Hi,
I just now found this thread and as I understand the rules, I've probably unintentionally broken them too by posting links to the US Census website in my last post. (Or does that not count?)
I think the thing that throws newbies who inocently post links is that we just look at other messages and figure whatever kinds of links other people are posting must be ok for everyone. IMHO the best solution might be to include a "rules about posting links" section with a BOLDed headline in the confirmation email you send to all new members. It wouldn't phase the spammers, but it probably would cut down on inocent tresspassers like me.
FWIW: You'll notice that in my "Is This True..." post, each link is preceeded by a proper page title so people who don't want to use the link can navigate to the pages directly. That's because one of my own pet peeves is people who use links to "tinyurl" or some similar redirect site that hides the true name and nature of the site you're being sent to. IMHO that's enough of a security risk that I simply don't click on such links. Any rules about that practice here?
Mathew Green
(still green as grass in the rainy season, but learning...
)