Don't Link to Us!
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Stupid linking policies


Saturday, September 28, 2002
Orbitz prohibits users from creating links to its site from other web sites. Virtually identical policies appear at CheapAirlines.com, Cheapfares.com, Clover Tours, Discountfares.com, OTTI Travel, Phuket Hotels and Resorts, and SpeedwayVacation.com. Also very similar are the policies of Mackinaw Area Visitors Bureau and WorldTravelService, except that they allow linking with prior written permission.  DES permalink
Tuesday, September 24, 2002
Sylvania requires linking sites to submit this Link Form. General Electric permits text links to its home page, but requires written approval for all other links to its site.  DES permalink
Tuesday, September 17, 2002
All of these organizations have similar linking policies, possibly "borrowed" from the American Cancer Society's policy (featured on dontlink.com last month). All say that they may grant "approved" web sites permission to link to their home pages, and deep links are prohibited. Arkansas Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry, The Cancer Council of New South Wales, Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation, Crow Busters, Deafness Research Foundation, The Inside Edge, and Spinal Disorders Support Community. Also similar is the National Mental Health Association's policy, except that it doesn't prohibit deep links; the NMHA's External Web Link Agreement Form promises a response within 7 to 10 business days.
Update (Sept. 28): Candlelighters apparently has removed the restrictions on linking from its posted terms of use. The other sites listed above remain clueless.  DES permalink
Monday, September 16, 2002
ExxonMobil says that other sites may not link to its web site without prior written permission.  DES permalink
Thursday, September 12, 2002
Sony requires other sites to obtain written consent before linking to many of its sites (including Sony Cellular Services, Sony Deutschland GmbH, Sony Espaņa, S.A., Sony Information Technology Europe, Sony Italia S.p.A., Sony NetServices, Sony United Kingdom, Sony VAIO Europe, and SuperAudioCD), and prohibits deep links entirely.  DES permalink
Tuesday, September 10, 2002
Oz NetLaw says that it "encourages linking to the OzNetLaw home page," but requires linking sites to obtain permission first.  DES permalink
ITnetcentral permits links to its site only from sites that allow free access to their content, and only if they link to ITnetcentral "only occasionally."  DES permalink
Sunday, September 08, 2002
Waverly (a fabric manufacturer) prohibits linking "from any other site or other electronic medium" without express written permission. Presentation Brothers College Alumni Association has a policy that is remarkably similar to Waverly's.  DES permalink
Tuesday, September 03, 2002
The Hong Kong Government's Doing Business in Hong Kong and Student Financial Assistance Agency sites prohibit links without prior written consent, as do Tradelink (a public-private joint venture in Hong Kong) and the Textile Council of Hong Kong. (Interestingly, Tradelink's policy says it was last updated on 1 September 2002 -- nearly three weeks after the South China Morning Post ran an article criticizing it and other restrictive linking policies. Unfortunately I can't link directly to that article, since SCMP requires a paid subscription to access most of the content on its web site, though it is available on Westlaw.)  DES permalink
Ezcom Holdings and Canon Marketing (Hong Kong) have identical linking policies, prohibiting links to their sites without their written consent. The main Canon Inc. site says "If you are a corporation or private party and wish to link your HomePage to any contents on the CANON INC. HomePage, you must contact and consult with us." HSBC, an international banking firm, also says that no one may link to its web sites without written permission.  DES permalink

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Don't Link to Us! links to sites that attempt to impose substantial restrictions on other sites that link to them. The Linking Policy for Don't Link to Us! precludes us from requesting permission to link to a site, and compels us to link directly to the targeted page (i.e., a "deep link") rather than to a site's home page. Descriptions of sites' linking policies generally are accurate (though often not complete) at the time they are posted here but are likely to change over time. On occasion a web site will modify its linking policy in response to public ridicule. Perhaps their appearance in Don't Link to Us! will help encourage some of these sites to move forward into the 20th century.
Don't Link to Us! is published by David E. Sorkin.