Just my opinion, but it seems like each and every outbound link is getting deleted. The rules say; but I've seen links to BBC news articles and wikipedia pages all get deleted. These are obviously not commercial spam-like links, and also clearly were added because the discussion was on those topics. The web works because of links - why are you suppressing them so much? If I was being cynical, I'd say it seems to be for SEO reasons, but reduced google ranking due to outbound links is a fairly outdated idea now, so I hope I'm wrong on that.
Wikipedia is, I think, very prone to viruses like Trojans. And not everyone has a good anti-virus software. I think I can see the logic.
paranoid much? If you believe wikipedia is a virus risk, then you'd probably best not connect your computer to the internet at all. Or turn it on even. I'm actually totally flabbergasted about what you're saying to be honest. Amazing.
I actually find that very hurtful and offensive. My grandfather was a paranoid and it lead to a lot of family trouble. For example he locked me and my parents in a room all night because he thought people were following him. But in response to your comment. I've had a virus from Wikipedia before. And there is a difference between being 'Paranoid' and being careful.
well, hooray for the profanity filter being turned off. I still believe that outgoing links are beneficial and are being excessively censored. I don't believe the virus risk is that prevalent to be a reason to automatically delete them all.
Yes. I was annoyed. But I wasn't angry. I know Cain wouldn't know about things that have happened to me, and if I upset him in any way then @Cain, dude, I'm sorry. I didn't take any serious offence. I was pointing out that your comment was tactless.
Thank you. I absolutely and wholeheartedly agree with outside links. I recently had a post deleted and not even warned or given a heads up that it had been deleted because of an outside link. However, it was an article about the topic at hand. It was a scientific study article on society. And all though it was done in a blog it wholeheartedly had everything to do with the topic at hand. Moderation has been a little tight here in WF. And some parts I do not think should be moderated so strictly.
I agree with pretty much everyone else in this thread. However, I must question this post that I have quoted. I have never seen Wikipedia transmit any form of virus. Wikipedia is a reputable site and it is not like users can upload their own material to wikipedia. All they are able to edit is basically text documents.
^ I quoted something from Wikipedia in a post on another forum and it transmitted a virus that changed some of the text characters.
I doubt Wikipedia would have done that. Again, however, I do not see how linking to relevant external sites would be a hindrance or degrade the forum in any way. In fact I think it's a limitation of the site which this rule is working in the exact opposite to which it was intended.
I had a link removed, but that was justifiable because I didn't do it correctly. But I did get comments that links weren't 'allowed' which made it seem like they were verboten, period. I can see putting some restrictions on them, but it's difficult to have a thorough discussion of topics if one can't 'back up' one's opinions/statements (or request that others do the same). I just haven't been here long enough to have this be a real issue for me personally, but I can see where it might be in the future.
Gripe noted. Whether or not a rule is popular is not the only consideration. If a link is not essential, or authoritative on a topic, or is on a commercial (and thus biased) site, or just used out of laziness instead of summarizing what the poster wishes to discuss, it will be removed. Site safety is a prime consideration, and we do not have the time to check every offsite link, nor do we wish to place our own computers at risk to do so. And links to wiki pages or other lookups that anyone with a lick of sense can google serve no purpose. We expect members to be capable of looking up terms or concepts they do not immediately understand. Attention, please, regarding offsite links End of discussion.
