab and decided that I have absolutely no interest in this person or what he has to say.

So you're proposing that affiliate links should be reserved to shaddy, useless articles wereas actually well written, useful articles should avoid it ? I understand the conflict of interest of course...

Opinion: This shadiness is not in having a referral link at the beginning of the article which seems to be the "accepted" way. The problem arises when almost every noticeable use of the word is a link and a referral code. Note probably not an automated replace but a conscious selection.

What I'm suggesting is that any article which appears to have been written for the primary purpose of driving affiliate traffic, as this one appears to have been done, is shady.

What I'm wondering is why 12 people voted up this spam on HN in the first place.

To be fair, not all of the references to Linode are links. And he does end the article with:

"If you want to sign up, use my referral link and I’ll get a couple weeks of free hosting. If you prefer not to, here’s the plain link: Linode.com"

It's not like he's hiding it.

On the other hand, it does read like an advert. Had it contained some useful original information, it would be a different matter I think.

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