Originally Posted by jayeff

This issue illustrates just how dumb some of our sponsors are, because whether they use these services or not, so long as they exist, they are all vulnerable to whoever is willing to spend the most money.

Take someone who has - let's say - 40 sites. If he bids high enough, he will get lots of traffic for his MILF site. But it's perfectly possible that the exact same "service" is diverting traffic away from the other 39 sites he operates.

They are also vulnerable when affiliates use them. Because of the effort necessary to sign and keep productive affiliates, there is a real cost per affiliate, before he generates so much as a single sign-up. Let's assume that cost is affordable so long as the average affiliate produces what he does in an undistorted market. Now enter the scumware, which doesn't generate a cent extra when your own affiliates' traffic is being stolen, but guarantees that a lot of your affiliates will soon be looking for other sponsors.

More than that, a sponsor has no control over the choices made by unscrupulous affiliates. So sponsors A through E in a particular market sector, lose two ways when such affiliates decide to target sponsor F with their stolen traffic. They lose sales and affiliates.

Any sponsor who allows scumware to prosper but in particular those who actively support it, are helping to destroy "normal" market dynamics and they will become increasingly dependent upon scumware for their traffic. Anything, from legislation, through affiliate reaction, to being outbid by someone else, and they are f*cked.

As an example of short-term thinking and to hell with the future, supporting scumware is about as classic as it gets.