Newsletter ArchiveSUBJECT:Links Welcome to The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter. If you have a personal or business web site, you probably have some links that point to other web sites. Could it be possible that some of these links could be breaking the law? Several months back I had a sales call from my local Better Business Bureau representative. She was letting me know that, as a member, I could link to the BBB site for only $50 per year. At first I thought I misunderstood her offer. Was she really asking us to pay for sending them traffic from our site? I had heard her correctly though, as that is exactly what she was proposing. Needless to say I didn’t pay to send them traffic. Within a few days, I read a story about a Webmaster receiving an intimidating letter from the Better Business Bureau because of links pointing to their site. This Webmaster apparently wasn’t a member or paying the $50 link fee. The site in question still has the links on their web site. Link to story in New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/23/technology/23CYBERLAW.html I am no expert in the field of law, but the thought of not being able to link to anyone I choose, in my opinion, is censorship. I believe it infringes on my freedom of speech. This week I came across a two-part article that brought the subject into better focus for me. It should give you the guidelines you need to make good decisions about links in your web site. Part One http://ojr.usc.edu/content/story.cfm?request=554 Part Two http://ojr.usc.edu/content/story.cfm?request=584 If you have any thoughts on this subject or any ideas that could be helpful to the others in this group send them to me (Chuck Arning) at chuck@inter800.com All Contents Copyright ©1995-2001 The Internet 800 Directory Subscribe To The Newsletter: |