I understand where John Gruber is going with this, but I think he’s overreacting. I see this much more as a Hanlon’s Razor situation. AllThingsD did link directly to the source they got the information from, which is giving proper credit in my opinion.

I think where we differ is over the reading of the original language.

The original language in the AllThingsD article is:

As noted by an Apple enthusiast site, there are now more than 100,000 iPad apps […]

John goes on to say:

“Enthusiast site” is pejorative. Enthusiast implies that MacStories is produced by zealous hobbyists.

However I didn’t read it the same way. Instead of seeing that as meaning the site is produced by enthusiasts, I see it as meaning a site produced for enthusiasts; a site for people who are interested in Apple. I think that description is correct, and I don’t see it as pejorative.

I wonder if John’s own position as a small publisher has him (naturally) a little defensive here. Without the reading of the reference to MacStories as pejorative, would he still have been struck by this strongly enough to write about it? Or would he have shrugged and gone on to the next article? I could see it going either way.

John does have some interesting thoughts around linking correctly (some very black and white rules); and they are worth reading and considering as he’s done more of it than most of us have.