this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2025
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WAN show is like 33% Linus whining about any actual or perceived slight against him for like over a year now. It's getting so annoying.
I tend to agree that they should have spoken up. Even if just for the damn clicks and views.
If you're no longer doing business with them, why not be vocal about why? If there's a legitimate reason, it tells other partners where your line is so they know whether you're a good fit for them. Don't bad mouth them, but explain the facts and encourage viewers and other YouTubers to avoid them for the stated reasons.
I honestly don't see what's wrong with that. Steve from GN has done much worse and still gets sponsors, so it really can't be that.
But they did state the reasons, on their forums. At the time it was only known Honey steals money from affiliate link owners, not from users, and presumably it worked correctly for users.
So what do you think would happen if they encouraged viewers not to use it? "Hey we know this extension makes you money, but please don't use it because we, millionaire YouTubers, are getting smaller profits when your do, and our profits are more important than your savings". They checked with other creators, most of YouTube stopped promoting it at the time, and that was it. It would be seen as very self-serving to complain about it to users/viewers.
It turns out, people care about supporting channels they watch a lot. In fact, I go out of my way to use affiliate links if they helped me decide with their review.
All they need to say is "Honey strips our affiliate links, so I'd appreciate if you don't use that extension," and provide some evidence. It doesn't even need a full video, maybe use it as a segway into a sponsor that does honor referal URLs.
If users know Honey is messing with URLs for their own benefit, maybe they'll look for an alternative.
I mean, the information was published. People could have shared it more if they cared. Most users don't. Just look at the backlash he got for comparing ad block's impact to that of piracy. I still see people citing that as a reason not to trust LMG. If people are that offended by being asked to consider the effects they have on creator income, you really think they'd react well to being told their discounts are hurting creators. They're already seen as whiney, pro-corporate shills. They're not going to go out of their way to shout from the rooftops criticism for a company that helps consumers (or was thought to at the time).
Edit: to be clear, I'm not a fan of LTT, but if you're going to criticize them, do it for their bias, factual errors, personality, ect. Not because they didn't go far enough to discourage using coupon codes.
Well yeah, because he's objectively wrong, yet doubled and (I think) tripled down on it.
What he meant was that blocking ads eliminates his revenue (which is bad), but it's not piracy by any definition I've ever heard of.
That said, I don't think it has anything to do with how trustworthy LMG is, there are plenty of other reasons to have concerns about that (GN made a video about that). I watch them occasionally as entertainment, but rarely for actual information.
I'm not arguing that they should discourage people from using coupons, I'm arguing they should have explained why Honey is problematic and why they're no longer taking their sponsorships. There should be no call to action, merely information that Honey isn't great. Users can then consider other sources for coupons that may be more friendly for affiliate links, or not, the information is merely why they're no longer working w/ Honey as a sponsor.