There is a new problem showing up, URL cloaking, for those that do not know what that is, it is quite simply, hiding the real URL! Yes, there are sites that offer short URLs, like TinyURL.com, and, for some things this could be ok, but, with all of the virus and spyware out there, hidden or “cloaked” URLs are not acceptable on a traffic exchange. Now don’t get me wrong, TinyURL.com is not a bad site, in fact, if you use Twitter, you URLs could show up using that service, and TinyURL.com offers a “preview” feature, which will allow you to see the site, before you go there.
Anyway, I am not just talking about shortened URLs, I am talking about this new wave of “Flash Pages” and the like. Why are they so bad? SPAM! Yes, that and other potential spyware that is being added in these hidden URLs. Now, I know that most folks using these things, think it is just a cool way of advertising both, their site and the third party site, thus giving you more credit on another site, what you may not know, is these pages are adding dangerous tracking cookies and are hiding things that are potentially even worse!
I monitor this site, both by surfing many hours a day, and by checking each and every URL submitted, and, in the past, I had approved many of these sites, just out of ignorance I guess, but guess what, I started getting SPAM email from several new sources, and upon further investigation, I found that it was some of these “flash” or “landing” page sites, some using frames and such that allow a hidden site to pop-up randomly, much like a rotator, which is also not allowed. So, from now on, there is yet another new rule, NO HIDDEN URLs! If you cannot use the real URL of your domain, DON’T bother submitting it! I know there are several currently in rotation here, I am putting a bounty on them! If, you should find a suspect site, report it and if it is a bad site, you will get a bonus! If you are the submitter of these type of URLs, you may as well delete them, as I will be hunting them down and suspending them. Hey, don’t take it personal, you can submit the actual URL for your site, but, I HATE SPAM and those promoting it will be removed! Thanks for surfing!
OK, maybe I am just in the right mood, maybe it is part of a plan, either way, it is better for everyone! I am once again, changing a few things, that should be better for everyone.
Every once in a while, we all have to make decisions and choices, that do not, at first, seem to be fair. I have to say, I have noticed that these choices are doing something, yes, obviously the volume of traffic has gone down, seemingly drastic at first, but now, not so much.
Where I used to get maybe 20 or so, organic or search engine referral visits to my sites, I am now seeing hundreds, from 2-10 % on one, up to 45% , 54%, with direct traffic, that tells me that the powers that be, Google, are now seeing my sites differently. I have one, that when it debuted was a PR4, then rather quickly went down to a 2, and yes, Google did change up a bit, but now, due to the better traffic, I am expecting it to go way up.
Well, it is done! I sent out emails, yet we still had many that didn’t come back and login and surf, so, all but the ones that are obvious referrers, meaning, they had well over 10,000 credits on their account, have been deleted. I am going to guess here, but I believe it was somewhere around 50-60 members, that is a pretty good chunk, but, I had to do it to clean up the database so that the surf will run smoothly for the rest of us.
Well, the vacation is now long over, and after getting a few other things done, I realized that I had forgotten to write a post here, sorry. During my vacation, I somehow managed to shop, fish, eat, spend time with the family, and even get sites approved and surf! I have to admit, when my daughter first got here, I didn’t think I was going to survive. Since she is only in her twenties, she still has the ability to run all day long, doing those things young women do, like shop! I must have walked a thousand miles!
Just in case you didn’t get the email, here is whats up. As brief a summary as I can write, you know me, I get long winded, my daughter, who lives in Germany, and is a German, is here with her boyfriend for their second visit. Yes, this is a big deal for me. I sent out an email about a week ago, letting everyone know that I will be a bit busy, yes, I am checking sites and approving them as always, but, I am not quite as active as normal, so, the reason for this post is to thank you all for surfing and being patient with me during this time.
Hey everybody, we did it! A new Milestone has been reached! The total was actually a bit higher, but I caught it right on 600,000, I believe it got up to 600,090 or something before the last day on the list rolls over to zero, anyway, we did it!
We have all had bad days, but I have had a tough week!
Hey, I hate to sound this way, but I have had enough! We are getting about 2-20 new members, every day, yes, this is a good thing, BUT, there are a few here and there, that sign-up and never surf! As you all know, I will not activate any sites that belong to an account that has not surfed the required minimum, and I had been sending one email a week, on Tuesday, alerting New Members that if they did not surf, they would lose their account, but, there will be NO MORE emails of that sort!
Many of our members are hard workers and surf very regularly, that is why this traffic exchange is one of the exchanges that are growing, and not shrinking in our traffic output.
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