Linking to Affiliate Codes

August 4, 2001 10:06 AM

Hey Matt - I don't know how easy this would be, but how about a script that looks at links as they're posted and if it recognizes a link to an Amazon product (or any of 100s of others), it would automatically reformat the link with the Give MeFi 15% back if somebody buys this product off this link character string.

Then you could just sit back and rake in all of the subversively gotten gain.
posted by willnot to feature requests at 10:06 AM (7 comments total)

Have we learned nothing from the Smart Tags flamewars?
posted by darukaru at 10:53 AM on August 4, 2001

I think that's a great idea.
posted by waxpancake at 1:17 PM on August 4, 2001

Darukaru, it's a bit different than Smart Tags; this is Matt's world here, and if he chooses to reformat *anything* that's posted here, you really don't have much right to complain about it.

Of course, that being said, I have no problem with Smart Tags, either.
posted by delfuego at 5:48 PM on August 4, 2001

I find this to be a great idea. This could keep Matt from auctioning other low account numbers in to indentured servitude.
posted by vanderwal at 8:17 PM on August 4, 2001

Also, anytime anyone buys something at amazon they could just insert the mefi account code themselves, it's a bit of extra work but not even close to the work that Matt's put into this place
posted by Mick at 10:23 PM on August 4, 2001

As long as Jeff Bezos gets his gas grill, I'm cool with that.
posted by machaus at 8:51 PM on August 5, 2001

Nice. Add an option to shut it off for those who don't want to see amazon links and also so metafilter doesn't look like a big clearinghouse for amazon.

"Yeah, Metafilter was cool before it went corporate!"
posted by skallas at 2:10 AM on August 24, 2001