Skimlinks trial on MSE forums

furndire

Amilucky? wrote: »

The referral link has always been sent by MSE so comp organisers have always been able to see that you have come from MSE

the Skimlinks software doesn't change anything in this respect accept that it changes the link to an affilliate one and then re-directs

comp organisers however might not appreciate the fact that you have come from an affiliated link direct to there competition page from MSE

to be quiet honest a lot of comp organisers don't like competition sites as they tend to link direct to there competitions page and miss out on the rest of there site they may dislike MSE compers even more now when the referral link is an affiliated one

the only way to avoid not sending the referral link is by dragging the link into your tab bar or address bar this also stops the link from being re-directed by the Skimlinks software which may be quite good for us compers but it means that MSE lose out on revenue because the link hasn't been re-directed

I have been using the drag n drop method for about 18 months now and it works quite well but my bugbear now is that I am not contributing to mse by clicking on the links

Thanks for the tip, but drag and drop doesn't work with IE version I am using. (correction, it only drags & drops into the same tab) It does in FF
The main problem is the shortened "clicky" buttons that people post. At least if you have the site there you can c&p, or drag & drop.

Amilucky?

furndire wrote: »

Thanks for the tip, but drag and drop doesn't work with IE version I am using. It does in FF
The main problem is the shortened "clicky" buttons that people post. At least if you have the site there you can c&p, or drag & drop.

you can't drag and drop a link into the address bar in IE but you can drag and drop the link into the tab bar in IE and you can do this no matter what the links says

not quite sure why this doesn't work for you are you using the latest version of IE ? if you are using an older version of IE I would recommend upgrading for security reasons

Former_MSE_Dan

Hi furndire (and others who had same problem)

We think the right click issue in IE is now fixed - if youve time to check for us that would be brill

Dan

Horlock

MSE_Dan wrote: »

Hi Horlock,
we communicated this with a bright pink box and link in the right hand side of the forum, not just this board.


Dan

Not meaning to belittle the effort but a "bright pink box" might be noticable if it was stretched the full width of a screen accross the top of the forums.

Sounds like a nice idea but I'm using a 24 inch tft monitor and it isn't even visible when I go to the forums. It's below a bright blue box - which is irrelevant to the forums and below a bright green box - also irrelvant to the forums and above a pink box, a blue box, a purple box and goodness knows what else. It's also hardly an informative box "We are currently trialling 'Skimlinks' software. Click for full info on how this affects the forum".

Given that this little message flys in the face of the ethics of the site I would have thought it might have had some prominence. It's a bit like putting a little yellow box in the bottom left hand corner which says "By the way your private messages can now be viewed by all registered users. Click for full info on how this affects the forum"

Old_Wrinkly

MSE_Dan wrote: »

We do not consider adding in a redirect to the same page

after being redirected elsewhere first?

to be editing a post, but if you do then fair enough.

I do (and I suspect I am not alone).
I also see it as the thin edge of a wedge.

Former_MSE_Dan

Horlock wrote: »

Not meaning to belittle the effort but a "bright pink box" might be noticable if it was stretched the full width of a screen accross the top of the forums.

Sounds like a nice idea but I'm using a 24 inch tft monitor and it isn't even visible when I go to the forums. It's below a bright blue box - which is irrelevant to the forums and below a bright green box - also irrelvant to the forums and above a pink box, a blue box, a purple box and goodness knows what else. It's also hardly an informative box "We are currently trialling 'Skimlinks' software. Click for full info on how this affects the forum".

Given that this little message flys in the face of the ethics of the site I would have thought it might have had some prominence. It's a bit like putting a little yellow box in the bottom left hand corner which says "By the way your private messages can now be viewed by all registered users. Click for full info on how this affects the forum"

Thanks, this is helpful - we will take it into account when making our decisions in future

furndire

MSE_Dan wrote: »

Hi furndire (and others who had same problem)

We think the right click issue in IE is now fixed - if youve time to check for us that would be brill

Dan

Thanks
Seems to work. At least now I can get the address from properties to copy & paste into another tab.
Is this because the skimlink is hidden & so if I don't c&p, they still know where we are coming from ??????????

BargainGalore

Here is another example tonight of a genuine link turning into a MSE affilate link

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2653383

This is to thehut.co.uk

What is shown in post

http://www.thehut.com/games/platforms/xbox-360/wanted-weapons-of-fate/10035152.html

which is

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/redir/5d857493?id=3196X602032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.moneysavingexpert.com%2Fredir%2F5d857493%3Fid%3D3196X602032%2!!!!%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.thehut.com%252Fgames%252Fplatforms%252Fxbox-360%252Fwanted-weapons-of-fate%252F10035152.html


http://www.thehut.com/games/platforms/xbox-360/wanted-weapons-of-fate/10035152.html?awc=2547_1281473898_67071a619d98edc7b3d1a13eb566eb8b&affil=awin

Its is very hard now to check who is gaining you have to do much more digging around thsi will cause problems and people may get accused of posting affiliate links as has already happened the other day

robt_2

BargainGalore wrote: »

Here is another example tonight of a genuine link turning into a MSE affilate link

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2653383

This is to thehut.co.uk

What is shown in post

http://www.thehut.com/games/platforms/xbox-360/wanted-weapons-of-fate/10035152.html

Exactly - right click the link and copy it, paste it into notepad and see what it REALLY is. It is blatant disguise of a link and totally contradicts what Dan has said that 'no content is changed'.

I also agree with what someone else above said that the 'pink box' might as well not be there (and I suspect the whole point of it being small is so that people don't see it). Why don't you make an announcement above the forums like you do planned maintenance. Everyone sees that.

Here is a direct quote from the 'How this site is financed' page.

We want you to know when links are affiliated...
Unlike many sites that use affiliate links, we're very deliberate about including a * after every one of them. This is so that you know which links contribute to the site and which don't, so you can make your own decision.

And wherever there's a * link, there's a full explanation at the bottom of the page where an unaffiliated version of the same link is included, so you can check there's no difference.

Not so transparent anymore is it?

BargainGalore

another post too https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2619547

original link www.thorntons.co.uk

but its http://www.thorntons.co.uk/ThorntonsSite/pages/home/default.asp?affiliatecode=aw

Its very hard now checking not impossible but this may cause problems with false accusations