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January 17, 2008

software

Inquisitor gets affiliate functionality revamp

Posted Jan. 17, ’08, 1:20 PM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Software

Inquisitor Many of you chimed in to call me a bad guy for being unhappy with David Watanabe’s undisclosed insertion of affiliate links into search results in his Inquisitor Safari add-on, which, I’d like to reiterate, is an otherwise amazing piece of software. He deserves some kind of compensation for his work. Some things happened since I wrote that entry.

First, he pulled his post about the entire affair. It’s just gone. No explanation was offered. There are several ways one could interpret that action, but considering that the act itself was removing information, I doubted a conclusive answer was forthcoming.

The second and far more important event is the release of the v52 version of Inquisitor. Let’s check what he says about it.

In response to user feedback, Inquisitor 3.0 (v52) now explicitly tags product/affiliate links in search results and, furthermore, now includes an user preference to disable these links all together.

I guess I wasn’t alone. This was a great move. I applaud it for both actions taken. Users that previously bought Inquisitor will likely disable the affiliate links. Personally, and this will likely come as a surprise to many of you, I will be leaving them on. Now that I know that these are affiliate links, added in after the fact, and tagged so I know when it’s an affiliate link, I feel perfectly comfortable using it.

I know what I’m getting myself into and when I am. I was asking for disclosure (which is now done in spades). I can now heartily recommend that you check it out.


4 Comments

Call Me Yo Daddy Author Profile Page said:

Derek, you're still whining. There's just no way to get around this. You're still whining. But hurry! Through one of David's affiliate links, amazon is having some amazing offers on pacifiers.

January 17, 2008 2:43 PM
Joel said:

I'm just going to continue to use the old version... affiliate links or no links... not caring about the whole mess... and pretend the whole 'scandal' never happened. I think ONLY THEN can you TRUELY support mac developers.

(the whole comment kinda tongue-in-cheek)

January 17, 2008 3:15 PM
Daniel said:

Derik, perhaps we just see this fundamentally differently. You were doing more than "asking for disclosure." You were painting the programmer the bad guy and calling him deceptive for not giving it. When someone programs software to fulfill a need and they give that program to any who choose to download it, they don't owe you anything. Not disclosure, not directions, not even the software. So, instead of approaching it like you deserve this as a user of the software or he owes you some duty of disclosure, perhaps it's better to say "thank you" and move on. It's hard for me to sympathize with a tone that smacks of sanctimony from someone who uses the program for free while bashing the guy who provided it. You indicate you're clearing the air on his "manipulation." I say you're a beggar with a stick.

And, by the way, no one said you were alone. Indeed, his removed post makes clear that there were a number of people out there who responded much more irrationally than you did. While one might see his revamping the system as an indication that you were correct, I'd assert it's more of an indication of the programmer's willingness to dedicate even more time to a product that many people enjoy, despite the fact that he doesn't receive direct compensation for it.

January 17, 2008 4:49 PM
Goobimama said:

OMG. Now look what has happened! I don't want to remove the affiliate link, but if I leave it on there's an ugly green button staring at me!

Anyway, don't hammer on Derik. What if someone distributed free phones and only two years later you found out that they had hidden cameras in them recording your every move. Wouldn't you feel violated? Is privacy the price of free stuff? Just cause it's made free doesn't mean that the author can do some hidden stuff in it.

I know I know, that phone and camera thing was a lame example. I know...

January 18, 2008 9:45 AM

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