I feel like maybe HarryT could come talk to us? He mentioned in my thread in the Writer's Forum that he had a moral problem with undisclosed affiliate links, so maybe he could explain the opposition viewpoint and why this "special thread" format is considered necessary. He's a moderator, so he wouldn't get jumped on as a "complainer" -- we all know he works hard around here and people respect his opinion as a mod.
And if there is some "legal" reason why they have to do it this way, he would know and would be able to tell us.
Could somebody maybe PM him and ask him to come talk to us? Or is that too forward?