The Great Digg Hypocrisy
I’m going to go out on a limb and say something which is going to be very unpopular. Digg, as an entity, is a gigantic hypocrisy. There. I’ve said it. Want me to prove it? Here goes.
It begins with the Terms of Use. Digg very clearly lays out in section 5 – USER CONDUCT -what they do and do not want in terms of use of the site. There have been no shortages of bans for pointing to sites that could be seen as affiliate farms, but that is not my beef. I take exception with item #9:
As a condition of use, you promise not to use the Services for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms of Use, or any other purpose not reasonably intended by Digg.
By way of example, and not as a limitation, you agree not to use the Services:
<snip>
9. with the intention of artificially inflating or altering the ‘digg count’, comments, or any other Digg service, including by way of creating separate user accounts for the purpose of artificially altering Digg’s services; giving or receiving money or other remuneration in exchange for votes; or participating in any other organized effort that in any way artificially alters the results of Digg’s services;
Right there, they make it very clear – do not, under any circumstances, try to inflate your digg count. The most common manifestation of this sort of thing would be to mass email everyone you know to go digg your story. This is where I take exception.
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