[phlogiston]

Originally Posted by djbaxter

My advice is to turn off URL rewriting.

Personally speaking I find URL rewriting to be a great service to members and the broader internet population when faced with a link whether or not it improves search engine ranking and so I despair when folk say "it adds nothing" - it can add context and information to real people.

To explain: the majority of the time folk cut & paste links from the url address bar and often with no context.
for example: "CHECK THIS OUT! http://www.spoiltcat.com/showthread.php?t=2083 " doesn't have any hints of what to expect, whereas rewriten " http://www.spoiltcat.com/danni_minogue-t2083.html " has already given away that the link (probably!) has something to do with Kylie Minogue's sister, Danni...
For casual browsers I've improved the quality of traffic to my site simply by the link identifying what it's about.


If the occasional search engine bumps me from ranked 103 to 102 because of it well that's a nice bonus...