# Link Breaking Policy **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 1, 2008, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-breaking-policy/443497 "2008-04-01T07:07:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2008, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-breaking-policy/443497/21 "2008-04-03T06:19:56Z")
[QUOTE=Tenebras] I think you meant www.google(dot)com. šŸ™‚ Or, even better, h t t p : / / w w w (dot) g o o g l e (dot) c o m Parse that, I dare ya! Also, you could replace the dots with commas. Like this: www,google,com. Muahaha! [/QUOTE] :smack: yeah, I did. I was screwing around with it and wound up leaving the . in. The problem with h t t p : / / w w w (dot) g o o g l e (dot) c o m is that you again have two parts you have to replace. It doesnā€™t matter that www.google(dot)com parses, it goes nowhere. Putting two (dot) in the address is the same as putting two spaces in the address, just extra work. In both cases one space or one (dot) will do. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-breaking-policy/443497/22 "2008-04-04T12:33:13Z")
I tend to break links by making the first character a bold letter. This keeps it from parsing as a link, but makes copy and pasting a breeze. Example: **h** ttp://boards.straightdope.com Now, will it stay that way when you quote? Iā€™ll test shortly after I post this. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-breaking-policy/443497/23 "2008-04-04T12:34:20Z")
[QUOTE=Lazlo] I tend to break links by making the first character a bold letter. This keeps it from parsing as a link, but makes copy and pasting a breeze. Example: **h** ttp://boards.straightdope.com Now, will it stay that way when you quote? Iā€™ll test shortly after I post this. [/QUOTE] And the link stays broken! ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-breaking-policy/443497/24 "2008-04-04T14:59:53Z")
I like it! ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-breaking-policy/443497/25 "2008-04-04T17:26:10Z")
[QUOTE=Lazlo] **h** ttp://boards.straightdope.com [/QUOTE] Thatā€™s an excellent idea, **Lazlo**. Iā€™ll be using it henceforth! ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-breaking-policy/443497/26 "2008-04-04T17:37:17Z")
Thatā€™s smart. ---
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-breaking-policy/443497/27 "2008-04-04T17:56:30Z")
Wow. Thatā€™s freaking cool. Come see my mildly nsfw fan site! **h** ttp://www.iheartrickastley.com/hot\_pics.htm šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-breaking-policy/443497/28 "2008-04-04T18:48:12Z")
[QUOTE=Lazlo] I tend to break links by making the first character a bold letter. This keeps it from parsing as a link, but makes copy and pasting a breeze. Example: **h** ttp://boards.straightdope.com [/QUOTE] Great idea! Let me try with other tags: italic or underline first letter _h_ttp://www.straightdope.com > **[The Straight Dope - The Straight Dope](https://www.straightdope.com)** make the whole link a different color > **[The Straight Dope - The Straight Dope](https://www.straightdope.com)** ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-breaking-policy/443497/29 "2008-04-04T18:49:16Z")
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried] Great idea! Let me try with other tags: italic or underline first letter _h_ttp://www.straightdope.com > **[The Straight Dope - The Straight Dope](https://www.straightdope.com)** make the whole link a different color > **[The Straight Dope - The Straight Dope](https://www.straightdope.com)** [/QUOTE] Iā€™m quoting to see if the links remain broken. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-breaking-policy/443497/30 "2008-04-04T19:16:25Z")
I like Rickā€™s suggestions best: just insert an extra space after the ā€œhā€ in ā€œhttpā€ or before the first dot. One extra keystroke for the poster, one press of the delete key for the curious. h ttp://www.straightdope.com www .straightdope.com [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-breaking-policy/443497.md?page=1)