eb Legalities: Linking

By Richard Lowe
Posted Thursday, July 8, 2004

A link is the address of a web page which is maintained on a page which allows you to jump to the new web page. One of the great things about HTML and the world wide web is this ability to link sites together. This results in the internet truly becoming a web, and the benefits to the surfer are tremendous.

It is normal for virtually every site on the web to maintain a list of links to "favorite", "featured" or "special" places to visit. This is almost never
done with permission, nor does it need to be.

Remember that we are discussing linking to pages on other web sites, not graphics, zip files, sound files or anything else. Only HTML-style pages are acceptable for cross-linking. Linking to other types of media files is called bandwidth stealing and is highly unethical. Also remember, do not
link to other people's CGI routines without permission.

There is some concern over the acceptableness of this linking behavior. Some commercial sites are not happy with linking because it bypasses their "home page" or sidesteps their advertising. There is even some discussion that linking is a trademark infringement or violates some other sacred rights.

This is all silly talk by people and organizations who completely misunderstand the nature of the world wide web. The best practice of everyone creating a site is to complete ignore this asinine discussion totally and to link vigorously and constantly.

In my opinion the best way to think of linking is to associate it with the "fair use" laws. These are the laws which allow people to include short quotes from published and copyrighted works in their own materials. This is not illegal or unethical - in fact it is absolutely necessary. Imagine how difficult it would be for a college student to write a term paper if he could not quote authors, or how impossible it would be for a critic to do his job if he could not include a few lines from the work he was writing about.

Fair use is something that comes under attack by dimwits sometimes. It is essential that we, the people, constantly use the fair use laws, as if they
become unused then they will become illegal. We must defend our rights to quote and "borrow" snippets from other sources.

Note, however, you should follow some guidelines when linking.

- Keep your links simple. Fair use allows small quotes, and as long as you keep things short you should be fine. If you start including complex graphics or long passages of text then you are putting yourself at risk as well as possibly plagiarizing.

- Get permission where possible or feasible. This can work to your advantage, as you can do a "link exchange" which has many uses (more links
to your site means a higher popularity by search engines).

- Include a section of your own which explains to your visitors that you have no control over external links You think they might be of interest, but
you don't have any responsibility for their content.

- Again, only link to HTML and text style pages. Do not link to multimedia files (images, sounds and videos).

- Also, remember to not link to CGI routines (and other executable objects) without permission.

When you are designing your own site, it's a great idea to be sure that you understand that people will be bookmarking and linking to any and every page that you've got. Search engines also are notorious for sending visitors willy-nilly to whatever page they believe fits a search topic. Thus, your
navigation and overall design must allow visitors to move around freely on your site regardless of which page they land upon.

The bottom line is simple. People can link to any page they want to within your site (just as they can bookmark anything at will). Those webmasters who moan about this practice or make attempts to stop it are wasting their time and have little understanding of how the internet really works. Those who plan their website around the concept will create a better experience for their visitors, gain more traffic and thus better achieve their goals.

About the Author
Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge. Web Site Address: (http://www.internet-tips.net) Weekly newsletter: (http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm)
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