The era of telling

I am disappointed. I am disappointed that so many people out there use whatever they can to get attention to what others are doing for SEO. I cannot believe this recent post by Grey Wolf .
If someone gives me a gift and I am thankful and link to that person on my blog, am I subject to being penalized for it?
I think that this blog post of his is taking it far too far.
How long will we have to read this kind of stuff?
Are you guys really that interested in what everyone else might be doing?