Gilby’s TinyURL project is getting debated on Slashdot.
Do Tiny URL Services Weaken Net Architecture?
What if… What if… What if the web unraveled?
And the competitor mentioned there comes up with this when going to their page:
I can only wish that my site was the single point everyone goes through, but that’s just unrealistic.
I think these services aren’t bringing the web down as much as pr0n and other crap like it though.
Um, Porn makes the internet. It makes up the largest portion of any kind of website on the internet.
Even though I don’t find it particularly difficult to find porography online, I have trouble believing that statement, Borgschulze. I’m sure you’re quoting a statistic you read somewhere, and I’m not trying to undermine your personal credibility.
I still think most people actually use the internet for communication and looking for information, not just porn.
EDIT: Then again, I might be a little optimistic.
Like when unicyclist.com is down and unicyclists all over the world stare blankly at the screen and wonder, “what do I do now???”
woooooooooooooo that would suck.
Go unicycling…?
The internet is for porn!
The internet is for porn!
Grab your dick and double click for porn, porn, porn!
Gilby, you’re kind of a big deal, eh?
I don’t understand why people would use a url minimizer for anything other than forum posts, chatting, or things of that nature. Why would anyone use it on a regular web page?
I did look for the article, but I have no clue as to the page I read it on.
It showed basically pie graphs, with things such as, “News, Porn, Family Entertainment, How To, etc…”
Things like that, based on actual domains.
The only use I can find for TinyURL is for IM’s.
On a forum you can do this, so why would you need to shorten the URL?
Borgschulze has credibility? 
I’m sure he’s misquoting something he paraphrased from something else. Porn is a huge business on the Internet, but if what you said is true, could you send me any URLs to the porn on my web site? 
No, in fact he’s a Tiny one. Congrats on getting more press! And yes, it’s positive press in case anyone doesn’t follow how that kind of thing works.
I don’t intend to read the SlashDot discussion, but I have a simple answer to why “the world” doesn’t need to worry about site owners like Gilby attaching pop-ups to their redirects. As soon as someone noticed this was happening, they’d probably stop using that service instantly. How’s that for incentive to not do annoying stuff?
I agree with Seager and Borgschuze though on the question of why do people need to use URL-shrinkers when they can create hyperlinks (in other words, eliminating the major problems of giant URLs)?
I do not consider my post a credible one considering I can’t find the article to back it up, must be those damn TinyURLs. 
I think Steve was just in a case of “Using big words to look smart”. That or he was implying I’m stupid for making posts without information to back it up.
I don’t purposely post arguments like that unless I am 100% sure I read it somewhere and it wasn’t being sarcastic.
Infact, to incorporate a TinyURL link into your own personal website would be more work than just making a hyperlink wouldn’t it?
Say someone uses Frontpage to make a website.
Hyperlink:
Make page 1 and 2.
Click insert hyperlink button on page 1.
Copy URL of page 2 into the box.
Done.
TinyURL:
Make page 1 and 2.
Copy page 2 URL.
Open TinyURL website and paste URL.
Copy new URL.
Go to Frontpage.
Click insert hyperlink button on page 1.
Copy URL from TinyURL into the box.
Done.
Who in the world would go through that much more trouble to use TinyURLs on a website? An Insane person wrote that article? 
The story continues:
TinyURL Outage Illustrates the Service’s Risks
That article also has 375 diggs at this time. Did it make it to the front page of Digg?
You dog! Now it’s in the news? You’re going to have women flocking to your house by the hundreds!
They don’t say this enough. Nor do they mention how fun it is.
I had the foresight to go to San Francisco (it happened while on the plane). I had to get out quick from San Fran if you know what I mean, and fled to Oakland.
I’ve used TinyURL for years (I always wondered if it was the same Gilby ;)), even before I uni’d… Using it in HTML is just wrong. Just like using Frontpage to make a page 
You’re right. Not the intended use, but many people do use it on forums that limit the length of a post or sig. People also use it to save some bandwidth, which can add up. Just using it for the heck of it is not to smart.