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TinyURL mystery

  1. sgreifwonder
    Member

    For consent requests I have send out, and still do, mails every day. These mails contain links to my weblog, and to specific posts. Regularly receivers mailed back: 'Your links don't work'.

    Some time ago, I saw in my Dashboard (I think) a TinyURL notice, and I clicked it, hoping that a TU address would work better, in my mails.
    The notice disappeared (?) and I haven't seen it since. So even if I would want to use a TinyURL in Twitter or whatever, I couldn't, because I don't know how to extract it. Where is it??

    But ever since i clicked that TinyURL, the amount of corrupted links in my outgoing mails has considerably increased.. It's raining complaints. When I send receivers the home page link and post link once more - the very same links, and in the very same way - they react: 'Ah, these worked'.
    This is quite inconvenient, as I 'm obliged to send every mail twice...

    So I'm trying to find out if this is a Google goof, or being caused by my wordpress URLs, and also, if this TinyURL is perhaps messing things up somehow.

  2. bryanvillarin
    Staff

    Hi,

    We aren't seeing any TinyURL links in your posts at the blog you listed.

    Can you let us know how you're sending emails out everyday?

    Are you referring to New Post email notifications from WordPress.com, which are sent to any email followers?

    You can view the number of Email Followers on your Stats page by clicking the Blog link under Totals, Followers & Shares.

  3. sgreifwonder
    Member

    Hi bryanvillarin,

    No, it has nothing to do with my blog email followers. My WordPress URL address, when copied to into an outgoing Google webmail, doesn't work for the mail receivers the first time around. The second time I send them that link, it works. It seems like a Google issue, but I want to make sure.
    I looked up 'tinyurl' in the WP Faq, but it doesn't make me any wiser. Perhaps because I don't Twitter, I don't Facebook, I just blog. On an old fashioned laptop. :-)

    We aren't seeing any TinyURL links in your posts at the blog you listed.

    A typical example of my incomprehension. Should it be there? How do I activate it? Do I have to activate it?

  4. asbadgerseesit
    Member

    Tiny URL is a link shortening service. Basically it turns a long link into a short one. There are quite a few of these link shortening services on the net. Google it. It has no connection with WordPress, it's an external service. If you clicked on a Tiny URL link in your Dashboard it was probably a referer link and also possibly a spam link or virus, especially as since clicking that link you have had problems,. Run your computer through a virus check, just to be sure.

  5. raincoaster
    Member

    It would help us if you would post a link to your blog.

  6. bryanvillarin
    Staff

    My WordPress URL address, when copied to into an outgoing Google webmail, doesn't work for the mail receivers the first time around. The second time I send them that link, it works. It seems like a Google issue, but I want to make sure.

    Thanks for the additional details. You're using Gmail, correct?

    Do you have any add–ons for Mozilla Firefox that might be shortening URLs on the fly?

    Also, can you reproduce this when using another browser, such as an Incognito window with Google Chrome?

  7. sgreifwonder
    Member

    @Raincoaster,
    I gave a link, at the bottom of the query! And it's not there!

    @bryanville,
    I only use spellchecker and Ad Block add-ons, but I'll check with Firefox.
    No, I don't want to use another browser, Chrome I tried and it was a nightmare.

    @redsoulnights,
    possibly a spam link or virus
    That's creepy. Which virus catcher would be best? I don't want to run the gamut.

    I can do two things: instead of highlighting a word in the mail to make a link (Gmail, yes), I could paste the full URL address in. Maybe that works better.
    Or find another webmail...

    Anyway, I'll release WordPress from being a suspect in this link murder case...:-)

  8. sgreifwonder
    Member

    @raincoaster,
    I suspect that my link here was taken out deliberately. I have a so-called Mature blog. It means I'm not allowed to advertise & promote my depraved ditties. That's why my nickname isn't linkable here. You bring the matter up nearly every time I post a question, certainly you now what's cooking in wordpress?

  9. sgreifwonder
    Member

    "We aren't seeing any TinyURL links in your posts at the blog you listed.", wrote bryanvillarin.
    Right. It was removed deliberately. That's childish, WordPress.

  10. asbadgerseesit
    Member

    You ask me what virus catcher to use, that tells me that you are not using an anti-virus on your computer at all. And you don't want to run a virus check? No wonder your links are corrupted, especially after clicking on a Tiny URL link in your Dashboard. If you are not using an anti-virus then you could have all manner of things affecting what you do online, and could well be your problem.

  11. bryanvillarin
    Staff

    No, I don't want to use another browser, Chrome I tried and it was a nightmare.

    For the sake of ruling out a browser related issue, can you try the same process of pasting your post URL and sending the email from Google Chrome or Internet Explorer? (You don't need to switch permanently.)

    Also, are you using Gmail and sending email directly from Gmail website?

    I suspect that my link here was taken out deliberately.

    That's correct. A blog marked as Mature is excluded from public areas of WordPress.com, which includes these forums. However, staff can see your blog URL, which is why I mentioned it in my initial reply.

  12. sgreifwonder
    Member

    @redsoulnights
    Of course I use av, LOL. I have a legal, automatically updated Norton 360 and once in a while I use another scanner besides, mbam for instance. If it's a virus, Norton obviously didn't catch it. It was a stupid question, sorry.

    @bryanvillarin.
    Yes, I have a Google-Gmail acount.
    I have IE too, of course. Could try that. But I'm first going to do AV scans.

  13. sgreifwonder
    Member

    A blog marked as Mature is excluded from public areas of WordPress.com, which includes these forum.

    That's fine with me, no problem. But I'd like the continuous demands to post a link to my weblog to stop. WP, don't you see what you're doing? You are slapping me for the consequences of WordPress's policies.

  14. sgreifwonder
    Member

    @redsoulnights
    I found this:

    question: "Could TinyURL give you a computer virus?"

    Answer: "Not TinyURL itself, but its possible to go to a website that will. There's an option on TinyURL's website that will let you see where the link is taking you before you go to it. If you're worried about getting a virus, you may want to check that option."

    I never downloaded a tinyurl tool, or at least not consciously, and when I saw it in my Dashboard, I thought it was a wordpress update, a service to bloggers. It disappeared after I clicked it (I'm still puzzled why I did that!), I checked all items in the Dashboard.
    There's for sure something fishy about it.
    Anyway, the links I send in my mails are definitely not a tinyURL address, they are the full URLS I pluck from the tool bar above my weblog. I know that, I see the address when I paste it in the Link maker.

  15. sgreifwonder
    Member

    There's a way to go around this bug. It's also clear WordPress is not at fault.
    But I won't post any more questions on this board. I don't want to be treated like an irresponsible adolescent.
    Thanks for all the help I received so far.

  16. bryanvillarin
    Staff

    It would be best not to make assumptions about someone having trouble with their blog. The last thing I'd want to do is alienate anyone genuinely asking for help in the forums. I love helping people, and I can tell that a lot of forum members here feel the same way, so I'd like to continue with our investigation. :-)

    For the record, I didn't ask for the blog URL because I can see exactly what sgreifwonder is referring to.

    @sgreifwonder — Please feel free to keep posting questions about your WordPress.com blog because I'm happy to keep answering them as best I can.

    Can you enable the TinyURL preview feature?

    By doing that, if you need to click the TinyURL link, it'll display the URL you're about to be redirected to at the TinyURL site, and you'll need to click it to proceed.

    Also, I've had great success with cleaning malware from infected PCs with this malware removal guide.

  17. sgreifwonder
    Member

    @bryanvillarin,
    Thanks.
    I clicked the TU link. But what am I seeing?? Not a personal message but a general page, I hope?

    You have set your preferences to show a preview of the URL before directly going to a TinyURL.

    So it seems I downloaded it. I never did intentionally. It's also asking for cookies, I never consented to that.
    Phew, I think I better run that malware... no, I'm not going to click any more links over there!

  18. bryanvillarin
    Staff

    But what am I seeing?

    Yes, that's correct — it's a general page. (I'm sorry I didn't give more details in my previous reply.)

    That TinyURL page saves a cookie in your browser so that if you ever come across a TinyURL link you need to click, you'll first see the URL you were initially going to be redirected to.

    Basically, it gives you the choice to continue to the actual URL (or not).

  19. sgreifwonder
    Member

    Okay. And I posted the forum remark from elsewhere that you can't get a virus from a tinyurl.
    I can't find it in my Program Files, so it's an on line service? But I s eem to have an account there, and I don't see how I can annul that account. I want to get rid of it.
    Remains the problem with the links in Gmails. at the moment, I have no mails to send and I could send one to friends, but the link will work for them because they are regular visitors to my blog.
    It's very odd that the relatively short and simple url address I have, needs sending twice. The second time around it always works. But then, I use the AnswerThisMail, in stead of sending a repeat link in a whole new mail...
    So it may be a Gmail feature after all.

  20. raincoaster
    Member

    Well, yes, I know mature links are not supposed to be dropped in the forum, but how am I to know that's what's going on with you? I had no idea what your blog was.

    And yes, it's an issue with Gmail. If you're in Google Docs, for instance, and copy a link in the document, Google inserts all kinds of junk code. It's a Google specialty.

  21. sgreifwonder
    Member

    Thanks, raincoaster. I'll slap this down on the Google forum.

    Advise for WordPress. Change 'member' into 'Mature member'. Because that's what I am.

  22. bryanvillarin
    Staff

    @sgreifwonder — In this case, I'd recommend contacting TinyURL about this since we aren't affiliated with them, and this isn't on our end.

  23. sgreifwonder
    Member

    Yes, I found their contact button too, I'll mail them. So far no word from the Gmail forum. I'm going to switch to another webmail service.
    Thanks, bryanvillarin. I'll put this on Resolved.

  24. bryanvillarin
    Staff

    You're welcome.

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