Skimlinks/affiliated forum links

We spoke to cashback sites following user concerns Skimlinks may lead to clicks not being tracked. They told us they operate on a 'last cookie wins' basis, so provided you click through to the retailer via the relevant cashback site, it should work like normal.

For belt 'n' braces, if you're planning to buy via a cashback site then use one browser for cashback sites and a separate one for the forum, or alternatively cutting and pasting the link into your internet browser address bar, as then it won't be tracked (see below for why).

You may also want to clear the cookies on your computer before clicking through to the cashback site (see more about cashback sites in our Cashback guide).

No. In a trial of this software in 2011, the link would change, but we had many user complaints that they couldn't then copy and paste the original link, or see where it was going.

So we have tweaked the software, and the tracking is now added only once you actually click. This also means people can simply copy a link and paste it in their browser if, for some reason, they didn't want it to be tracked (or even more easily, register on the forum and turn Skimlinks and affiliated forum links off).

We'll also be telling users who have affiliated forum links on when they are in a board where they're switched on.

The simple answer is because we believe it's a clean way to generate revenue that falls within our ethical stance (see How This Site's Financed).

This forum is massive. It's one of the UK's biggest social networking sites. It has no adverts, and no one can pay to be on the site.

But it comes at a large cost to pay for servers, our forum team, and specialised forum developers. We also have an in-house lawyer, who spends a great deal of time dealing with legal letters arising from posts made by forum users, so that we can continue to allow people to have their say about issues that involve big companies.

Currently, these substantial costs are met by the success of the main site. Hopefully, this move will allow the forum to cover some of its own costs.

Skimlinks does have relationships with a small number of providers that we wouldn't wish to receive income from, such as payday lenders or secured-loan companies. As we do not control what any forum members post or click on, nor the providers that sign up with Skimlinks, we will be donating any Skimlinks revenue from companies of these types to The MSE Charity.