There has been a lot of talk recently about sponsorship and themes. I have refrained from commenting on this matter, because I have not submitted any themes yet to OD so I don't see that I have the right (I will get around to submitting my themes from oswd eventually). But I recently came across the following link on the blog of a lady who develops wordpress themes and I thought I would share it. Now, I know this is to do with wordpress themes and not general xhtml css templates, but the message is the same.

http://www.wpdiva.com/themes/48/ethical-theme-sponsorship-links.html

I would appreciate your comments on the matter.

I think the author addressed an important point which is this part:

It’s true that some theme designers will put out a
sub-standard theme simply because someone paid for the sponsor link.
But, in doing so, these theme designers are only harming themselves
in the long run.
...
There is actually software on the market for the sole purpose of
mass-producing themes based on the Kubrick theme (and I don’t plan to link to it),
which is a shame.

Problem is that those who are misusing sponsored link allowance for spamming
do not think in the long run but are just interested in quick clicks and ranking.
There are too many people out there who just want to make quick money
in the internet and with all the google hype the main focus is on links.
Sponsored links are a sensitive issue with an high risk of misuse.

Allowing sponsored links can quickly become a can of worms because unfortunately
not everybody has the same good intentions like the author of this article or
thinks so reasonable. Many, many will just take the chance and spam their
links this way.

Of course you can say that nobody is forced to use a theme but sponsored
links are just another open door for spammers and looking for another
theme can quickly become annoying since most themes will have sponsored
not theme related links then (wanna bet?)

I can understand the point of the author of this article, however, she
didn't write anything about designer links. Of course the designer
should benefit from designing a theme and publishing it for free.
Isn't this what the mandatory designer link is for? The template as reference
to attract a greater public to the own website.

The author says one sponsored link should be allowed. Does this
include the designer link or is the designer link extra? She didn't
speak of the designer link at all.

Just curious ... what is the average rate for a sponsored link?
(p.s. Actually I don't think it is just a question of the designer being paid
but I can imagine that many rather doubious companies would take the chance and
publish themes just to place their links on it .. the wordpress community is big and
who wouldn't want to address it as market through such an inexpensive instrument like a mass produced theme?)