Signature Links

[PMcDonald]

Just wondering why the signature links are being edited. I come here to provide meaningful content and to engage in lively conversation and as everyone, put my business links in the the signature file and I logon today to see my signature links coming up as http://www.********.com.

Just curious what's up with that?

[Erin Pavlina]

There are certain words that the software won't allow written out. PM me your url and let me have a look.

[Shamou]

Could there be an obscene word in that link...???

Obscene words are automatically replaced with ******

.

[Max Power]

Originally Posted by PMcDonald

Just wondering why the signature links are being edited. I come here to provide meaningful content and to engage in lively conversation and as everyone, put my business links in the the signature file and I logon today to see my signature links coming up as http://www.********.com.

Just curious what's up with that?

This is non of my business and I'm not targting your links but I'm going to throw my 10 cents There's a fine line between adding value to a public forum where you want to be part of a community and posting without much relevance and/or depth for the sake of getting your link added.

Moderators should be careful that the integrity of the forum is maintained otherwise people who add the most value will leave. I enjoy lively discussion and there are some brilliant people here, but others post meaningless crud or constant streams of one liners for the sake of linking.

This is not my place, but I would be disappointed if moderators/Steve/Erin would let it sink to the depths of some other forums on similar topics that have turned into ad spots and meaningless drivel.

Now I must fly I can sense a disturpance in the Max Power energy field, someone need's 'Max Power genuine link free assistance'

Max

[Savage]

This forum is frequently targeted by spammers and internet marketers using signature links to promote all kinds of product and affiliate sales pages with no actual content (until after they capture your email address for lead generation). Those kinds of links get killed.

As Max Power implied, it's important to be vigilant in preventing these forums from becoming a free-for-all for internet marketers who are mainly here for list-building purposes. That would take the forums in the wrong direction and flood the place with fluff posts from people who only care about the link they're getting.

Lately there's been a ton of LoA-related signature spam, obviously driven by the success of The Secret. Some spammers have even created multiple fake accounts to recommend products and build a fake circle of agreement around it. Periodically I do a round of house cleaning to clear them out.

Some sites (like mothering.com) charge money for signature links, but I figure it's best to keep them free and just moderate the occasional abuse.

Basically my rule of thumb is that if I follow the link, and the only thing there is a sales pitch, it gets nuked.