Ha. Look at me with the protesting and running, and the people doing my arguing for me, even when I wasn't. Yay Buffistas.

First, I know it was a brainstorm, Gus, so smooches right back atcha, in a chaste desert way, of course. I'm just reacting to having anything automatically insert marketing links into my content. That would upset me. That's why I refuse to get gmail. It's fundamentally against the way I think about mindshare.

Secondly, I think upstream I mentioned that most of the objection to affiliate links last round of this was probably me, and that I'm less grumpy about it these days.

aurelia correctly remembers part of my original objection. I still don't shop at Amazon, probably for the same philosophical reason ita doesn't. I hold my techie grudges long and firmly. I do, however, shop at bn.com when necessary, so I'm not as loyal an indie as all that. (Although, of course, my meatspace location has neither large corporate bookstores or quaint indie ones. Good library, though.) Again, this is my own personal grudge, and of course other people (including my SO) shop at Amazon, and that's just fine for them. If they do so through Jon's buffista account, so much the better.

The other part of my earlier objection was along the lines of what Gus was interpolating; that is, that I see plenty of advertising all over the web, and since we're paying for this particular site our own damn selves, I'm not convinced it's necessary to add it here. (I guess I should express that I regard the mere persistent presence of the corporate name/logo as advertising, since it's brand recongnition at the very least.) At the time, the discussion was a front page link/store buttons, which I would still be opposed to.

Anyway! As previously mentioned, I have gotten over myself for a portion of this, so you wanna create some affiliate links and throw them on the links page, I guess I don't ever have to know about it. I can avoid the links page, and carry on my happy, corporation-ignorant existence.

I would like to see Buffistas remain a pristine zone of no-logo, but hey, things change. And I guess people see it as free money, so what's the harm. So. I guess the only thing to cover would be, how do we gauge which places to affiliate ourselves with?

Do affiliate links necessarily mean logos? I'd been imagining links that look like any other link on the Phoenix Board.

I have no objection to affiliate links on the links page. I think it's a good idea. I do object to the other part of Gus's brainstorm, which (if I read it correctly) was to use the [link] conversion code to automatically convert links in posts to the affiliate address. For example, if Hec was to post the Amazon URL to his new book, the code would convert it not just to [link], but would go even further and convert the link to the Buffistas' affiliate URL. To me that would cross a bunch of ethical lines.

Do affiliate links necessarily mean logos?

Nope.

does powells have an affiliate program? drugstore.com? cafepress?

does powells have an affiliate program?

Yes. 7.5% of purchase price, no charge to join.

I'm fine with links on the links page, whether it be a vendor-supplied button-graphic thing, or just a plain, old HTML link. I wouldn't like my own link in a post edited to an affiliate link. That would squick me. I realize it was just brain-storming, and it was good brainstorming, at that, but still, I wouldn't like it.

Can you do affiliate links to Amazon.ca & .co.uk ?

All sorts of places, it seems, have affiliate programs.

I would suggest, if you have a site you shop at, or think people here shop at -- google their name and affiliate program, and come back here with the link, and we can accumulate the possibles.

I have no problem with affiliate links, though I'd prefer no logos. And it would be great if we could affiliate with indie sites like CDBaby and powells.com as well as Amazon.

Can you do affiliate links to Amazon.ca & .co.uk ?

Don't forget .com.au.

Edit: x-post with ita. I don't have time at work right now to look up these sites.

Also, looks like there is no Amazon.com.au--my mistake.