from Kim Kommand's link of the day
By shortening a URL, posters can stay within Twitter's character limit. The URLs are also easier to remember. You'll find them on sites other than Twitter, too.
But there's a problem with shortened URLs. Criminals use them to lure people to malicious Web sites
With unhid.co.cc you can easy preview short URLs from every shortening service like http://tinyurl.com revealing where they really go!
With this tool you don't have to care about spam and nasty, malicious links!
Not to resurrect an older thread, but is it preferred to use shortened URLs in the forums? Sometimes links can be bulky and just plain unsightly. Given the nature of malicious links that could be hidden, I was just looking for the most compliant method of link posting.
To hide long link i use the insert link icon. It's the globe icon.
1 click icon and (url)(/url) appears with brackets [ ] [/] I change to illustrate.
2 (url)(/url) add = inside first set of brackets (url=)(/url)
3 add you link inside brackets (url=http://www.renaissancefestival.com)(/url)
4 Place text between brackets (url=http://www.renaissancefestival.com) click here (/url)