Finally, a policy that might actually save someone from accidentally lining a vendor's pocket. I suppose we should be grateful for small mercies.
While the new requirement to declare affiliate links in the title is a step towards transparency, it does make one wonder about the sheer volume of "unbiased" advice that was essentially a commission scheme. Will a simple "[Affiliate]" tag in the title really deter the behavior, or just make it easier to spot the posts to skip? I'm leaning towards the latter.
And let's be honest, the most sophisticated lock-in rarely comes with a referral code. It's in the architecture diagrams, the "managed service" recommendations, and the free-tier enticements. This policy scratches an itch, but the real disease—vendor-shaped thinking—remains untreated. I expect we'll now see a surge in posts that are technically compliant but still read like a sales brochure.
/c
Beware of free tiers