1. We have to centralise the service under one domain because it's running on a database - it's not that we're *forcing* people to use our domain, just that there's no other way to offer the service...
2. There is an interim page before you get taken to the original URL, but it's there for a good reason. One of the problems with MASL links is that you lose the contextual information provided by the original link. People could send links to nasty stuff, and their innocent victims would be none the wiser. We think the interim page serves a good purpose by allowing people to see where they are headed, and give them the chance to stop going there if they don't like the look of the destination URL. Note that we have resisted the temptation to put any advertising on that interim page... and if you really dislike it that much, you can always use the options page to set a cookie on your machine, that will mean you never have to see it again.
Giles (one of the MASL team)
