Dom,
This is something I know a fair amount about, seeing as I attempted to put in such a rule when I was at PartnerLogic. This was back in 2006…remember?
Anyway, FWIW, this is what I think:
I honestly believe that quotas are fine, so long as they are stated in the T&C’s WHEN THE AFFILIATE SIGNS UP.
It is totally unethical to retroactively put them on, so that they affect affiliates who have been supporting your program through the good times (i.e. pre-UIGEA)
The problem the affiliate companies face is that the very people they want to stop paying are those for whom it is too late, ethically, to stop paying…
By implementing the rule now, they’ll prevent this from being as big a problem for them in the future, sure, but I get the feeling that the reason it is becoming prominent now is that affiliate programs are looking for short-term quick-fixes to revenue/profit shortages
Something I am learning as an affiliate more and more, is that short-termism ain’t fair. We put months and months of work, effort and planning into campaigns, and for an affiliate program to then decide willy-nilly that they have shifted the goal posts, is just not on
2 cents deposited!