I did a link exchange with a member of this forum back in April. His site (the one he was using to link to my site) is a forum. About a week ago I received a PM that said if I would post a few times a day in the forum I could keep my link, otherwise it was going to be taken down. When I first read it I have to admit it pissed me off. We did a link exchange, not a link in exchange for posts or anything else. I went to reply to the PM today. I was going to say that I didn't mind helping even though I thought it was a shitty business practice and I would start posting a couple times here and there and help get things rolling. That's what I was going to say until I went and checked the site and saw my link was already gone. In my opinion I think changing the nature of the deal after the deal has already been made is bullshit. The person who did it has lost all credibility with me...I wouldn't do business with them again (including link exchanges or anything else). What do you think? Is changing the deal after the deal has been made good business or is it BS?
When it comes to Recips I believe its perfectly acceptable for them to back out at any time PROVIDED they notify you first so that you can take down their link. If theirs came down without notification then I would agree its bad. In this situation I would have told him that you are taking his link down but would be willing to post in exchange for a one way link. That sounds more fair.
I would say this borderlines on blackmail. But like yfs said, you have the power to take their links down as well.
I wouldn't agree..If you had gotten a lifetime link because you either paid for it or did a service for it then yes, it would be wrong. If you had an agreement and this PM came well before the end of that agreement then it would be wrong. But recip agreements are day to day and can be broken at anytime provided there is notification.
It's more of an hassle than anything else. I think about the least productive thing I can do is spend my time taking down links. Maybe I'm just old school and still believe that a deal is a deal. I don't like it when people change the rules after the game has already started. Personal preference I suppose I did do some further browsing and it appears my link has not yet been completely removed...it's just been moved a less preferable location in the site. It can be taken down - for me it's an issue of time. I guess I just prefer to deal with people who handle things a little differently. What do you think about the general practice though - making a deal then changing it a bit later? I would think that would turn people off to making a deal with you in the first place.
Neither will I I can be an ass sometimes but I won't single anyone out. I'm more interested on people's opinions on the practice (changing the deal) than I am this one specific event.
As a general practice I don't like it. Especially if its a case by case basis. That being said, technically there is nothing underhanded about it. The only time I would see a need is if they were getting rid of all their recips for whatever reason. If they sent a letter explaing this and the reasons behind it, I would understand. That followed by their new policy as an effort to get their forum active probably wouldn't have made you so mad. For that to work though they would have to be giving you a one way as you are the one helping them.
I personally would decide to cancel the exchange with him myself. If someone adds obligations onto the deal, I wouldn't want anything further to do with him. It's just a matter of trust IMO
One time I went and dropped a few links - during a time that people were assuming that they had to be related or they could hurt you. My rankings were being pounded so I followed the advise to save our store. The one thing I didn't do was tell those whose links I was dropping (I think only 1 was recip), which I admit I should have done, but didn't even think about it. So, I am in favor of a person removing links if they feel it necessary but to let the other people know they are and why if possible. Changes happen sometimes that may warrent removing a link. Think if the link exchange was on a main page and you changed your whole way of thinking in your design, then the link may not belong there anymore or anywhere for that matter.
I don't have time for link exchanges these days... I like things to be automated... Maybe I'll get a script that can take care of the whole process for me, just relying on me to approve the site I'm linking to... Is there something like this available out of interest? Arelis springs to mind but I haven't used it enough to know. /offtopic In my opinion, I'd take his link down as soon as I recieved the PM and tell him to stick it... I'm a bit of a moody bastard sometimes though...
It wasn't a straight recip. I linked to the site from a different site than they were linking to. I wouldn't say it's an underhanded or unethical practice...I would say it's annoying and shows a lack of respect for the other parties time.
hehe...nope. Joey is a class act imo. All my dealings with him have been on the up and up. He's from Chicago too so I have to take that into consideration. If I screwed him over he could drive to my house
That I understand, but it wasn't the case here. I was told I could keep my link (and another link from an exchange we did 6+ months ago) if I posted on the forum. If I didn't post on the forum I lost both links. The link was 100% on theme / on topic too.
I'd be pissed off too. Imagine all of your 'partners' did that. Imagine it was common practise. You'd be wasting hours a day taking stuff down, moving links, posting in forums. I suppose a recip deal can be ended as easy as it can be started but I wouldn't like this 'post or it's gone' downgrade. I think it depends on how they worded it. If they simply stopped requiring the link back but wanted posts and did this for all link partners, OK up to the partner what to do. I don't like wasting time though, specify a period or leave it forever.
I know who you want it to be, but damn, I hope not! (I doubt it too) However, the way it was handled was rude IMO. I tend to agree with most, if not all, of what yfs1 has posted.