[wp-hackers] CVS: wordpress/wp-includes comment-functions.php

[Owen Winkler]

Robert Deaton wrote:

>how about wrappering all the parts of the code that add rel="nofollow"
>with an if(get_settings('use_nofollow') == 1) and adding a checkbox in
>one of the options pages.
>  
>
The policy on WordPress options has always been to provide a core set of 
functionality without an overabundance of options, while allowing for 
plugins to alter this core behavior.

Adding such an option would not allow plugin developers to handle 
nofollow links in custom ways (such as providing ways to disable 
nofollow on links based on custom criteria, like whether the link is in 
the blogroll, or whether the link passes checks in a spam filter), and 
allows uninformed users to disable innate anti-spam measures too easily.

Maybe I trust everyone on this list to install appropriate anti-spam 
measures and only disable nofollow when it's prudent, but I don't trust 
the tens of thousands of common WordPress users who wouldn't even 
understand this message thread.  There are already solutions available 
(posted elsewhere in this list) for people who really don't want to use 
nofollow.  I'm sure more robust solutions will become available as the 
nofollow code evolves.

Owen