crobb305 - 7:57 pm on May 7, 2008 (gmt 0)

I do not think "hardcoding" is an issue. My argument is that all of their policies contradict each other. Affiliate sites can be in the directory but not search. They ban affiliate sites from search, and then start an affiliate program. Plus, they have a Paid Search program that could effectively raise revenue for the company, but penalized commercial sites can't participate (lost revenue). Just one big paradox. I think the bad management has been reflected in the low share prices for a long time.

Incidentally, the "penalties" stem from partial/incomplete reviews whereby a "editor" looks at only one or two pages. Heck, I doubt they even know what they are looking for. They just see an affiliate link and hit the penalize button. They are incapable of identifying the "unique" content that the guidelines require of "affiliate sites"

Shareholders should demand change. Let's get rid of the contradicting policies, and retrain the editorial staff.

For now, I will pass on participating in the Yahoo Affiliate Program.