You must log in or # to comment.
Everything must enshittify.
Have link shorteners ever not been shitty? It obfuscates a link for the sake of making things look pretty for people who can’t format text
Link shorteners have absolutely been useful when you need to go to a long URL on a entirely different device you can’t copy a link to easily.
I’ve used them to make it easy to get to scripts.
QR codes mostly solved that.
Not when you are working in a CLI
Your comment prompted me to search and I found this util: https://github.com/fumiyas/qrc
Obviously results in a larger ASCII blob than a shortened URL, but would allow use on any terminal.
It’s the other way around, I need to get long links to the CLI
Shortening the URL makes it possible to have significantly lower resolution QR codes, which is almost always more useful. Able to be rendered on more mediums, able to be read with lower quality readers.
Service-specific link shorteners are alright, like
youtu.be,a.coandgoo.gl/maps. At least know roughly where you’re going.For anything else, I rather see the full URLs, and if I need to share a link on a paper medium, I also make it available in a QRcode form.
I haven’t seen a Bitly link in dog’s years and assumed it had died.
Shocking. That’s what we get for expecting companies to be benevolent stewards of the internet. They tricked us for a decade and a half but the sheep’s clothing are coming off.
Host your own URL shortener with Yourls. It’s great, loads of useful plugins too. (dot)ink domains are cheap so you can have fun with namel.ink like I did.
