Mike, I agree with you on your first point. Requiring more than just a link is not the way to go.
Just so you know, I’ve had over 10 years of affiliate marketing experience. I’ve even worked as an affiliate manager for one of the “top” gurus so I think I know a little about affiliate marketing.
Amin, I too am having issues getting the affiliate plugin to work correctly, but I’ll start another thread for my issue so I don’t hijack this thread.