1. Instead of saying "We're not a CDN", provide a guide where people can copy-paste a CDN link that isn't yours. People don't care that you don't host it, they just want a quick solution, so nudge them.
2. When hosting the minified, etc. files "not for CDN purposes", do so on a changing subdomain so that you can periodically invalidate spam from people who mistook the free download link from the CDN link, simply by removing the DNS record. If you're not opposed to CDNs (I am), just make the download link a CDN link.
CDNs can track which sites you are browsing, at the very least via knowing the request referrer URL. The larger the CDN, the more you are likely to be served a file from it, and the more information it can collect about you.
What selfhoster11 said is the principal reason. In practice, you take for granted that CDNs are generally more available because they’re bigger, but it also means they’re more likely to be blocked. As an example, sites that use CDNs don’t load well in China. Sites that don’t use CDNs generally work flawlessly.
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[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 20.4 ms ] thread1. Instead of saying "We're not a CDN", provide a guide where people can copy-paste a CDN link that isn't yours. People don't care that you don't host it, they just want a quick solution, so nudge them.
2. When hosting the minified, etc. files "not for CDN purposes", do so on a changing subdomain so that you can periodically invalidate spam from people who mistook the free download link from the CDN link, simply by removing the DNS record. If you're not opposed to CDNs (I am), just make the download link a CDN link.