It was just a few days ago that I was gushing about how Engadget had earned my loyalty by enabling me to consume their content on my terms with a full-text feed.  I've said that, in the long run, they've gotten more page impressions than they would have by giving me a partial feed and "forcing" me to visit the site. ( Ignoring for a moment the fact that the RSS feeds now have adverts )

I called out Weblogs Inc earlier this year for a similar problem  first raised by Tyme: the RSS feeds did not include a link to the source, which forced readers through the WIN blog to read the article.  At its core, the issue is the same as partial-text feeds: the conversation is no longer on my terms.  Jason Calacanis acknowledged the problem and it was eventually resolved.

Yet in the last few days, I've noticed that those links have mysteriously gone missing from the RSS feeds once again.

What's going on over there at Weblogs Inc? I really hope this was just a hiccup from the weekend maintenance and not a conscious decision to remove the links. 

Just remember: trust and loyalty are fickle things. They take a long time to earn, but are easily lost - and once lost, not easily reclaimed.