A while back I released the Real Time Find and Replace plugin to remove links injected by other plugins. It lets me remove them without modifying the plugin code so that upgrades remain easy.

Some people were actually trying to convince me to sell SEO Super Comments (no lite version, just the finished polished product) but I just couldn't be bothered (I am not a salesman).

This triggers again the questions about plugins and plugin developers in WP world which still commercially continues to be ruled by designers and 'premium' themes.

First of all, thank you Vladimir for writing about my little plugin, I am a big fan, especially of your latest VERY clever plugin, SEO Super Comments (I wish I had thought of that idea).

I can see both sides of this argument, and since I made the change in the latest Lite version of SEO Booster, I guess what I decided to do is pretty obvious.

I was indeed rather frustrated by the lack of people who dropped by my site to say thank you, and the amount of people that actually left a comment was VERY low, and how many donations do you think I've had? - 1 - Just the one. Also, I could see the amount of people that left the link in the widget was VERY low.

(On a side-note, the backlink is only displayed once the correct settings for boosting serp page 2 searches kick in and start displaying anchored internal links, so the plugin does not get "unjustified" linkjuice, I felt that made it a lot more honest).

Seeing the amount of strong feelings on this subject, I will consider making the backlink optional again in future updates for the Lite version. But, in return, be honest.. Will you drop by my homepage to leave feedback or say thank you, and will you do it to the other authors of plugins you use on your blog(s)?

As for my random anchor text, I am building a range of plugins, and the keywords I chose are/will be suited for the domain and content. I actually also considered setting up a system for deeplinking to individual product pages for the individual plugins I am creating, but felt that could result in totally unrelated links on the individual blogs that use the plugin, although it could be good for SEO :-)

A few individual comments for other comments that caught my eye:

@greg: "I wouldn't want my blogs linking to a shady link building site." I do believe that comment is a bit harsh. Consider visiting the my blog first, please :-)

@Max: You have a very valid point about the different anchor texts, and I will also consider limiting the anchor text to only "mywordpress.com" for instance, but the main discussion is still about whether or not my choice to enforce backlinking. I will take your valid point into consideration. Please also note I did not choose to target pharmacy anchor texts :-)

Now that you have my attention and the debate is in full effect, you can help form the future of the plugin(s) I publish for free (there are a few in the works), does my point of view make sense? I am very interested in hearing your opinion.

Thank you again Vladimir for starting the debate, I am curious to see where the debate will end.

You say there is a trend where plugin devs are trying to monetize by any means necessary, and you have a problem with it. Well I have a problem with people who download plugins, never even leave a thank you message, and expect these plugin authors to continue supporting them, for zero financial return. If there are two options of the same plugin, one with linkback and one without, where the one without costs you a few bucks, I am all for it. Or better yet, maybe you can learn how to build a plugin and release it free, without a linkback.

P.S. if you google, there is a lot of discussions mentioning "link intent". Funny, some one even called Google a "link intention police" :)