Cox Crow
Asking the Stupid Questions Since 1971
Wednesday, April 02, 2003Referring Trends
Radio Userland and some other aggregators cause the HTTP Referer (sic) header to be set with the URL of a page describing the aggregator. However, this doesn't have a damn thing to do with referring. My memory is poor, but I recall a gung-ho celebration of this, even on my part, because if the URL includes a reference to the subscriber, then you have some clue who's reading you. However, it drowns out any impression of who might be linking to you. If my logs are any indication, Radio and NewsMonster are the only aggregators who still do this.
See also: fishbowl kottke kalsey 0xdecafbad markpasc philringnalda Greg Reinecker
But what was the problem that the referral was meant to address? Identifying which RSS item is being followed to your site. Who is talking about you; not who is reading you. The problem definition was confused.
Yet again I wish for a quick means to submit patches to Userland, because, really, this feature should be rolled back globally.
12:31:03 PM # Google It!
Translation: Go Away
David Fletcher remarks
California's Do Not Call registry is being hit by 215 users per minute. The California registry will be merged with the FTC's national registry later this year. Obviously, this is a very popular service. I think that the implications for the telemarketing industry are enormous.
In case the telemarketing industry happens by this page, let me make those implications perfectly clear: We hate you. We want you to go away and leave us alone. Die Spambot, Die.
12:00:25 PM # Google It!
