[X4U] Commentary: Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree

[Nick Scalise]

On Oct 16, 2006, at 7:10 PM, Muckerheide wrote:

> on 10/16/06 7:02 PM, Linda at XPressoBean at mac.com wrote:
>
>> On 10/16/06 5:52 PM, Nick Scalise wrote:
>>
>> > While using tinyurl is fine for some, please include the 'real' URL
>> > so that folks who are apprehensive about obfuscated links can  
>> choose
>> > which way they want to click.
>>
>> Amen. Thanks you, Nick, for saying so. I don't like to click  
>> things that I
>> can't tell where I'll be going!
>>
>> Avoiding pasting HTML takes care of dual URLs like the one I see  
>> in the
>> quoted message.
>>
>> Or use angle brackets in a plain-text message -- which doesn't get  
>> mangled
>> as often.
>> <http://www.law.com/jsp/legaltechnology/pubArticleLT.jsp? 
>> id=1160730321685>
>
> You can turn on “preview” in tinyurl and it will show the URL it  
> will take you to so you can abort if you want.

That may be true, but you are forcing someone to go do something  
extra just for a link.

Wouldn't it be more courteous to include the real link instead of  
asking the dear reader to go and turn something on somewhere else?

As it is, with just the TinyURL, most will just not bother, and the  
link will be ignored.

Additional things to think about:

What about looking at an old email. Will you have remembered to turn  
on preview in your new browser?

What if you have cookies turned off? Does the preview function still  
work?

--
Nick Scalise
nickscalise at cox.net