In honor of DU's ProSense

[Jim Lane]

43. About your blue links

You linked to outside sources, as opposed to linking to a DU post that had links to outside sources (or, worse, linking to a DU post that had a link to a DU post that had links to outside sources).

You prefaced each link with a summary of what I could expect to find there. If the point for which you're citing the link is something I already know or find perfectly credible, I don't need to click through. If your summary makes me think, "Wait, what?" then I can click the link for more information.

By contrast, a post that contains a barrage of blue links, some to other posts and most without such a summary, appears to be nothing more than proof by intimidation. It conveys the impression, "You aren't allowed to disagree with me unless you click on all the links and all the links in those links and follow every trail of links to its end and read everything along the way." For me, at least, that style has zero persuasive value.

If ProSense and others would more often follow the style in your OP, I would more often find their posts informative and worth reading.