[Note: RFC stands for "Request For Comment". I would like to solicit opinions. If you think this is a link bait, you have the right to refrain from linking to this Blog]

Steve Rubel of Micro Persuasion provided an interesting morning read while I was sipping my coffee. The short post covers the fact that Ed Kohler is publicizing a “hack” to boost your Technorati profile. The hack works by proactively pinging Technorati about sites that link to you who may not have pinged Technorati themselves. Steve is of the opinion that its unethical to ping for other people. While Ed believes you deserve the recognition should they choose to link to you.

My RFC is whether AmBlogger should go ahead and optimize for Technorati? I am pretty sure that AmBlogger will be elevated to the top 100,000 Blogs on my Technorati profile if I choose to do such an optimization? To me, it’s very weird because that would mean AmBlogger would trump my own personal site VinceChan.net, which holds sentimental and personal value for me.

What is the debate?
There are quite a few sites that have linked to AmBlogger due to the “Copyright Wars” recently that have not shown up in Technorati. There are also many sites that refuse to link to AmBlogger. I believe its the right of the Blogger to link to whomever he/she pleases. But if you link, is there also an implicit release of permission for the linkee? Can we link to anyone we want to without any moral issues? What are the rights of the linkee versus the linker? The arguments seem to center on this because Steve is fighting for the linker while Ed is fighting for the linkee.

To modify an old saying, “Mob me once, shame on you. Mob me twice, shame on me…”. This RFC is to prevent me from making another bad decision. What do you think?