"...curious to hear HN's thoughts on if this should be fixed or is acceptable."
I consider it unacceptable. Why does Google do this? Is it for the purpose of tracking users?
This feels like a common problem with URLs. More and more sites send you onto other links while apppending some identifier to the URL. I frequently come across links shared by friends and colleagues where I can immediately see the referral site that was the source of the link (even though the destination of the link is different). Presumably this is yet another layer to the endless (but rarely questioned) tracking that has become the norm on the web.
I consider it unacceptable. Why does Google do this? Is it for the purpose of tracking users?
This feels like a common problem with URLs. More and more sites send you onto other links while apppending some identifier to the URL. I frequently come across links shared by friends and colleagues where I can immediately see the referral site that was the source of the link (even though the destination of the link is different). Presumably this is yet another layer to the endless (but rarely questioned) tracking that has become the norm on the web.