is it bad tactic.

I visited one site today that is claiming to be an SEO company, but they used a javascript for one of the links that is that is their affiliate link. I didn't realize it till I was taken to the other site. I came back to the original site and sure enough when i put my cursor over the link in the status bar it said javascript and not the URL. Isn't this one of the tactics that is called blackhat?
From my understanding as to what MattCutts was talking about paid links and such it is bad. Is it?

maybe they used (bad coded) Javascript just to hide the link?

diff. to say what is the reason, only direct links are working for SEO

Its nothing bad, just a bit stupid,

Javascript isn't interpreted by Google bot, so the link is never seen or followed the search engine is completely blind to it.

So if its an affiliate link or sponsored Link Matt Cutts will be very happy as the company is following his advice about not using permanent links (which carry weight in the engines) for sponsored links, Google believes that any link that has been paid for that is a normal hyperlink has been bought to game Google a some what egotistical approach but hey its Google and consequently try to remove any weight passed on such links the problem being it has no idea at all which links are paid for etc.

But using Javascript to create links is fine for search engines, it is not fine for European web sites as it breaches the various disability acts and probably given it can't be seen by search engines make the receiver unhappy to!

Thank you for clarifying this. I knew that the links cannot be seen by search engines if they are in javascript as I had that trouble before with some of my menus. I just thought that hiding an affiliation link so the person who is clicking it doesn't know that they are clicking on an ad was a bad thing.
I seriously despise Google.

Thank you for clarifying this. I knew that the links cannot be seen by search engines if they are in javascript as I had that trouble before with some of my menus. I just thought that hiding an affiliation link so the person who is clicking it doesn't know that they are clicking on an ad was a bad thing.
I seriously despise Google.

as I said you can hide the status with Javascript while the link is real:

onmouseover="window.status='nice link'"

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I think using this technique for affiliate links works fine, as some people don't like to links that look so much as affiliate links.

I guess that's where my own downfall would be. As I don't like deceiving people. I would rather they know that they are clicking on something that is advertising. I don't advertise products that I personally don't like. And in kind I tend to believe that most people are like that, but when they hide the advertisement I, for personal notes, put them in the category of spam and never use them again.

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