https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=703657.04. No referral code (ref link) spam. [1]
As far as I can tell the interpretation of spam here is generally that you should not post any referral links. The punishment seems harsh though, I think mostly the posts just get deleted unless someone keeps doing it.
When I was a newbie I posted a referral link. That post was deleted and I received the typical email:
A reply of yours, quoted below, was deleted by a Bitcoin Forum moderator. Posts are most frequently deleted because they are off-topic, though they can also be deleted for other reasons. In the future, please avoid posting things that need to be deleted.
Nothing else happened. So, I dont think its just for posting a referral link.