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Banning URL shorteners

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Gamingphreek said:
I think the above post was asking about integrating it with the forums so everyone registered here didn't need to be running Firefox with an extension.

I might have misunderstood though.
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Yes it was suggested as a possibility of having a script on VB that does the same.
 
Numenorean said:
BS
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Why is that so hard to believe?

Honestly how many people use the URL Shorteners outside of their sigs to link to products? Not nearly as many.

Not to mention I sincerely doubt that a few Shortened URL's here and there affect AT's revenue enough to notice.

-Kevin
 
Gamingphreek said:
Why is that so hard to believe?

Honestly how many people use the URL Shorteners outside of their sigs to link to products? Not nearly as many.

Not to mention I sincerely doubt that a few Shortened URL's here and there affect AT's revenue enough to notice.

-Kevin
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I use tinyurl for anything that would otherwise be redirected using dynamite data because dynamite data is stupid slow.

They make money off of it, of course they are going to get rid of the way around it and force people to click through their crap. I won't support it though.
 
According to the moderator threads on URL shorteners, where this was discussed for days, Kim Jung Il was mentioned, but dynamite detonator wasn't.

As far as "Did we have some kind of link issues that none of the regular members seem to have noticed?" the answer is a mixed yes and no. All it takes is one member to notice and click on the report post button. Thus, must of the members won't have a chance to see the problem.

Just for one example, some of you might recall a particular UFO blog site spammer who kept posting links here to ridiculous articles elsewhere (not posting the articles, just the links.) He was warned about spamming his own website. He continued. His website was added to the censor list. So, he started using URL shorteners to spam his website.

In Hot Deals, there have been many instances of people using URL shorteners to try to sneak past the ban on referral links. On just one day, about 2 weeks ago, I believe there were 8 or 9 that I cleaned up, which ultimately led to the discovery that the person(s) posting them were a spammer - multiple accounts, same IP address, and had been here for 2 or 3 years very slowly spamming their company's products.
 
DrPizza said:
According to the moderator threads on URL shorteners, where this was discussed for days, Kim Jung Il was mentioned, but dynamite detonator wasn't.

As far as "Did we have some kind of link issues that none of the regular members seem to have noticed?" the answer is a mixed yes and no. All it takes is one member to notice and click on the report post button. Thus, must of the members won't have a chance to see the problem.

Just for one example, some of you might recall a particular UFO blog site spammer who kept posting links here to ridiculous articles elsewhere (not posting the articles, just the links.) He was warned about spamming his own website. He continued. His website was added to the censor list. So, he started using URL shorteners to spam his website.

In Hot Deals, there have been many instances of people using URL shorteners to try to sneak past the ban on referral links. On just one day, about 2 weeks ago, I believe there were 8 or 9 that I cleaned up, which ultimately led to the discovery that the person(s) posting them were a spammer - multiple accounts, same IP address, and had been here for 2 or 3 years very slowly spamming their company's products.
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For these reasons and more, URL shorteners can die in a fiery pit in hell. Please eliminate them 🙂
 
Numenorean said:
I use tinyurl for anything that would otherwise be redirected using dynamite data because dynamite data is stupid slow.

They make money off of it, of course they are going to get rid of the way around it and force people to click through their crap. I won't support it though.
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So you are willing to sacrifice security to save literally like 1-2 seconds at best. Please don't ever try and manage any computers outside of your own...
 
alkemyst said:
because people don't channel surf.

Do you go out in public in a sealed bubble?
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Channel Surfing, the internet.... same thing :roll;. [sarcasm]You know I think I actually caught a cold just by watching the TV the other day.[/sarcasm]

You know the internet has way more potential to harm someone clicking mindlessly around than a TV does simply by flipping channels.

I honestly cannot believe you are actually arguing this to be completely honest.
 
erikistired said:
trolling tfi? that's a new low for you alkie.
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I am trolling?

I don't agree with the URL changes here. I know it's not my decision to make, but I am hardly trolling.

My PC's are set up to let any surf the way they want. I try to limit the book buring facism within the business model.
 
I can respect (but disagree) with your objections with no problem whatsoever.

But honestly equating channel surfing and the internet and then saying it is perfectly ok to haphazardly click around links on the internet is not good support at all.
 
people do this all the time with their little loved ones in the room.

oh noes intercourse, dismemberment, profanity, etc.
 
erikistired said:
what are you talking about? you're seriously comparing channel surfing to getting duped into clicking a malware link?
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Right because the average person wants convenience and doesn't live in fear that every link will unpimp their gaming box.

This keeps my side business a float.

If you have your browser and preventative measures set up correctly, you shouldn't live in fear of surfing the web.

Sure URL shorteners will be abused, but so is EVERYTHING.
 
alkemyst said:
Right because the average person wants convenience and doesn't live in fear that every link will unpimp their gaming box.

This keeps my side business a float.

If you have your browser and preventative measures set up correctly, you shouldn't live in fear of surfing the web.

Sure URL shorteners will be abused, but so is EVERYTHING.
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Nobody is saying that you should live in fear. Nobody even implied that.

But it is reckless and irresponsible to assume that you can just click haphazardly around the internet without repercussion. Additionally, the repercussions don't necessarily just affect you! How do you think botnets get started, how do you think E-Mail spam chains get started?

And having a patched system with A/V installed is just skimming the surface. If that were the end all be all then my job would be a lot simpler. You don't have to live in fear, but just be aware that malicious code is out there are extremely common.

Like I said earlier, Zero Day exploits have to start somewhere.

Sacrificing a significant portion of security just to save a second or two or immature and irresponsible. People that do that are one of the major reasons why malicious code is so prevalent and why we have these huge problems.

Just because you CAN surf the web haphazardly, doesn't mean you SHOULD.

-Kevin
 
had nothing to do with CAN, but WANT.

I am sure you probably have a full encrypted HD with nothing that's worth stealing too.

Most people want convenience, they want to click on everything.

We are getting off-topic on this though.
 
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