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Yahoo! Answers TOS regarding URLs?

I was wondering if anyone could help me with the below. Does "commercial activity" cover any & all sites? For instance, does it include links to articles or books or informational sites that are relevant to the question? In my answers, I like to direct people to articles, books, sites that will help them further & these links are not affiliated with me personally or with the company I work for -- so, is that okay?

"NO COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY: You may not post URLs for the purpose of directing commercial activity to a non-Yahoo! site.

NO REPEATED POSTINGS: You may not post similar or identical postings. This also applies if you are including the same commercial URL on all of your postings for the purpose of directing commercial activity to a non-Yahoo! site."

Update:

Thanks Dale! That leads me to another question...so referring people to sites that you think offer the best whatever-it-may-be is a NO NO if it's a site that sells a particular product or service? What if that particular site offers free information but also sells services (not just banner ads)? Thanks again!

2 Answers

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  • Dale N
    Lv 4
    2 decades ago
    Favorite Answer

    The standard I've used in posting on this site and others regarding a limit of 'commercial activity' is to only reference sites that give information. These sites may have banner ads but are not in existence to primarily sell some product or service.

    They, Yahoo, also will not tolerate a signature line that is to bring you to a particular business or site. This would be like a reference to your company or charity in your signature.

    With this in mind, I've never had a posting removed.

    I hope this helps you understand the policy.

    I've attached a reference to a definition of 'commercial activity'. Good luck

  • 2 decades ago

    Thanks for the great answer Dale! It looks like you are in good hands here.

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