I don't like the feature rel="nofollow"

Hi,

I don't like the feature rel="nofollow", even my own important posted links have rel="nofollow".

How can I get rid of this ?

Regards

Hello

I don't like the feature rel="nofollow", even my own important posted links have rel="nofollow".

???

The only occurences of rel="nofollow" in the project sources I found, is in the templates for displaying the link to the contact form in the authors data of the posting views. This was done to prevent search engine bots to follow these links.

Is this the "important posted links"? So, what you are talking about?

Tschö, Auge

--
Trenne niemals Müll, denn er hat nur eine Silbe!

you are right I apologize.

you are right I apologize.

There's no need to apologise.

Because I do like the feature of rel="nofollow" I opened an issue on Github to discuss it last year. In the end we (Micha and me) disagreed about the idea.

I don't follow Micha's equation of the ineffectiveness of rel="nofollow" for spam prevention and video surveillance for crime prevention in his latest posting of the discussion. Both may be true in themselves, but rel="nofollow" is not about spam prevention, it's about making the goal of spam to do SEO ineffective.

As my opinion is only mine and not that of those, involved in the project, we have no plans to implement the feature. If it were ever to happen, it would be a feature that could be switched on and off.

Tschö, Auge

--
Trenne niemals Müll, denn er hat nur eine Silbe!

Thank you for the clarification and have a nice weekend.

Hi,

but rel="nofollow" is not about spam prevention, it's about making the goal of spam to do SEO ineffective.

Yes, I agree, as long as the attribute is not used across the board. Let's imagine that everyone always used rel="nofollow" and search engines rigorously respected it, how would the web look and function then? It is the task of the search engines to design their algorithms robustly and without our intervention. In my opinion, rel="nofollow" is the crutch and not the answer.

All the best
Micha

--
applied-geodesy.org - OpenSource Least-Squares Adjustment Software for Geodetic Sciences

Hello

but rel="nofollow" is not about spam prevention, it's about making the goal of spam to do SEO ineffective.

Yes, I agree, as long as the attribute is not used across the board. Let's imagine that everyone always used rel="nofollow" and search engines rigorously respected it, how would the web look and function then? It is the task of the search engines to design their algorithms robustly and without our intervention. In my opinion, rel="nofollow" is the crutch and not the answer.

Ahh, I now realise that we are looking at the matter from completely different, opposing points of view. For you and most of the other forum operators it is important to be found by search engines. That's why you consider search engine bots to be one of the fundamental parts of the infrastructure of the Internet (in the context of this attribute).

In contrast I don't. For me, search engines are only one/some of many different internet services, really important but not a mandatory requirement. I think that the forum software should primarily enable us to provide human visitors with content. Additionally, in the light of how those bots works, namely to index pages even if they are not linked anywhere (my experience), it is in my humble opinion not a show breaker, to supress following links. Even if the bot does not follow the links from a forum entry (because that's all that happens), it gets to know them and can index the link targets independently. The only relevant difference is the by the attribute value "nofollow" not granted advantage in page ranking.

A human reader will follow the link (IMHO the most important purpose of their existence in a posting) and search bots will learn about the link targets and call them independently. No breaking internet search services, no drawback for "normal" forum users (authors), who links to external pages (their onw or not), no drawback for forum users (readers) who are willing to follow the links but also no advantage for spammers [edit]and non-spammers[/edit] who are not rewarded with an increased page rank.

So far my humble opinion (partly prepared with the translator deepl.com).

Tschö, Auge

--
Trenne niemals Müll, denn er hat nur eine Silbe!

Auge, I disagree. If Google can't find you, you can't provide human visitors with content and you close the forum.

Search engines are important and a mandatory requirement. Without Google, nobody will find your forum.

Auge, I disagree. If Google can't find you, you can't provide human visitors with content and you close the forum.

I'm to old for a world, that knows nothing else than Google. :-)

Again, using the attribute rel="nofollow" does not prevent you from being found by Google or whatever other searchbot. It only prevents the bonus of an additional value for the page rank.

Keep in mind, that we are providing a software for creating content by an undefinable group of users (human or not). This is completely different from writing my own content in my site, blog whatever, where I am the only author and the complete content is under my direct control.

We must be aware that the forum software is possibly fed with bad content with only subsequent control by the forum operators, depending on the application scenario. It is therefore a question of weighing up the advantage of page ranking for links in forum postings against the impediment to the effectiveness of possible spam in the absence of a page rank bonus for non-spam.

Everyone will come to a different conclusion when weighing this up. The content of a forum itself would be found with rel="nofollow" because the attribute would be used only for links in the posting content (and for special cases). And also the linked pages would still be found. So I think the influence of the attribute is there (a possible loss of page rank), but not as destructive as many people (not only here) fear (a linked page would still be found by search engines).

Because of this the feature, if implemented and being switchable on and off, could be an option to make spammers' business a bit more difficult. I would be willing to accept the disadvantage. If you weren't, you wouldn't have to switch it on. But that is a completely theoretical discussion.

Tschö, Auge

--
Trenne niemals Müll, denn er hat nur eine Silbe!

Google is the Internet gatekeeper if you like it or not. Google is today anywhere and everywhere 😀

Hello

Google is the Internet gatekeeper if you like it or not. Google is today anywhere and everywhere 😀

This might be true in the current time. But what does it have to do with the topic rel="nofollow"?

Tschö, Auge

--
Trenne niemals Müll, denn er hat nur eine Silbe!

Hello,

We are looking at the problem from different angles. You are already assuming that a hen exists - I am assuming the egg. :-D

It only prevents the bonus of an additional value for the page rank.

... which is somehow important to be found and not to be on page 100.

if implemented and being switchable on and off, could be an option to make spammers' business a bit more difficult.

Isn't the goal of a spammer that a human click to a e.g. phishing link? I can't believe that a phishing site would attach great importance to page rank - as a human being does. Furthermore, I cannot believe that Google & Co are not able to recognize such sites - regardless of how many links are posted worldwide. If you really like to make spammers' business a bit more difficult, delete the postings as soon as possible - nothing else will save the visitors.

Everything said by everyone :-)
Micha

--
applied-geodesy.org - OpenSource Least-Squares Adjustment Software for Geodetic Sciences

Hello

It only prevents the bonus of an additional value for the page rank.

... which is somehow important to be found and not to be on page 100.

That's correct and this is the reason why I mention it again and again.

if implemented and being switchable on and off, could be an option to make spammers' business a bit more difficult.

Isn't the goal of a spammer that a human click to a e.g. phishing link? I can't believe that a phishing site would attach great importance to page rank - as a human being does.

The aim of them is, to a not insignificant extent, to build up a page rank from being linked. You should know, what kind of spam postings the project forum receives. There are postings with stammering and others with lavish, laudatory descriptions of the offers on the linked pages, as far as I can judge with the rest of my knowledge of Russian. It may be that the clients are hoping to attract forum visitors to their sites, but appearing as high up as possible in the search results for the sake of a better page rank is probably far more important to them.

Furthermore, I cannot believe that Google & Co are not able to recognize such sites - regardless of how many links are posted worldwide.

If the search engine operators were able to reliably sort out spam from the search results, and those who want to spread dubious offers with spam knew this, there would be no benefit for spam.

If you really like to make spammers' business a bit more difficult, delete the postings as soon as possible - nothing else will save the visitors.

One measure does not exclude the other measure in principle.

Everything said by everyone

Yes, of course. :-)

Tschö, Auge

--
Trenne niemals Müll, denn er hat nur eine Silbe!

Hello,

but appearing as high up as possible in the search results for the sake of a better page rank is probably far more important to them.

How many pages have you been suggested by Google & co that have phishing content? I can remember exactly zero so far (so efficient). Again, the attribute has nothing to do with spam protection. If you do not want to transfer your own rank to the linked page - usually a human page - this attribute should be set. This, and only this, is the aim of this attribute. That's how I read the Google statutes, i.e. "Use this attribute for cases where you want to link to a page but don't want to imply any type of endorsement"

Yes, of course.

This is my last post on this topic. I swear ;-)

/Micha

--
applied-geodesy.org - OpenSource Least-Squares Adjustment Software for Geodetic Sciences

Hello

but appearing as high up as possible in the search results for the sake of a better page rank is probably far more important to them.

Again, the attribute has nothing to do with spam protection. If you do not want to transfer your own rank to the linked page - usually a human page - this attribute should be set. This, and only this, is the aim of this attribute.

Yes, ...

... rel="nofollow" is not about spam prevention, it's about making the goal of spam to do SEO ineffective.

... I know ...

Even if the bot does not follow the links from a forum entry (because that's all that happens), it gets to know them and can index the link targets independently. The only relevant difference is the by the attribute value "nofollow" not granted advantage in page ranking.

... this.

Again, using the attribute rel="nofollow" does not prevent you from being found by Google or whatever other searchbot. It only prevents the bonus of an additional value for the page rank.

This is my last post on this topic. I swear

For the fact that it started with an obvious misunderstanding of a (non-existent) function of the software, a surprising amount has been written here in a surprisingly short time :-) . As you mentioned before, all relevant is said by (more or less) everyone.

Tschö, Auge

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Trenne niemals Müll, denn er hat nur eine Silbe!

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