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LonelyGamer1337 t1_ivn62ph wrote

Reply to comment by haterhurter1 in An example of the rare but effective "self-yeet." by Alabussy

Pro tip: When you see. ? In a url it's a search query and anything after can typically be removed and the link will still work fine for sharing.

For example your link can be shortened to https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Screen-Door-Curtain-Friendly/dp/B07NPVQV34/ref=asc_df_B07NPVQV34/

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thephantom1492 t1_ivngun2 wrote

It can be shortened eveb more. The important part is the /dp/B07NPVQV34 so it can be shortened as https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NPVQV34

dp = display product

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Superdunez t1_ivo7jyi wrote

And with reddit formatting it can be shortened even more!.

[Link Description] (Web Address)

Remove the space between them.

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ThaneVim t1_ivn8die wrote

You can actually further shorten Amazon links. /ref is the starting point of its tracking data, and pointless for reaching the product page.

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skyler_on_the_moon t1_ivnlsrx wrote

Also, you can leave out the legible product name - you only need the item code.

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KernelTaint t1_ivnweyz wrote

It depends on the site.

The ? Just denotes the start of query parameters. They could be important, they could not be.

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tandpastatester t1_ivobbal wrote

It’s basically a universal way to transport additional user info or data between different environments/platforms without storing it somewhere in cookies.

It’s most commonly used for marketing purposes. These parameters/tags can be recognized by analytics software to collect relevant data about their page visits. E.g. it will allow them to analyze how the visitors arrived on their website, which search engine or advertisement did they come from, by which keywords, etc.

Another common way they’re used is for usability aspects by the website itself. When a page loads it will read the tags for user preferences like search order, filter options, interface settings, etc.

It’s basically harmless, the data isn’t as personal as cookie info. There’s no harm removing it from the url to make it prettier, but leaving it there doesn’t hurt either.

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KernelTaint t1_ivrj3hy wrote

Thanks, I know, I've been a software engineer for at least 30 years now.

> It’s most commonly used for marketing purposes.

That's a bold statement, it is used in plenty of places for things other than marketing and tracking.

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tandpastatester t1_ivstloj wrote

Yeah you might be right. I work in online marketing so I’m probably biased in that regard. 90% of the time I’m focusing on parameters it’s for tracking or SEO.

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