Re: [libreplanet-discuss] The most appreciable URL Shortener?...

[J.B. Nicholson]

Thadeu Lima de Souza Cascardo wrote:
> The only good excuse I ever had for a URL shortener is a choice of 
> technology combination or misuse, like one is browsing on a desktop and 
> want to send a message using a mobile containing something they just 
> browsed.

I quite agree with the objection to URL shorteners including pointing out 
how technically unnecessary they are.

There's one other instance where it might make no difference to use one, 
however: if the resource being pointed to also hosts the short URL. For 
example, RT.com news stories each have a short URL. It makes no sense to me 
why they have the long URL in the first place, but that's how that site 
works. I believe Atlassian wiki instances also give each article a long 
title-based URL (which users see by default) and a short permalink.

In both of these cases there's no spying risk beyond visiting the site (and 
link tracking is another reason people use URL shorteners; it's an 
unjustifiable reason).