Question in the context of my project: Is it spam to put a link?

Question

I have this question about a particular problem that arose in the context of my open source project.

It is a presumably rare issue, that most people would not believe can exist. At least, I don't know any other other project that has mentioned the same problem.

QUESTION: Should I refrain from inserting anything that might help identify what said project is, and keep the question totally generic?

Excerpt of the comments conversation:

USER1: this question triggers spam alerts.
ASKER: Should I remove all links and anything that could let anyone identify the app?
USER1: This would help. Or at least do not have them inline, but make them obvious by listing them at the end.
ASKER: I removed the link to the app, per your request.
USER1: The remaining link is still embedded in text that reads as if you were trying to spam ("our ... platform"). People have hair triggers for such things.

Answer 1

First off, I can't tell you for sure what other people might consider spam.

What the reason for people to downvote is is at best a guess. I can tell you what came across as spammy to me though. Primarily that was linking to the play store, combined with not saying what the project is. It feels like clickbait: I expected a link to the project, for example the github page, and I find something that feels like DOWNLOAD NOW FOR FREE.

Compare:

My Open Source App (download now) is used by millions of people and is available in 40 languages. ...

I'm the developer of an open source app, Anki (github link), which had been pretty successful so far, and I have managed to get it translated to 40 languages. ...

Lastly, please consider that when people downvote because they think it's spammy (even if that wasn't your original intent) they might never come back revisit their vote, even if you edit it. Bad first impressions can really screw you over.

Answer 2

It's fair enough to link to the app you're referring to, and you don't have to remove all reference to your app and make it a general question - specific questions are fine. It's also fine to link to the store.

However, be clear about what you're linking. Don't make it seem like you're linking code and then link the store, or vice versa.

IMO, the link in your first sentence was fine - you say "my app" - I expect that to be a link to the app itself. A link to a store is fine there. If you'd linked the store on "open source" instead, I'd have expected the source, which is not fine. Link text should be relevant to the link.

However, the paragraph you added in this revision is pure marketing. That's the bit that really feels spammy to me. You're here to get help with something, not to sell your product - if I'd seen that I would have edited it out. It's OK to provide details, but if you sound like an advert it needs rewording.