Directory Listing Policy Changes

With the recent relaunch of the Web Designer Directory, we’ve made two significant policies changes that I want to make advertisers aware of:

Links have been changed to out.php?id=XXXX instead of a straight link
I know this switch will probably make a number of our advertisers unhappy and I was very reluctant to make it but I feel it was needed. Recent events and comments from members of the Google team have made it clear that Google frowns upon the selling of text links in any form. The directory derives a great deal of traffic from Google (we’re currently ranked #2 for “web designers”) and I don’t want to do anything to endanger that status. On the upside, this change will allow us to finally implement click-tracking, a feature many advertisers have requested.
Listings are sorted randomly
Previously, listings were ordered by the purchase date. While this was great for the first guy, it really sucked for the last guy. From now on, all listings will be sorted randomly. Sponsored listings will still be shown above free listings and the Google/Yahoo ads. I believe this will be a fairer policy.

Is this a wise decision or should I have told Google stick it?

NOTE: An e-mail notification of these policy changes was sent to all advertisers who agreed to receive the Xemion newsletter. If you did not receive or missed the newsletter, it can be viewed here. If you’re not on the list and would like to receive the next newsletter, be sure to login to your account and check the “Receive e-mail from Administrators” checkbox.