What to do with Self-Promotion and Referral Codes?

Question

I know how self promotion is typically looked down upon at Stack Exchange and usually ends up with either down votes, flags for moderator attention, or edits to remove. Further, users are asked to disclose the affiliation so we all understand the conflict.

How do SmugMug referral codes fit into posts and comments here at SmugMug Stack Exchange? Can we decide on a course of action such as a canned comment response to encourage users to remove the referral, edit it ourselves as necessary, and also edit the FAQ to include this information? What if any action would this community like to engage in?

Example:

I wanted to give something of value to the people that use my coupon code "CODEEXAMPLE" when they sign up with SmugMug. I make an affiliate income off the coupon code and anyone who uses it get's 20% off their first year subscription with SmugMug.

Answer 1

I think we should freely edit to remove referral codes out of posts, as they do not add value to answers, questions, or comments.

We can add a FAQ entry about self-promotion, and add in a piece specifically about referral codes and how they are not welcome here such as

The addition of SmugMug referral codes to questions, answers, or comments is discouraged by the community and these posts may be edited to remove such content.

If a user still adds the referral code, I think we should edit to remove it, and post a comment linking to this piece of the FAQ.

I do not see a problem in including your referral code in your own profile here, as that will not clutter up the site or cause any posts to lose relevance.

Answer 2

Affiliate links and referral codes should be flagged as 'spam' and removed. "Spam" is too-strong a word here, but embedding affiliate codes simply adds to much of a perverse incentive to contribute that we do not need here. Put them in your blog or put them in your 'about me' profile, but they are inappropriate for this type of public forum.

But let's cover the bigger issue here:

On Self Promotion > Astro Turfing > Spam

A progression of terms covering the same basic issue.

Posts that exist only to promote a product or website do not add to the Q&A goals of this website. The story you might tell yourself is that this post is useful; that the author posted out of their heart-felt desire to help this community. Sure: granted.

But the problem comes when there are thousands of people with their products and services; and all those people in their heart-of-hearts feel that their products are also useful to everyone here. See where that's going?

This is not a blog, this is not a discussion forum, and this is not a place for product announcements. Be careful, because communities frown on overt self-promotion — or at least you should.

Occasional Mentions, in Context, With Full Disclosure

Users contribute here for different reasons. If you're here with the desire to share and pass on your hard-earned knowledge… great! If some small percentage of those answers just happens to be about your product or website, so be it. However, you must disclose your affiliation in your answers.

But keep this huge caveat in mind — If more than the smallest percentage of your posts include a mention of your product or website, you're probably here for the wrong reasons. Any type of "astroturfing" promotion is not acceptable. It brings down the overall value of genuine recommendations for everyone on the site and the potential for abuse is simply too great.