t’s Neighborly to Share Links

However, when you link to an interesting blog post or article, you should know what you’re sharing. Are you directing people to the top of the page — or somewhere else?

Note: Two of the active links in this post will open in new tabs. Two links contain an extra space after https: that I inserted to keep them from forming navigable URLs.

Nothing Speaks Louder Than Examples

Let’s scrutinize my article about exploiting facial expressions in writing:

https://kathysteinemann.com/Musings/expressions/ (opens in a new tab)

I left a comment. The page updated and took me back to where I left off. All is good.

However, when I examine my browser’s address bar, the URL has changed to

https: //kathysteinemann.com/Musings/expressions/#comment-9861

Which Link Should I Share?

Should I direct people to my comment or to the beginning of the post? To the beginning of the post, of course.

That means I need to remove everything from the # symbol on.

Here’s Another Example from WordPress.com

https://kathysteinemann.wordpress.com/2020/08/26/how-to-create-an-unforgettable-title-for-your-book/ (opens in a new tab)

I entered a comment, the page updated, and the URL in my address bar changed to

https: //kathysteinemann.wordpress.com/2020/08/26/how-to-create-an-unforgettable-title-for-your-book/comment-page-1/#comment-50

In this case, everything following the final slash in the original URL should be removed — once again, from the # symbol on.

Continue reading →

If you click on a Continue reading → link from a site (or its equivalent), the site will generate a URL that ends with something like this:

/#more-5711

Does this look familiar? As in previous examples, the # symbol and everything that follows it should be removed.

Blogspot Does It Too

Blogspot adds characters such as:

?showComment=1482591043540#c3426660869710627320

To fix, delete the question mark and all subsequent characters.

The pattern will be similar on most blogging platforms.

Beware Social Media Share Buttons

These buttons share the URL displayed in your browser’s address bar. So if you’ve posted a comment or accessed a Continue reading → link, your browser will relay the URL plus the extraneous information added by the site you’re visiting.

Ditto for News Portals, Magazines, Literary Journals, Etc.

Many sites add a jumble of letters, numbers, and symbols to all their URLs. Some URLs take up several lines.

The Backspacing Approach

Try removing everything that looks strange. If the link doesn’t work, go back one page and remove fewer characters. Then try the link again.

With a few seconds of experimentation, you’ll produce a streamlined URL that works and looks better.

Simpler Than Backspacing

The easiest fix is to be proactive and copy the URL from your address bar before you comment.

Effortless. Fast. User-friendly.

Important Points You Might Not Consider

• Social media sites like X (formerly Twitter) restrict the number of characters you can share. Eliminating the extraneous information in a URL will leave you more room to provide useful information and hashtags.
• If your links aren’t “clean,” fewer people will repost and reshare them.

That Includes Book Links

Amazon and other companies add superfluous characters to links for books, reviews, and subsidiary pages.

For more information, see Writers: Do You Know the Best Ways to Share Links?