Whoa, a bit.ly link? Was that really necessary?

Excuse my ignorance, but what's wrong with bit.ly? Or are you simply objecting to the need to shorten the URL?

A bit.ly link prevents a HN reader from figuring out where the link is going to send him/her. When there is a limitation of 144 characters, URL shortners make a lot of sense. I got the feeling that people generally don't prefer them on HN.

With shortened links you have no idea where the link leads, and you can also be tracked (to varying extents—at least my following the link is registered). They also act as an additional potential point of failure.

link shorteners are generally frowned upon here on HN. They're unnecessary (if there is a character limit on posts, I've never reached it) and they have some downsides. So just post the whole link.

Makes it hard to combat spam, because you don't know where the link goes.