# Why is tiny url banned?



## tiassa

I tried to post a link to a URL that I had shrunk with tiny_url (no underscore) but it got converted to asterisks. IS there something evil about Tuny_url (no underscore)?

http://preview.*******.com/73mce82


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## Mike Lang

Hi,

The forum software will shorten URLs on its own so there's no need to use it. Just paste the entire thing in.

Thanks


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## kdmorse

Lots of people and sites frown on it because it, by it's very nature, obscures the target. You cannot tell if the link looks safe, appropriate, and nonspammy. It could just as easily be www.cnn.com, Ron Jeremy with two goats, or an add for ExtenZe.

It's 'official' use, shortening url's, is of questionable value. It's more common use, obscuring the target, is disliked. And 'Preview' mode, is just silly...

(And if your main goal is to make it pretty for forum readers, you can do it like this.)


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## stevel

The real reason is that the forum owners ban certain domains from being linked here. Using a URL shortener would bypass that. Some of the banned domains no longer make sense to be banned, but it's not worth arguing over.


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## heySkippy

There are multiple alternatives that do exactly the same thing that do work here.


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## Neenahboy

I PMed Peter Redmer about this a while ago. If they want to ban them, they should just ban them all and be done with it. Makes no sense to single one out when there are literally dozens of alternatives that do work here.


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