What's with certain gaming sites removing affiliates lists without warning?

Yeah, I know. Some people in the SEO field seem to hate the very concept of reciprocal links or blogrolls.

But come on, not only is it pretty much the norm in this field (because people want to help each out rather than treating it like some 'winner takes all' niche), but it's rather rude to suddenly drop your entire affiliates list without telling anyone who's sites listed on it. Is sending an email to a few people that difficult a thing to do?

Because I've seen at least three gaming sites apparently drop their entire blogroll thing (complete with my site on it) at seemingly random now. And it's really, really annoying me, because it makes me suspect all these sites now only give a damn about their own popularity and 'SEO' rather than community.

Anyone else hate this?

 

Anything webmaster/SEO/marketing related for one thing. See TAZ and its censoring of 'competitor' forum names.

Yeah, pretty much. It'll certainly bite in the ass when the sites they used to be affiliated with stop linking to their site and people stop remembering it exists.

Because a lot of these sites are not exactly household names. For many of them, it's only through their affiliations and links that people actually find their content.

 

I have always thought affiliate links were stupid. Sadly, I think others are finally catching on.

 

Google frowns now on sites doing that kind of thing, affiliate linking back to one another's sites. Plus it's a thing of the past now, 1980 doing that type of thing, old hat.

 

Personally, I've got to say two things about that:

1. Google has pretty much done nothing against any site I know about in the last few years or so, which makes me suspect people are exaggerating the 'dangers'.

2. I run my sites in order to help the community and other people. I don't really give a toss what Google thinks about things, and I honestly think no one else should either. For that matter, any affiliates I do have are sites I actually recommend on a personal basis/actually read the content of, not just ones that bring 'SEO' related benefits. I don't have much sympathy for anyone who merely treats this stuff as a quick page rank boosting trick.

Am I old fashioned? Perhaps, but I honestly consider most of what today's generation think as outright wrong at best and flawed at worst. The whole obsession with money and popularity and marketing is absolutely absurd if I say so myself, and I honestly refuse to even be associated with most of it (I turn down all requests for commercial sponsorship or Youtube monetisation).