On Mon, Sep 20, 2010 at 6:55 PM, Lie Ryan <lie.1...@gmail.com> wrote: > On 09/20/10 19:59, Tim Harig wrote: >> On 2010-09-20, Steven D'Aprano <st...@remove-this-cybersource.com.au> wrote: >>> On Mon, 20 Sep 2010 05:46:38 +0000, Tim Harig wrote: >>> >>>>> I'm not particularly convinced that these are *significant* complaints >>>>> about URL-shorteners. But I will say, of the last couple hundred links >>>>> I've followed from Usenet posts, precisely zero of them were through >>>>> URL redirectors. If I can't at least look at the URL to get some >>>>> initial impression of what it's a link to, I'm not going to the trouble >>>>> of swapping to a web browser to find out. >>>> >>>> But why should the rest of us be penalized because you make the choice >>>> not to use (or not take full advantage of) all of the tools that are >>>> available to you? >>> >>> I'm with Aahz... best practice is to post both the full and shortened >>> URL, unless the URL is less that 78 characters, in which case just post >>> the full version. >> >> Posting two URLs rather defeats the purpose of using a URL shortening >> service in the first place; but, if that is what you feel is effective, >> then by all means, do so. You are the master of your posts and you have >> the right to post them using whatever methods and formating that you >> feel is most effect; but, other people should have the same priviledge. >> >> Many people find tinyurl and kin to be useful tools. If you do not, >> then are free to rewrite them in your reader, ignore posts using these >> services, or even add a rule blocking them to your score/kill file so >> that you do not have to view their ugliness. > > IMO, url-shortener are most (only?) useful in presentations or printed > materials. When you instead have a full-fledged computer, using which > you can just click on the link or copy paste; they're unnecessary and > counter-productive.
I use them when I want to conceal the target of the link. Usually here that just means its a letmegooglethatforyou.com link, which I find more amusing than is probably healthy. Geremy Condra -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list