Since WordPress tries to be smarter than me, I use htaccess redirects to handle those “protocols” that WordPress incorrectly tries to translate in my links. Therefore, I end up with redirects like this:

Redirect 301 /gtalk xmpp:abiteofsanity@gmail.com

Which will browser-redirect to whatever application is set to handle Google Talk. Now, I can put a link on my site to http://abiteofsanity.com/gtalk and WordPress will manage it appropriately. If I try to put the “xmpp” address into the link, WordPress mangles it trying to turn it back into an “http” link.

To put it in a nutshell, if the forwarding is intended as permanent (which it is in most cases – unless you forward a parked domain temporarily to an existing site while you work on the content, that would be one of the rare cases of a temporary forwarding) you should tell browsers and search engines so by adding the corresponding status code in your .htaccess file.

Redirect /blog http://matthewebel.com/
would simply become
Redirect 301 /blog http://matthewebel.com/
if you want to establish a permanent forwarding.

Actually, my iTMS address only changed once, and that was shortly after they brought indie artists into the store anyway. I did, however, sign up for an affiliate link lately, so I don’t just send people to the iTMS anymore anyhow. Rather than go back and change all my iTunes links from previous posts and blogs, I just update my redirect and they all work.

This isn’t to say that the iTMS won’t change URL’s on us in the future, though. Ten years from now, who knows? They might have a major system change, but all I have to do is change one link in one file.

Pax,
Matthew