There are few people I hate in this world. I think I can count them on one hand, mostly on two fingers. We all have them, people who did us wrong and taught us to disrespect, dread, dislike, and even hate them. As tolerant as we wish we all were, that’s just the way of the world.
When it comes to fellow bloggers and web publishers, I can only think of one that would make it onto my list, which actually puts me into quite a quandary. He and his minions publish quality content worthy of linking and promoting, but I have to debate every time whether or not to link as I want to do nothing to support, endorse, or connect with this person.
You may never have this situation, but you might.
Let’s take this down a few notches. Just like you wouldn’t invest in companies dealing with oil, tobacco, guns, or other things you object to on ethical or moral grounds, there may be bloggers or blogs dealing with those subjects, or those who blog with a bias slant to whom you won’t link.
What are your guidelines, rules, and lines you will cross to blog or not blog?
Consider to what you will or will not link? Personally, I won’t link intentionally to porn sites or blogs, gambling, cigarette and tobacco, violent, and fear monger sites. I’m sure there are other categories of content I will not endorse, but those are my core nots.
I also make it a standard to not link to sites with plagiarized content or those abusing trademarks such as spelling WordPress with a lowercase “P.” The latter is a tough one as there are some great articles out there on WordPress written with the lowercase P. I believe it is a sign of disrespect as well as a failure to pay attention to details, which matter greatly in web design and development, so I always have an inner date over whether or not to link.
We all have our link limits. What are yours?
Your blog exercise today is to consider this and test your integrity. There may not be someone on your hate list or black list, but if there was, what would be your personal policies on how to handle that?
Nothing like an ounce of prevention to help you prepare for the inevitable.
If you get requests for links and link exchanges that you accept or consider, defining the types of sites you will or will not link to is critical. Consider them and add the generalized list to your blog policies.
Consider adding your black list subject matter to your policies anyway. It helps reinforce your reputation for quality, and your personal integrity, to be clear about the links you will or will not publish.
Remember to include a hat tip link back to this post to create a trackback if you choose to write about this topic or directly blog this exercise, or leave a properly formed link to your post in the comments so participants can check out your blog exercise task.
You can find more Blog Exercises on Lorelle on WordPress. This is a year-long challenge to help you flex your blogging muscles.
Via Feedburner
Subscribe by Email
Lorelle on WordPress 
15 Comments
Great points Lorelle. Since returning to WordPress.com from self hosting, I have picked up many wonderful followers. And those others – who are in my view not genuine because they are attempting to get you into a money scheme in some way shape or form. I can’t stop them from subscribing, or block their ‘Likes’ either. It bothers me a great deal. I will have nothing to do with them and hit delete. What do you think?
Spammers are spammers. Mark them as spam and get on with your life. Don’t give them thought. Seriously. They don’t deserve your attention.
You can’t stop people from subscribing or liking. Just ignore them and focus on the true purpose of your site. These creeps suck your energy away. Mark them as spam and go on. Seriously.
I’m trying to knock them out, not much luck. I have added them as they come in, to my blacklisted list in the Admin area. It doesn’t stop them. Frustrating.
Don’t even bother with blacklisting. That’s another time waster. Just mark them as spam and forget about them. Akismet stops them. You can’t but you can help by marking comment spam as spam. As for the likes and registration, they don’t win with that and it only bogs down servers. It doesn’t impact you so ignore it. Focus on the better things in life. 😀
I usually won’t read anything which spells WordPress with the small P. But, I will leave them a note about it, especially the people writing about blogging, etc.
I am pretty easy going about linking. I link to sites which I want to come back to read again myself. It’s more about checking links, dead heading them, that give me issues to sort out. How long do you keep a link up when the site has faded? I have to decide between feeling disloyal and feeling I’m being too kind.
I came to your site from 9Rules just now. I’m still linking to them. The 9Rules blog posted in March, but it was splog. I was so proud to be picked for 9R at the time. Now it’s not so easy to dump the badge even when I know it’s really worth nothing, or very little, at this point.
You make some great points, Lorelle. Linking can be tricky, particularly when you’re not a fan of their beliefs. I do enjoy reading your posts. You’ve got some great info that you freely share. I thank you for that.
Hi Lorelle,like your article.It is very informative.Specially for link building.I know that google does not like our sites linking to sites which are spammy.I know a tool which google has provided which is called a link disavow from which you can remove all the spammy links incase there are spammy links pointing to your site.Again thanks for spreading awareness about link building
So glad to see someone addressing values and blogging. It comes up far too infrequently.
I frequently get requests to publish my dog posts on training sites that sell inhumane products or are affiliated with trainers who don’t use current, scientific methods. Even if I was willing to have my work affiliated with ideas I disagree with, I don’t think my readers would ever forgive me.
Glad you have clear standards on this. So many don’t. Thanks!
Two thoughts regarding what you wrote, Lorelle:
1. I think your issue with the small “P” is a bit of an exaggeration. I’d be fine with it if it was an itching pet peeve, but holding quality material from your readers — the ones you should care about the most as an author — just because somebody didn’t pay enough attention to a “P” is wrong.
2. My bigger problem is that you say you won’t link to quality content, because you hate someone on a personal level. There are more than a few bloggers I’ve come to dislike after 8 years of blog curation, but if what they write benefits my audience, you bet I’m going to link to them. (Without ignoring your spam, porn, etc…criteria)
Just my two cents.
Those are good cents. Everyone has their rules, guidelines, moral values, and policies on what they will or will not link to. That is the point of this exercise. Mine are mine, and yours are yours.
As for the WordPress Community, I’m actually stunned when I see what they will and will not link to when it comes to standards and honoring the WordPress trademark and policies. Some people take their Ps seriously. To them, it is a sign that this person isn’t paying attention to details, something you would not wish for in a web designer and developer where a semi-colon can make or break a website. I’m glad I am a little more lax in my personal attitude about things but I respect their loyalty to the brand.
I respect that, Lorelle. I only commented directly on yours because I hold you high up in my ladder of blogging and etiquette. The more I thought about it, we all have our pet peeves, yeah.
P.S.: I just changed my WordPress footer credit to a big “P” 😉
LOL! Good for you.
Thank you for the complement. You are right. We all have our pet peeves, the “itches” you mentioned. If it serves you, great. However, if it represents the feelings of a significant population, and that population represents a good section of your audience, it may influence your attitude about linking.
Linking isn’t always about SEO and attention-getting. That is why articles on linking in these blog exercises and articles I’ve written on the subject over the years are important. They help us see the value in linking from a new perspective, giving it the credit it deserves. Sometimes a link is just a link. Sometimes a link changes a life. Most of all, links are letters of recommendation. Recommend well.
Again, thank you for your kind words.
Brilliantly put. I’m gonna copy and save this for future use! (with attribution of course)
LOL! Love it.
7 Trackbacks/Pingbacks
[…] Blog Exercises: When Will You Not Link? […]
[…] Blog Exercises: When Will You Not Link? […]
[…] Blog Exercises: When Will You Not Link? […]
[…] Blog Exercises: When Will You Not Link? […]
[…] Blog Exercises: When Will You Not Link? […]
[…] too. In these Blog Exercises I’ve brought up several controversial issues including the ethics of choosing which types of sites you will link to in your post content. The ethics of linking goes deep, influencing readers as well as search […]
[…] Blog Exercises: When Will You Not Link? […]