Since when is that an offence? Do you remember when we (IHubbbers) made fun of RB and Yahoo because they blocked IH links from posts? And, if I remember correctly, Matt not being worried about either them blocking IH or IH linking out because IH had the strength and growth for it not to matter?
Are we so worried about someone reading a message on another message board now?
One of the biggest reasons why so many people left Ragingbull.com is because links to competitors' sites weren't, and still aren't allowed. It made for a 'dull' community. They've lost about 50% of their members in the last year alone.
Too many restrictions can be a website's downfall.