Some would say that it’s not news when Dave Winer is banging a drum over some cause, because writing software (or “scripting”) doesn’t seem to be what what he’s about any more, but he is worth listening to on the miserable experiment that is the Google AutoLink. Why Dan Gilmor finds any redeeming value in AutoLink (except if you are Google, of course) is beyond me, and Dave gets an Amen with his take:

A question for Dan, suppose Google had the power to put ads on every page of yours, but didn’t offer to pay you for it, and further it was hard to tell what was advertising and what was editorial. What happened to your ability to communicate with people who read your site? Never mind right and wrong, for a minute, or whether Google is good or evil, how do you communicate with any kind of integrity in that environment?

Yes, it is optional to install the Google toolbar, for those making that battle cry, but I had a conversation with someone the other day who asked me if I had an older version of the Google toolbar that they could use instead! Better option would be to go use the Firefox SearchStatus extension that shows both Google PR and Alexa rating. An upgrade causing downgrade thoughts, imagine that?

Then there’s always the AutoLink kill code for those not interested in supporting AutoLink on their websites. C’mon Google, excorcise this demon. Now.

Did this post make you go hmm?

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