I tried to duplicate what you're seeing and I found that when I clicked on a category then a specific image, or did a word search and selected an image I got the "messy" URL but if I clicked on one of the images in the "similar images" section it remained a "clean" URL.  Since I'm not a programmer I have no idea what would cause the difference though I guess it has something to do with returned search results. 

Oh and regarding your blog URLs - Symbiostock has nothing to do with them. Did you change anything? Such as permalink settings? Generally you want the "post" setting.

I only use Post Name in my Permalink settings. I double checked, and nothing has changed in my settings. I have no idea where the 155-2 is coming from. The strange thing is, if you hover over the link to my page of posts, the 155-2 is definitely there for keeps. So my URL is suddenly different. If I try to go to the original page of posts URL name, I get there but the 155-2 is added into the URL. Weird.

As long as that is the only page with an issue, I think I'm fine with it. I don't want to see it crop up on my image pages though, or my SEO is toast.

To this point I haven't found any more instances. So weird.

I will cautiously say Yes

I have noticed dirty URLs on my site today. This is something new. I read through the previous posts and Leo is saying

What your seeing a a referral variable added when the user clicks (javascript does that - google does not see it).

Where is the URL being referred to? It did not appear in all the previous versions. Can I remove the referral script and what are the consequences?

What is an example of this dirty URL?

steve

Its a technological illusion Check the source and you will see there are no dirty urls for those links

If you can't figure out whats happening I'll explain it, and why its happening. 

Quote from: Leo on July 13, 2013, 15:12

Its a technological illusion Check the source and you will see there are no dirty urls for those links

If you can't figure out whats happening I'll explain it, and why its happening. 

You are going to need to explain it, please.

As I mentioned above, here are my questions. Please answer them.

1. Where is the URL being referred to? It did not appear in all the previous versions, this is something that has just cropped up and I have noticed it today.
2. Can I remove the referral script and what are the consequences?
3. If yes, where does the referral script code reside (what file is it in)
4. The code was put there for a reason. Please explain the reason.

Thanks.

1. Where is the URL being referred to? It did not appear in all the previous versions, this is something that has just cropped up and I have noticed it today.

Its not being referred anywhere, but actually its saying "who referred you". So if someone clicked on your search results from their site, the variable part after the "?" would show their site.

The variable your talking about is added by javascript when a click happens - your browser does it.

2. Can I remove the referral script and what are the consequences?

You could possibly, and there would not be any. I could show you where it resides and you could delete it every time you upgrade, but it really is pointless since it doesn't hurt anything and actually helps more.

3. If yes, where does the referral script code reside (what file is it in)

If you still want to delete it, I'll look for it again.

4. The code was put there for a reason. Please explain the reason.

The system exists for ONE reason: Seeing network activity and how it benefits you. So you can see how many visits your getting from your friend's site, and they can see how many visits are coming from yours. The network is sort of "blind faith" until you see the numbers. This makes numbers possible.

Right now its there as a foundation - its not been built on yet. PLRANG is making a plugin you can use that will help you see your network's traffic activity.