2 FAQ tagged with selflink
What is MetaFilter Projects?
MeFi Projects is a space in the MetaFilter universe for members to toot their own horn and link to something that they have done - typically a completed project on the web. Projects has built in mechanisms so that people can give a post the thumbs up, either through clicking the vote link to give it a thumbs up, or clicking the "post this project to mefi" button on the project's permalink page. People can also send comments to the original poster of the project. More information can be found here.
(tags: mefiprojects projects selflink ) March 6, 2006 - permalink - back to questions
(tags: mefiprojects projects selflink ) March 6, 2006 - permalink - back to questions
What are self-links? Are self-links ever okay on any part of the site?
"Self-links" are links to your own site, or your own work, or a site that you host or contribute to substantially, or to a site of someone who is a client or business partner, or a site/event/cause you're promoting either professionally or as any kind of quid pro quo.
It is never okay to include a self-link in a front page post you make on Metafilter's community blog. People who self-link in the post text of front page posts on MetaFilter will have their posts removed and their account banned. It is never okay to use MetaFilter as a promotional tool. Transparency and honesty are important to the community and we rely on users to abide by the guidelines and participate honestly.
On Ask MetaFilter, questions that seem to be thinly veiled promotion or self-promotion will be removed. Questions that seem to be being asked with the intent to promote a poster's product or service, or client/friend's product or service, will be removed and the participating accounts banned. If you are unsure about a specific example, please contact us.
Linking to your own site in an Ask MetaFilter question is only okay if it has something specific to do with the question being asked and is necessary for people to provide an answer, for example "Can you look at my logo and tell me why everyone thinks it looks like a devil?" or "What else do I need to do to this website to make it ADA compliant?" (Even then, an extra-safe move is to link your site on your profile page and tell people they can see it by going through your profile.) Other self-links will be removed. AskMe posts that look like link-heavy MeFi posts or other promotional posts with a question tacked to the end of it are not okay.
In comments, in well-defined circumstances, self-links can be okay. Including a link to your own site in a Metafilter comment is okay provided that it has some relevance to the topic being discussed, and you clearly disclose your affiliation to the site or site-owner, and this type of comment is not your only form of site participation. Random off-topic insertions of self-links into other posts are discouraged and such links may be removed and result in a ban. Similarly, linking to your own content in AskMe answers is okay to do occasionally and with disclosure. People who seem to be self-linking continually, or seemingly with spammy intent may have their content removed and their account banned.
It is perfectly okay--even encouraged--to put a link to your own site in your profile, to post your own music to Music, post your web projects to Projects, and to post a job for your organization or post your own job availability in Jobs.
We've lifted the long-time prohibition on friend-linking, i.e. making MetaFilter posts about work that's not your own but which is by someone you have a friendship with or personal connection to. Any such posts still need to be fundamentally good MetaFilter posts in their own right, and to not be posted with promotional or "this will help my friend out" intent. In short, it needs to be something that you unambiguously would have chosen to post even if you didn't know that person at all. See this MetaTalk thread for more detail.
(tags: askme askmetafilter music projects self-link selflink links metafilter ) May 10, 2006 - permalink - back to questions
It is never okay to include a self-link in a front page post you make on Metafilter's community blog. People who self-link in the post text of front page posts on MetaFilter will have their posts removed and their account banned. It is never okay to use MetaFilter as a promotional tool. Transparency and honesty are important to the community and we rely on users to abide by the guidelines and participate honestly.
On Ask MetaFilter, questions that seem to be thinly veiled promotion or self-promotion will be removed. Questions that seem to be being asked with the intent to promote a poster's product or service, or client/friend's product or service, will be removed and the participating accounts banned. If you are unsure about a specific example, please contact us.
Linking to your own site in an Ask MetaFilter question is only okay if it has something specific to do with the question being asked and is necessary for people to provide an answer, for example "Can you look at my logo and tell me why everyone thinks it looks like a devil?" or "What else do I need to do to this website to make it ADA compliant?" (Even then, an extra-safe move is to link your site on your profile page and tell people they can see it by going through your profile.) Other self-links will be removed. AskMe posts that look like link-heavy MeFi posts or other promotional posts with a question tacked to the end of it are not okay.
In comments, in well-defined circumstances, self-links can be okay. Including a link to your own site in a Metafilter comment is okay provided that it has some relevance to the topic being discussed, and you clearly disclose your affiliation to the site or site-owner, and this type of comment is not your only form of site participation. Random off-topic insertions of self-links into other posts are discouraged and such links may be removed and result in a ban. Similarly, linking to your own content in AskMe answers is okay to do occasionally and with disclosure. People who seem to be self-linking continually, or seemingly with spammy intent may have their content removed and their account banned.
It is perfectly okay--even encouraged--to put a link to your own site in your profile, to post your own music to Music, post your web projects to Projects, and to post a job for your organization or post your own job availability in Jobs.
We've lifted the long-time prohibition on friend-linking, i.e. making MetaFilter posts about work that's not your own but which is by someone you have a friendship with or personal connection to. Any such posts still need to be fundamentally good MetaFilter posts in their own right, and to not be posted with promotional or "this will help my friend out" intent. In short, it needs to be something that you unambiguously would have chosen to post even if you didn't know that person at all. See this MetaTalk thread for more detail.
(tags: askme askmetafilter music projects self-link selflink links metafilter ) May 10, 2006 - permalink - back to questions