[bumblebird]

That problem should be solved in the 'reader'. If a url looks long, get your email client to show a small version of it. Get it to show the full URL when you hover over it. Whatever. Just do it in the client.

Even on twitter it's a stupid artificial restriction. It would be pretty trivial to show minified links for SMS alerts (Which is a tiny amount of twitter anyway now), and show full URLs for everyone else. Then clients could show the urls how they like.

[storborg]

Sure, since it's definitely easier to change thousands of different email clients, twitter clients, and cellphones in use around the world than it is to write a 10-line web app that wraps a key-value store.

[roc]

Exactly.

And while they're at it, they could emphasize the actual root domain when showing links.

The fact that scammer links with obfuscated URLs are still successful is shameful.