# Should URL shorteners be banned? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [November 5, 2011, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-url-shorteners-be-banned/601946 "2011-11-05T11:52:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 31
**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:** [November 8, 2011, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-url-shorteners-be-banned/601946/31 "2011-11-08T05:19:50Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > We’ve already got rules in place to handle what links we allow. The last thing this place needs is more rules to enforce. > [@Chronos](#): > > The bigger problem, I think, is YouTube or IMDb links without any context given-- Someone will ask “What’s your favorite movie?”, and someone will reply with a link to IMDb that just says “This one”, or something. It breaks the flow of the conversation to have to follow a link to see what someone is saying. Yes, we already have rules in force about this. Here’s a relevant excerpt: > [@FAQ - Rules for Posting at the Straight Dope Message Boards](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faq-rules-for-posting-at-the-straight-dope-message-boards/369395/9): > > (1) LINKS SHOULD BE DESCRIBED > When posting links, please be courteous to your fellow posters: describe what you are linking to. It does not have to be a lengthy description, but “See this political cartoon” is better than “This is funny!” > > If your link is primary to the topic when starting a thread, please explain not only what the link is, but why you are linking there. Don’t just post a link to a news story or video and expect people to start a conversation about it. > INCORRECT: “Ain’t this cool?” > CORRECT: “This looks like the coolest electronic cat-feeder ever!” --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-url-shorteners-be-banned/601946)._