Re: Thoughts on wpd.mx domain

I think webplatform.org/some-short-thing is too simple and can be
problematic.
It would be better if we at least prefix it somehow -
webplatform.org/*s/*some-short-thing
That would also be easier to disallow in robots.txt.
​
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☆*PhistucK*


On Tue, Apr 23, 2013 at 10:16 AM, Patrick D'Souza <pdsouza@about.com> wrote:

> We could prevent any short links being indexed under webplatform.org by
> Disallowing it in robots.txt. This way we can continue to use the url
> shortener in slides etc without it being indexed.
>
> On 04/23/2013 03:11 AM, Doug Schepers wrote:
>
>> Hi, Patrick-
>>
>> As much as I appreciate Frozenice's many contributions, I feel the same
>> way about this particular issue.
>>
>> Before the launch, I bought the wpd.cc domain for the same purpose, but I
>> was afraid of just this, that it would get indexed, so I didn't really
>> promote it. I wasn't sure that it would be harmful; I'm glas that someone
>> with SEO skills can speak definitively about it.
>>
>> Lea pointed out earlier that Twitter has a fixed length for all links, so
>> the shortener isn't needed there, and in fact they use their own shortener,
>> so it would be doubly-redirected.
>>
>> I do like the idea of shortlinks like webplatform.org/apis/canvas to
>> http://docs.webplatform.org/**wiki/apis/canvas<http://docs.webplatform.org/wiki/apis/canvas>,
>> for links in slides, etc. If Frozenice were to install his shortener on
>> webplatform.org, would that still hurt SEO?
>>
>> Regards-
>> -Doug
>>
>>
>> On 4/23/13 2:59 AM, Patrick D'Souza wrote:
>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> It has been brought to my notice that wpd.mx has been setup as a url
>>> shortener for webplatform.org urls. for e.g. wpd.mx/apis/canvas 301s to
>>> http://docs.webplatform.org/**wiki/apis/canvas<http://docs.webplatform.org/wiki/apis/canvas>
>>> .
>>> <http://docs.webplatform.org/**wiki/apis/canvas<http://docs.webplatform.org/wiki/apis/canvas>
>>> >
>>>
>>> This url has been indexed by Google and I don't like the thought of
>>> different urls pointing to the same content when a user is searching for
>>> canvas in a search engine. It dilutes the positive effects of a
>>> webplatform.org url.
>>>
>>> Sorry to be a little picky but we should avoid all such short urls which
>>> confuse a user and in turn result in duplicate content being served to
>>> search engines. I see the benefit of a url shortener as it can be useful
>>> in social media campaigns as well as brand promotion for
>>> webplatform.org. I propose we use this url shortener on webplatform.org
>>> itself for e.g. webplatform.org/font-size which would redirect to
>>> docs.webplatform.org/css/**properties/font-size<http://docs.webplatform.org/css/properties/font-size>.
>>> Every 301 is one
>>> additional request for a user which is not good in terms of performance.
>>> I would appreciate if we avoid 301s as far as possible unless it's
>>> absolutely required. Always, keep it simple :)
>>>
>>> Any thoughts and feedback are much appreciated.
>>>
>>> - Patrick
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
> --
> Patrick D'Souza Developer, Metrics About.com | Do more 1500 Broadway, 6th
> Floor New York, NY, 10036 AIM: padsouza
>
>