Sorry, I use it because it's more convenient to me(I have it bound to a keyboard shortcut) and because I can use Google Analytics to see if people are clicking the links I put up on forums, Twitter, and Facebook. It's entirely on the up-and-up, and I really don't think that intelligently-written posts generally have something to hide. This community is a good one, stocked with a healthy supply of intelligent, old-school PC gamers, I really don't think that you should have to worry about, for example, Lemon Party hidden in a link that claims to be something else or doesn't seem to be pointing to anything of the sort. But that's just my assessment of the place. Besides, I think a blanket rule against URL shorteners is something of a poor choice of words, and at the most paranoid you should grab one of the browser extensions for your internet browser of choice that shows previews of what lies behind the shortened URL. Otherwise, you're more or less following a slightly restricted logic along the lines of "A bad thing happened when I clicked a URL once, I'm not going to do that again".

It's actually a really interesting blog post about game development, and how the process of polishing something takes time away from creativity, and I really think it's a good read.

Sorry, I know, I really don't expect too many shenanigans from people here, either. However, I've spent some time on slashdot and the number of "not cool" links used to be rather high.

My original post got truncated, and I edited back the content that went missing. Give that a look-over.

Specifically, get a preview extension if you're against the idea of thinking contextually for your link-clicking habits, because otherwise you'll be limiting yourself by cutting out valuable information along with the things you're attempting to avoid. Baby and the bath water scenario.

Still doesn't convert me to an Activision fan, not even close. And the comment "Did you know there were more 80 per cent plus rated games in 2010 than any other year?" as an excuse of sorts... well, it's like asking "did you know that gaming magazines and sites are sell outs?".

I mean I saw so many games last year being promoted by gaming sites, rather than being reviewed, that it just sickening.

I actually had a problem with that cop out, I mean "excuse", as well.