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- Livejournal hijacking referral links
Livejournal has added Javascript code to all its pages to edit outgoing links users may post to sites like Amazon that offer referral programs. The code removes affiliate IDs users may include (hoping to get a cut of profits from the links) and replaces them with someone else's ID, presumably Livejournal's or the third party's own (so they get the money instead of the user who posted the link getting the money). Details linked from this Livejournal posting. It appears that at least some of this behaviour was unintended by, or unknown to, at least some of Livejournal's staff; it appears that they didn't actually write the code themselves but got it from the third party and put it on all their pages without knowing exactly what it would do. However, it appears that at least the behaviours of putting in an affiliate ID if none were already present, and of bouncing outgoing links through a third-party server, were intended.
(4 March 2010)- Submission to the 2009 copyright consultation
I've not had much enthusiasm for the copyright wars in the last few years, and I've mostly stayed on the sidelines in the current consultation. It's important stuff, though, and there are only a few days left to make submissions, so this morning I took some time out to prepare the following. You should take a look at the Speak Out On Copyright site and put in your comments, too.
(9 September 2009)- Index of censorship
- Pages on censorship. (15 March 2009)