Skimlinks on Talk

[AmyGMumsnet]

Hi folks,

Some of you might have spotted a few more links in discussions across the site - this is because we're testing out a programme called Skimlinks, which auto-converts some of your brand mentions into links.

This makes it easier for you to have a look at products that other MNers happen to mention on the boards, and, if you decide to make a purchase from one of these links, Mumsnet benefits from a small commission.

Thanks all - let us know if you experience any issues that you think might be related.

MNHQ

Mumsnet have been using affiliate links to get referral fees from links posted by users for years as a revenue stream (I'm unsure how many other users realise this happens). Because of this, I don't click links anyway.

I realise that the users, user content and user data is this site's primary commodity, but to suddenly have lots of auto inserted links not intended by the poster seems particularly intrusive and - to use Mumsnet parlance - grabby.

Will you be using them on the more 'sensitive' groups. I agree that it's one of the less intrusive ways of keeping you in gin paying the bills and better than big intrusive banner ads/popups etc but I'm uncomfortable with the idea that they would appear on threads in areas such as bereavement, relationships etc. Personally I'd also prefer them to be kept out of the health topics too. I'd be particularly unhappy if we got Skimlinks to some of the quackery that gets mentioned from time to time in say the allergy forum.

Do you still apply the same advertiser blacklist that you do to Adsense/Google ads - so no adult/sex ads etc. What are the current blackist categories btw?

@TheSnorkMaidenReturns

Did you deliberately place a link to your local newspaper, or have Skimlinks just outed your location?

MN.... really?

Test....

my local newspaper

YY to the different colour option - I've just clicked twice on tripadvisor on the hipster thread as I assumed it was a link placed by the poster taking me to the specific cafe reviews. Really frustrating to just go to the main tripadvisor page instead.

Don't know if this has been suggested before, but maybe posters could come up with their own convention to distinguish intended links from the skimmed ones. A visual cue, like putting a * star in front and at the end, would mean for eg S&B posters don't waste time clicking dead ends which don't show the product being discussed.
Then we could all see this lovely thing instead of this generic home page!

This I mean

Oh, I see now the colour thing has been suggested .

I'd rather just pay for the ad-free app.
Hell, i'd even subscribe monthly if there was a way of stopping the DM from doing their lazy 'journalism' thing.

Would happily part with a few quid a month to support MN in return for adfree version, and tif the app has very few ads anyway. Not in favour of a tool skimming my posts in this manner.

Thanks for all your feedback, everyone.

We're looking into whether it's technically possible to have no links on sensitive topics - will get back to you as soon as we know more.

RockNRollNerd, we currently won't accept direct advertising from the following companies and types of company:

Payday loans, baby food marketed for babies under 6 months old, follow-on/formula milk, gambling, cosmetic surgery, Nestle (formula milk marketing in the developing world), publications like The Sun, Zoo and FHM which overtly objectify women, porn, and Seaworld.

We also have the following blocks in place for automatically served ads (Adsense/Adwords):
Bingo/lottery, casino/gambling, cigarettes/cigars/tobacco, dating, credit cards, weight loss, gaming/online/video games, guns/ammo/weapons, loans - home/mortgages/students/financial aid, medical - hospitals/plastic surgery/quit smoking, online videos, pharmaceuticals/drugs, religious, psychics, adult sites, virus scanner and credit reporting. And if we spot things we don't like the look of, or MNers report them, we'll block them reactively too.

Hope that helps - we'll get back to you on the Skimlinks questions as soon as we've got more info.

Herewecomeawassailing, here's an example of the kind of native content that Justine talks about in the article.

Hello folks - it looks as though it will be possible to have Skimwords links appear in a different colour to regular links, and to exclude them from sensitive topics as well.

It's going to take a little time but we'll get started on the work tomorrow and keep you updated on progress.

Thanks all

MNHQ

It's literally five mins work!

Ok, that wasn't helpful.

Just need to assign a new CSS class and colour.
Can exclude database entries - such as specific forums in the config for Skim.

It's not just companies now, I wrote camper van earlier and it turned it into a link!

why on earth would you use something that mimics spyware?

i just did a scan on my computer because of these skimlinks things, thinking i'd picked something up.

Please drop them, its ridiculous!

Linking company names is one thing, linking random words so they link to a shop is rubbish.

I've just seen angle g rinder convert to a link to e bay on another thread. This is ridiculously intrusive.

I have just seen fuel pumps. This linked to an ebay selling page of car parts. Enough of the madness.

Oh blimey now my above post has been skim linked to death.

LOLOL - I thought you meant actually linked to death :o

I am your woman if you need any motoring stuff by the looks. Does it work with household stuff?

Sink plunger
Monkey wrench
Lumphammer
Hacksaw

Nope. Just motoring.