[ NNSquad ] [OT] is a link a link?

[Mikus Grinbergs <mikus@bga.com>]

In connection with the webpage content-hijacking discussion:

I forget the name for it, but there is a technology which overlays 
selected ordinary text in a webpage with a link to a pop-up (which 
often displays a commercial message).  Since I presume this is being 
applied at the originating website, it's off-topic regarding content 
modification by ISPs (though who knows).

On a webpage where this occurs, to my dismay I cannot visually 
distinguish between links originally provided by the text author 
(e.g., for clarification) and links subsequently introduced by 
someone else (e.g., for advertising).  The best I can do is hover my 
cursor over what looks like a link, to let the browser display the 
URL for that "link" (and hope for no intervention by a pop-up).

mikus