URL shorteners / shortened URLs
Every once in a while, we get a challenge that requires fetching some data from the internet. While some of them manage to ban URL shorteners in time, other don't. I propose to forbid them by default because of the following reasons.
URL shorteners that were created after the challenge was posted are akin to adding a feature to the interpreter after the challenge was posted, and there's usually no easy way to determine when a shortened URL was created. They also outsource the "real" URL, which is more or less a violation of this loophole this loophole. Last but not least, it's oftentimes not possible to determine whether a given URL existed before the challenge was posted.
Using a non-canonical URL is not only a bit unimaginative and rather unrelated to programming, the same URL can be used in pretty much all answers. Every time someone finds a shorter URL, all other posts can be updated to use that URL as well. That's a very tedious and boring way of saving bytes.
In some challenges, API queries have to be made. Being able to fit a very complex query – which will make parsing its output easier – in the same amount of bytes as simple one actively harms the challenge; instead of coming up with clever ways to parse the output, the complex query is "golfed" down using a URL shortener.
URL shorteners are rather easy to identify. That leaves non-canonical domain names.
I propose counting all URLs on domains as shortened (and therefore forbidden) if the domain name isn't owned by the same individual/company as the canonical one. Thus, e.g., if the task at hand involves querying https://api.stackexchange.com, only URLs that belong to Stack Exchange, Inc. may be used in the challenge.
URL shorteners / shortened URLs
Every once in a while, we get a challenge that requires fetching some data from the internet. While some of them manage to ban URL shorteners in time, other don't. I propose to forbid them by default because of the following reasons.
URL shorteners that were created after the challenge was posted are akin to adding a feature to the interpreter after the challenge was posted, and there's usually no easy way to determine when a shortened URL was created. They also outsource the "real" URL, which is more or less a violation of this loophole. Last but not least, it's oftentimes not possible to determine whether a given URL existed before the challenge was posted.
Using a non-canonical URL is not only a bit unimaginative and rather unrelated to programming, the same URL can be used in pretty much all answers. Every time someone finds a shorter URL, all other posts can be updated to use that URL as well. That's a very tedious and boring way of saving bytes.
In some challenges, API queries have to be made. Being able to fit a very complex query – which will make parsing its output easier – in the same amount of bytes as simple one actively harms the challenge; instead of coming up with clever ways to parse the output, the complex query is "golfed" down using a URL shortener.
URL shorteners are rather easy to identify. That leaves non-canonical domain names.
I propose counting all URLs on domains as shortened (and therefore forbidden) if the domain name isn't owned by the same individual/company as the canonical one. Thus, e.g., if the task at hand involves querying https://api.stackexchange.com, only URLs that belong to Stack Exchange, Inc. may be used in the challenge.
URL shorteners / shortened URLs
Every once in a while, we get a challenge that requires fetching some data from the internet. While some of them manage to ban URL shorteners in time, other don't. I propose to forbid them by default because of the following reasons.
URL shorteners that were created after the challenge was posted are akin to adding a feature to the interpreter after the challenge was posted, and there's usually no easy way to determine when a shortened URL was created. They also outsource the "real" URL, which is more or less a violation of this loophole. Last but not least, it's oftentimes not possible to determine whether a given URL existed before the challenge was posted.
Using a non-canonical URL is not only a bit unimaginative and rather unrelated to programming, the same URL can be used in pretty much all answers. Every time someone finds a shorter URL, all other posts can be updated to use that URL as well. That's a very tedious and boring way of saving bytes.
In some challenges, API queries have to be made. Being able to fit a very complex query – which will make parsing its output easier – in the same amount of bytes as simple one actively harms the challenge; instead of coming up with clever ways to parse the output, the complex query is "golfed" down using a URL shortener.
URL shorteners are rather easy to identify. That leaves non-canonical domain names.
I propose counting all URLs on domains as shortened (and therefore forbidden) if the domain name isn't owned by the same individual/company as the canonical one. Thus, e.g., if the task at hand involves querying https://api.stackexchange.com, only URLs that belong to Stack Exchange, Inc. may be used in the challenge.