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A longer tooltip would be useful but I'm surprised that that is the approach you're taking given that you're generally fairly security conscious. With this approach you're effectively clicking on links blind other than seeing some of the domain. You can often get an idea of what you're about to click on from the URL which is no longer possible on this site.
Out of curiosity, is it an aesthetic choice or for another reason?
aggi-
It's for multiple reasons.
We do strip the protocol "http://" bit from the front as an aesthetic thing, but that isn't why we don't put the full unadulterated URL up.
The reasons start with security, then enhancing the content, and finally our business model:
- Prevent spam:
- We can shut down all links to a domain centrally, without requiring us to edit the affected comments.
- We can identify how many people were affected, which clients (mobile apps or web sites) generated most traffic to those, and which comments contain the spam. Meaning we can remove it easier and manage any fallout.
- We can shut down all links to a domain centrally, without requiring us to edit the affected comments.
- Prevent malware/phishing: Much like the spam argument, we can analyse destinations and use the redirection service to warn people about the destination before they reach it.
- Media embedding: When we detect new domains rising in popularity (clicks via the redirect) we can go look at whether there is extra info that we could be showing along side the link. i.e. the video next to a YouTube link, a map next to a RideWithGPS link.
- Affiliates: Microcosms only revenue right now is affiliate links. We both want to ensure that these are used, and also that the reporting from our partners reflect the click-throughs that we see (that they're being honest). If this isn't working, we're going to have to consider display adverts and everyone prefers the forum without display ads.
The affiliates is important, but could've been done client-side so wasn't enough to force this. Nor was media embedding, which we could figure out vaguely from client-side scripting.
But the spam and malware prevention are both very real issues that are important. Those weigh heavily in this, and that it then simplifies the other things helps too.
There's a lot of forum spam. Hell, there's even this http://www.stopforumspam.com/ and if you look on there you'll see the most recent additions are at the rate of 2 spammers added to their database every second.
Each spammer will try and hit as many forums as possible. It's an absolute deluge of spam.
Not publishing links in full, and being able to disable all links a spammer makes from a central switch... is a lifesaver and a very big deterrent (they go for easy targets).
- Prevent spam:
Velocio
Happy to extend the amount of the URL that is in the tooltip, but there is no intention to show the full and unedited URL at any point.