Well, we all remember things selectively – things were not quite as peaceful as we would like to remember.
But one thing we had was a norm we applied to aff programs. And if they deviated from that norm in a way that hurt us we gave them hell.
Now – we have no norms. Programs make whatever rules they like, and there are always going to be plenty of uninformed affiliates out there to promote them anyway.
Changing the rules was a lengthy process for programs, and the change had to meet affiliate approval or the program had to give a choice. No forced retro active changes. That went out the window pretty much.
Today – does anyone even know what type of cookies their programs use? We used to have input on that.
Quotas – they were unheard of. Now, many programs have it to where if something happens and you don’t deliver new players in a given time period, they simply take all the money coming in from your referred players. Think it can’t happen to you? Think again, people get sick, lose ranking in google, all kinds of circumstances can happen and make you lose what you may have left.
If we don’t have clear do’s and don’t’s for affiliate programs, there can never be cohesive action.