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› Frequently Asked Questions



General FAQs

Q: What is this site?

A: LinkFrog is a free URL shortening service. It converts long internet links into short, manageable ones, without altering their ultimate destination. This is especially important when posting messages to a newsgroup or communicating via an instant messanger, where posting long links is difficult.


Q: How does the service work? Will it change the behavior of my links?

A: The LinkFrog link shortening service uses standard browser redirects when resolving links. This means that, when you click on a shortened link, LinkFrog sends a message to your browser telling it the actual location of the site. Your browser then completes the transaction by going to the indicated URL. What is important to remember is that all this happens in the background. Not only is there nothing for you to do, you probably will not be aware that anything is happening. The redirection is automatic, quick and silent.


Q: Why should I shorten my links? What are the advantages?

A: There are many advantages for using LinkFrog url shortening. As already mentioned, short links are useful when chatting, or posting messages to a newsgroup. Also, many e-mail clients, and especially text-based ones, break up long links over several lines, effectively destroying them. Sending shortened links via e-mail prevents this from happening.
Another reason to use shortened links is to hide the ultimate destination of the link. Note that this will not "mask" a link; when a person clicks on a shortened link and is redirected, the original address will appear in the browser''s address bar, not the shortened one.


Q: Do links created with LinkFrog expire?

A: Links do not have an "expiration date," no matter how old they are, or how long they remain unused. Optional, you may choose to assign an expiration date to links that you create. This can be done on the advanced link creation page.


Q: Are the links case-sensitive?

A: No, case is ignored. This means that http://LinkFrog.net/hello links to the same page as http://LinkFrog.net/HELLO, HTTP://LinkFrog.NET/HELLO, or any other combination.


Q: What do I do with the link once I've created it?

A: Anything you would have done with the original. You can paste the link into e-mails, type it into your browser's address bar, add it as a bookmark, whatever!


Q: Why are you spamming me?

A: LinkFrog does not nor has it ever sent spam. You are receiving spam from third-party spammers using the LinkFrog service to disguise the link's ultimate destination. Such behavior is strictly against the terms of use. Any links found to have been used in spam mailings or postings are cancelled immediately. If you have information regarding such a link, do not hesitate to e-mail us at abuse@LinkFrog.net



Creating Shortened Links


Q: What is a mnemonic, and why do I need one?

A: A mnemonic helps you to remember the link you just created. You need not enter anything in the "Mnemonic" field--if you leave the field empty, LinkFrog will create a complete shorter link for you. If you do choose one, the mnemonic you choose will be appended to the LinkFrog URL to form a complete link. For instance, choosing the mnemonic "only_for_you" would form the link http://LinkFrog.net/only_for_you. Mnemonics may be useful either to remeber a link you have created, or to describe a particular link.


Q: What may I use as a mnemonic?

A: Any mnemonics may be used, as long as they a) are at least four characters and no more than 20 characters long; b) only contain alpha-numeric characters, minus-signs or underscores; and c) are not already in use. Note that mnemonics are case-insensitive; thus, only_for_you is the same as ONLY_FOR_YOU.


Q: What restrictions are there regarding URLs?

A: First, URLs must be syntactically correct. This is always true if you copy the URL directly from your browser''s address bar. And second, it has to have a supported scheme; currently, most schemes are supported, with the exception of the mailto: scheme.


Q: How do I set an expiration date?

A: You have two possibilities. You may choose a length of time till the link expires (between 24 hours and one year), or you may choose a specific date. Links generally expire at midnight of the indicated date. The exception to this are links that expire in 24 hours, this computed from the time of their creation.



Maintaining Links

Q: I recently created a link. May I alter its target, or delete it?
A: There is currently no way to do this. We are expanding our system to allow users to log in and maintain various links, including changing where they point to, inactivating them temporarily or deleting them completely. This functionality will be available later this spring.