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I have searched meta Stack Overflow and have found answers that say something along the lines of "spammy posts with affiliate links will be marked as spam".

However, If I was to post a detailed, helpful answer to a question, with a supplemental link to an app from the app store (not necessarily my app), would I be allowed to add my affiliate ID to the end of that link or would that be considered spam?

This question is different from Hitchin' a Ride because it is about adding affiliate links to sites that the answerer does not own such as itunes.apple.com and not about linking to your own product or service.

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    your answer needs to stand on its own, WITHOUT the link. Think of it this way : "If the link becomes dead, is my answer still an answer?" If it doesn't.... then it's a bad, spammy answer. If it stands on its own, it's ok. For instance "here is how you foo the bar [full, detailed explanation]. For more info, or for an app that does that, look at [my blog, my app, my website]". But the answer has to be good. If you just say "to foo the bar, use my app"... then no – Patrice Aug 12 '15 at 18:22
  • @Ben i already saw those. thats where i got this question from. if was wondering if an affiliate link in a non-spammy answer is acceptable. – MoralCode Aug 12 '15 at 18:27
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    I think this answer on a similar question is worth reading – rene Aug 12 '15 at 18:28
  • "Personally, I would flag any affiliate links as spam." is fairly definite @Developer_ACE. – Ben Aug 12 '15 at 18:28
  • That is the opinion of one person @ben. I wrote this question because I wanted to see what the rest of the stack overflow community thinks about this. – MoralCode Aug 12 '15 at 18:31
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    @Developer_ACE to give credit where credit is due.... this is the opinion of the CREATOR of the site, so it might be a bit "stronger" – Patrice Aug 12 '15 at 18:35
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That would be considered spam. Your affiliate ID does nothing to enhance an answer. It serves only to provide you with income. You're not the one incurring a cost by hosting content on Stack Overflow, so you're not the one who deserves to be paid. We're all volunteering our time and knowledge here for free. Allowing affiliate links would give the wrong kind of encouragement for people to post here.

  • So if I put my time and effort into crafting quality answers for other users of this site, then I cant be allowed to make a few cents for my time? Also, people could use this post so that they don't get the wrong idea about using affiliate links... – MoralCode Aug 12 '15 at 18:44
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    @Developer_ACE If you want to make money for posting things on the Internet, start your own site. This one is for volunteers. – Bill the Lizard Aug 12 '15 at 18:45
  • This isn't about ME making money. I posted this question because I wanted to clarify information that was left out of other, similar posts. – MoralCode Aug 12 '15 at 18:55
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    You are however free to put whatever you want in your profile, as long as it isn't offensive. – Kevin B Aug 12 '15 at 18:56
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    @Developer_ACE "So if I put my time and effort into crafting quality answers for other users of this site, then I cant be allowed to make a few cents for my time?" It's fine to ask a hypothetical question, but how is that not about you making money? – Bill the Lizard Aug 12 '15 at 18:57
  • @Developer_ACE Wait. so, you're purpose of posting an affialiate link was clarification? why does it need to be linked to your affiliate id if it's purpose is just to clarify? – Kevin B Aug 12 '15 at 18:57
  • @KevinB the purpose of posting this question was to clarify if affiliate links would be allowed if the answer was useful, detailed and could stand alone without the link. in other words, if the link is supplementary to the answer. – MoralCode Aug 12 '15 at 19:03
  • @Developer_ACE This might be an interesting read for you: meta.stackexchange.com/questions/26964/… SE already auto inserts their own affiliate links for amanzon. – Kevin B Aug 12 '15 at 19:11
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    FWIW, i wouldn't flag the post as spam if the link truly was complementary and the post didn't look spammy. Though, i would first look through your other posts to make sure you aren't' just taking every chance you can to spread said link. I try to always assume good intentions until proven otherwise. – Kevin B Aug 12 '15 at 19:12
  • @KevinB thats what I would do too! – MoralCode Aug 12 '15 at 19:21

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