Is it a good idea to mask/cloak links via redirects

[froggyboy604]

I see a lot of affiliate marketers, and website owners cloak/mask links to make them look more attractive. They usually use Redirect files via php, html, or htaccess.

For example, a link which is cloak looks like example.com/link , but it actually redirects to example2.com/aff=?123 via a redirect file or htaccess file in the root of their server.

Would Search engines punish the webmaster for link cloaking/masking, and redirecting users to a different website not on their own domain?

 

[netsavy006]

I gather it's ok. Lisa does it and even has a video on how to do it:

[youtube]1JH8u1zB6r8[/youtube]

I hope this is what you were asking about and I hope it helps.
Andy

 

[etc]

i think isn't a bad idea however,i prefer shrinking

 

[Joshua Farrell]

I consider it ok, so long as only one url will display the content, and the other will redirect to the url that is displaying it. Google tends to push down the results some if the content can be accessed in full in two or more locations.