I would never think a program shaved just because they didn't use NATS. I would think they shaved based on proof. It it was just a gut feeling, I would just drop them and move on. Plenty of programs available to promote. And alot of bigger programs use custom scripts because there are features they want that NATS doesn't have or it would be too much of a pain to change it. NATS hasn't been around forever,
There seems to be lots of ways sponsers can utilize affiliate traffic. Some ways are ethical and some really cross the line. The debate lies with what proper credit is exactly. And that does vary from affiliate to affiliate.
Many things have come to light recently and at least the information has made it to the masses. Things like sponsers overwriting affiliate cookies under certain circustances or revshare programs that only pay revshare for 2 weeks. Redirecting certain browsers or IP ranges to different sponsers without crediting the affiliate whatsoever.
Some affiliates could care less about shaving, as long as at the end of the day they are making more cash. Others would rather make a little less knowing the program was honest. But determining what makes a program 'honest' is subjective. I believe that as long as a program fully discloses their terms to affiliates they can run their business as they see fit. This is provided the program does not make it impossible to find this data by putting it in small print or completely ommitting it. Just like anything else, do some research on the company(s) you are going to promote. Talk with them on the phone and have a way to make sure your stats check out with what they should be. If things aren't right, call them on it and let them explain it to you. If it seems fishy, out 'em.
