[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #11359: Don't nofollow links in admin comments

[WordPress Trac]

#11359: Don't nofollow links in admin comments
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 Reporter:  caesarsgrunt      |       Owner:
     Type:  enhancement       |      Status:  new
 Priority:  normal            |   Milestone:  Future Release
Component:  Comments          |     Version:  3.1
 Severity:  normal            |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  needs-patch gsoc  |
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Changes (by Everfluxx):

 * cc: Everfluxx (added)
 * version:  2.9 => 3.1


Comment:

 Replying to [comment:6 nacin]:

 Still oustanding in 3.1: current version also adds a "rel=external
 nofollow" to all author URI links, regardless whether the author URI is
 actually external.

 > The rel="external" attribute indicates that the referenced document is
 not part of the same web site as the current document.
 (https://code.google.com/p/doctype/wiki/RelExternalAttribute)

 I wrote an open letter to Matt Mullenweg about the nofollow on admin links
 issue (http://www.everfluxx.com/open-letter-to-matt-mullenweg/) and Matt
 replied to me via email, telling me that (I'm quoting his words here):

 > People are free to modify WP's default behaviour through plugins, of
 which there are many in our official directory. I think the current
 behaviour is the best as default based on our own experience and advice
 from Google when nofollow was introduced.

 Still, Matt did note provide further details as to why he thinks that the
 current behavior is "the best as default", and did not answer my
 questions:

 > How can nofollowing editorial links help combat link spam? How can that
 benefit users, or search engines?". So, if he didn't change his mind, I
 didn't change mine, either.

 Therefore, I propose to implement the following behavior as default in
 WordPress:

 > Automatically add the "rel=nofollow" attribute to all links in comments,
 except those posted or edited by users with the "edit_comment" capability.

 Since I'm not familiar with the discussion, submission and review process
 for core updates, any pointers or advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm
 willing to post this to the wp-hackers mailing list and get feedback from
 other developers and users if deemed necessary. Last but not least, I am
 willing to contribute a patch for this enhancement.

-- 
Ticket URL: <http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/11359#comment:9>
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