Sound about right?
Sound about right?
But what I see a bigger problem is that her asking for donation is presented to the reader as something which keeps the site ad-free, while it seems to be just another revenue stream.
Oddly, I don't like affiliate links in forums like HN.
This is rarely attempted in a world of publications that depend on ad volume and outsourced ad buyer supply, but examples exist. The webcomic Penny Arcade recently ran a Kickstarter to achieve freedom from ads, but found itself answering questions like "What if I love ads?" (http://www.penny-arcade.com/2012/07/20/what-if-i-love-ads) because they'd built a reputation of only advertising products they would feel comfortable endorsing even without an adbuy (can't find a direct link to when they talk about this, but it's out there somewhere).
No, I think that's a sidetrack. The issue, at least how I read it, is saying to the dear reader "please donate as that's my only income source"* when it's not true. It's deliberately deceptive.
What's odd is that there's nothing wrong, that I can see, with just being upfront about affiliate links - "Hey, want to support this blog? I get a small amount of money from any purchases made by clicking on the amazon links"
* Yes, I realise that's not the words she's using, but it sure is the message that's conveyed