Skimlinks trial on MSE forums

robt_2

I agree with that very much. £10 for my old camera on Weebuy, £90 on eBay. It seems it was not checked whether it was money saving at all.

The site is getting more and more commercialised - by stealth, which is exactly what Sinlinks is.

JDPower

Horlock wrote: »

This new thing is not about keeping the site going - it is about making money

And what's wrong with that? I've profited from using this site, I dare say you have in some way too, yet you're saying the people behind it shouldn't profit from it, despite the millions of users who do?

robt_2

JDPower wrote: »

And what's wrong with that? I've profited from using this site, I dare say you have in some way too, yet you're saying the people behind it shouldn't profit from it, despite the millions of users who do?

I think you have missed the point. There is NOTHING wrong with the site making money, and a profit as large as they can manage.

But for a site that loves everything else in life to be financially transparent, they have installed stealth links from content that users have created, and then didn't even bother to tell people. It is double standards.

JDPower

robt wrote: »

and then didn't even bother to tell people

Really?:

MSE_Archna wrote: »

we've put an announcement on every single board in the forum, a note on the right hand site of the forum and it went in the weekly MSE email

:think:

thelawnet

JDPower wrote: »

Really?::think:

Date Skimlinks went active: 5th August 2010
Date email sent out: 18th August 2010.

robt_2

JDPower wrote: »

Really?::think:

Yes. Really.

That was done AFTER people complained. Look at when this thread was started, then look at the date of the announcement in every forum, then look at the date of the email which was sent.

JDPower

And b1tching about it saying the same things over and over again serves what purpose exactly? You clearly don't like it so just opt out, problem solved.

robt_2

JDPower wrote: »

And b1tching about it saying the same things over and over again serves what purpose exactly? You clearly don't like it so just opt out, problem solved.

I corrected something you had wrong, sorry if you didn't like it.

Totality

JDPower wrote: »

And what's wrong with that? I've profited from using this site, I dare say you have in some way too, yet you're saying the people behind it shouldn't profit from it, despite the millions of users who do?

But they're making their profit from the content provided by us, the users, who aren't employed by MSE and don't get paid for contributions.

If MSE were employing people to find all these deals you see each day on the forum, I would be more likely to see the reasoning behind it, although as others have said, having adverts on the site such as Google would likely be more effective.

Opt out is a really, really bad idea. It's hardly made clear in the CP anyway, buried away at the bottom in the hope that people can't see it. Anybody using these forums without logging in, or without even being a member and having no idea about the changes, are being forced to use the new links.

I had already said before the opt out was applied that I wouldn't click any links and I'm sure I'm not alone. Making changes like this will lead to people on some sections of the site simply going elsewhere.

reduceditem

The bottom line is we've been sold down the river.