http://www.perlmonks.org?node_id=318913


in reply to Re: CGI script loop
in thread CGI script loop

Top Referrer scripts are meant to generate link trades. The idea goes something like this:
  1. You and 9 of your friends agree to put each other's banners up on your sites. But, there's a catch - you don't want to link to chromatic and potentially give him business unless his site is generating business for you.
  2. So, you only actually display one of your friends's banners. Which one is determined by how much business each friend has done for you.
  3. You keep track and, let's say chromatic has sent you 40%, tilly 40%, but jeffa's site never sends you any business. So, you display each person's banner according to the amount of business they've sent you.

The calculations can get arbitrarily complex. There are even sites that keep track of this stuff for you and your friends. (I've done some work for one of those, which is why I've even heard of this. And, yes, it's that industry that is the primary, secondary, and pretty much only user for this technology.)

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Please remember that I'm crufty and crochety. All opinions are purely mine and all code is untested, unless otherwise specified.