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Votescam ago

May I ask ... WHY does the link come in the title?

Why not do it as every other thread is done ...show a topic and then give the link separately?

Would that change any of the problems?

Vindicator ago

Votescam, are you asking why Rule 3 requires titles to clearly state the link to PG and accurately describe the content being linked in a "Share a Link" post? Discuss posts already include the hyperlink separately and can explain the PG relevance in the body of the submission. "Share a Link" posts have no body text -- just a headline and link. Therefore, the headline has to do the whole job of satisfying all of the submission rules.

Votescam ago

No -- I was asking why the TITLE also had to be a link .. and why the link couldn't just appear in the body of the message.

But now that I'm reading some of your explanation, why are there two ways to do it? Why not only one?

Unfortunately, I've never really tried before to get deeply into the ways and means of the website/rules, etal. And actually haven't yet finished reading the sticky as it seemed so confusing, but will be back on it tonight, I trust.

:)

cantsleepawink ago

why are there two ways to do it? Why not only one?

From my experience, direct links to videos or articles sometimes engage people more than detailed discussions which require more effort on the part of the reader. Particularly if it is related to something current in the news or it's a new video that has popped up on Youtube and needs to be seen by other people.

There's an area within computer science called Human Computer Interaction (HCI) which is all about the psychology of what motivates people to engage with digital information. It's where website designers get their 'good design principles' from. Just having a thumbnail next to the title of a post, as happens with direct links, has a significant effect on the number of people who will actually click on it. Discussion within the comments section then becomes an effective mechanism for pooling resources. Perhaps you could try posting a bit more, and trying out both options and observe the difference.

Taking that option away would be a HUGE mistake.