My spy network reports that while my page is visited, very few of my links are followed, because they are not "hotlinked"- clicking on the URL does not lead straight to the page referenced.
If this were a commercial site, I would be out of business. There are reasons the URL's are not hotlinked, the first being a reprehensible Deadly Sin:
1) I'm lazy (Sin: Sloth). And, I'm not very good at HTML. This blog is not a job. It's simpler to paste the URL of the article after reading it, than to insert HTML tags. And certainly, it raises a barrier to people who just want to read what I've linked to (see #2)
The geeks out there will pillory me for this. How do I expect to drive traffic to my blog, if I'm such a loser?
Simple. I don't care about driving traffic to my site. Once again, the blog is not my day job. It was created to centralize my incessant e-mails and internet posts, and rantings. Consider it a mercy that I'm not info-spamming people anymore. Think of the bandwidth and server space saved! The e-mail admins are pleased...
2) Many other sites require permission for hotlinking. Instead of courting those headaches, I leave the equivalent of Post-It notes, not abusing the content of others. Sure, you have to dial the number on the Post-It. But I'm trying to avoid content issues.
I apologize if this policy makes it more difficult for you to follow content. Yes, I know everyone is busy, and copying and pasting into an address bar takes time, and a little effort.
But, it is not being done to insult you, or make you fall for the "box of chocolates" effect. I just don't have the time to be Yahoo, Wikipedia, or Google. Consider these URL's to be a kind of historical archive, one that you can page through when not busy.
Notes: Many links expire, particularly the MSNBC ones. And some articles get past my "don't hotlink-it" filter, because I like them too much.
Wally.
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