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Comment by UnoriginalGuy | Hacker News Reader

It isn't meant to be a "jab," cheap or otherwise.

This blog post is, at least in part, a revenue generator for the blog (because of referral links). My question was, did it also generate revenue from the company who's products it links to/talks up?

If it had have been (or is) then I would consider that immoral. This immorality has zero to do with making money from the blog post and everything to do with a potential conflict of interests (between his commitment to his readership and the company that would be paying him).

The Amazon referral links have no such conflict of interests as he could equally have linked to any manufacturer's products and get the same revenue.

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Regardless of how you meant it, it is a cheap jab. You speculated without proof that Atwood engaged in immoral behavior. That is a pretty bad thing to do.

Speculation is speculation. I went to great pains to mention that it was a question/concern. I also provided enough proof to at least justify said speculation (i.e. it wasn't totally idle).

I disagree that is is, within its self, a bad thing to do. We should hold people in the public eye to account, in particular when we spot what might be potential conflicts of interests.

No, you made a declarative statement at the very beginning of your comment that 'This is a rather subtle advert.' By doing so, you're poisoning the well for any questions that you pose afterwards. Your theory about the product image turned out to be wrong, and saying that you're just asking questions when you've previously stated opinions as fact is not really convincing.

I don't even like Jeff Atwood much, but I advise that you let this one go and next times ask questions before shooting.

I agree that if it was an advertising then it would be... well, 'immoral' is a strong word, but I get your point.

Simply I don't think that's the case. I follow his blog every now and then, and I never was under impression I was being sold something.

If people would perceive something like this, I think the damage to the image of the blog would largely offset any financial gain of 'sponsoring' a particular product.

Jeff has been blogging for years, has an incredibly successful company behind him, and probably more money that he knows what to do with.

For the life of me I cannot see him 'selling' his blog like that.

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