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A link with duration is a link that unlocks content for a certain period of time and can be created using the duration attribute. When a link with duration is paid, it starts displaying a countdown timer whenever the mouse hovers over the link. This indicates how much of the purchased time is left to be used.
You can delete this countdown using countdown="off". In this case, the already paid link appears like a regular link and does not display the price or the timer during the specified time. When the specified time ends, the link displays the price again.
Alternatively, you can have the countdown timer appear only in the last minutes. For example, if you use countdown="15", the countdown will only appear in the last 15 minutes, regardless of the value in the duration attribute.
In the example below, the 3 links unlock the same content. Therefore, purchasing any one of the three links will unlock all of them. However, they show the countdown in different ways, as indicated.
It is often a good idea to let the countdown appear when the Internet user pays for a paid-link with duration. However, in cases where there are too many paid-links in one page, it might be annoying for the Internet user to see the time that is left appearing in all those links, especially if they were all unlocked together via micro-subscription. In this case, it might be interesting to hide the countdown in individual links, and let the countdown appear only on the original micro-subscription button.
Yet you should avoid turning off the countdown completely on the links. Instead, let the countdown appear in the last minutes of the up time. By doing so, the Internet user will not be caught empty-handed when the time ends.
The countdown attribute only works with the duration attribute. However, the countdown attribute only affects the countdown, and hence does not have any impact that is not purely informative. It does not change the time when the duration attribute will unlock the link.