I spent part of the day writing a detailed explanation of how to create shortcuts to scripts, along with an open-source module that handles shortcut creation. The post was flagged immediately. I shortened it, removed some links, and eventually reduced it to just a couple of paragraphs, but it was still flagged.
At first I wondered whether external links were no longer allowed, since the only links were to a code-hosting site. It turns out the links themselves seem to be fine. The automatic filter appears to react to mentioning the Windows scripting object written as `WScript.Shell`, and possibly to code containing it. Has anyone else run into this? It makes sharing useful scripts and durable answers pretty difficult when legitimate technical content is removed instantly.
2 Answers
I wondered about the same thing and tested it by sharing the shortcut tool and then a small code example. The behavior points more toward the scripting object being flagged than toward links in general. Code-hosting links have worked in other posts, so this looks like an overly aggressive automated rule rather than a blanket link ban.
The hosting link probably isn’t the issue. Posts containing a particular Windows scripting object—`WScript.Shell`—seem to trigger an automatic filter almost immediately. Even shortening the explanation or removing links won’t help if that phrase or related code is still present.
That matches what I eventually figured out. Links are allowed; mentioning the object written as `WScript.Shell` is what causes the instant removal. It feels like accidentally discovering a forbidden keyword.