Transform bare links with metadata found from the site it links to. Also known as unfurling. While it may sound like a made up bit of tech jargon, it’s an actual word that means “to spread out from a rolled or folded state”.

Unfurled previews are handy because they give everyone a glimpse of what someone linked to, and let you know if it’s helpful or not as you go about your day processing dozens of topics and reading hundreds of short messages. A preview saves lots of time throughout your day, as you decide whether or not something is worth reading, or better skipped over.


Here is what happens when a link to a URL shortener is posted:

Settings

Before the mod will take effect, the admin must go to Administration Center » Configuration » Link Previews and enable it. Select which boards you want the mod to activate on.


While most sites are pretty good about unfurl previews, you may witness a few that have no description or a generic short description of a site instead of specific information about the page being shared. You may desire to not have links to such sites show the unfurled context; therefore, a blacklist is available.

Blacklisted links can be partial matches.