Do I even need a Links Page?

Greetings to all!

As a new [albeit Trial] member of HWG, this is my first post. 

[Insert applause here.]

I'm a newbie to the world of HTML programming, but I'm trying to apply my
surfing experience to web-page building.

My question: Does a site [even a commercial one, such as I'm working on]
really need the ubiquitous "Links" page?

Are commercial websites that prominently feature links pages shooting
themselves in the foot?

I ask this based on my own experience. When I'm visiting a site, looking for
imformation, early on I'll check out the Links page to see if there are any
better sites. And there usually are. So, the site I originally visited never
gets bookmarked.

I would like to avoid such "click-throughs" [is that phrase my own invention,
or did I read it somewhere?] by limiting my links to ones embedded in the
text, serving a "For-more-information-on-this-subject-see...." role.

Would I be making a humungous mistake by not having a Links page?

I realize that this question may be more appropriate for the hwg-techniques
list, but that list is overflowing as it is. I would like to discuss this as a
matter of theory. 

Thanks in advance for your input!

Dave Dughi

PS: Just to prove that I did my homework, I located a 4/10/98 post by ND-IT
concerning a customer of his who was concerned about 'audiences who wander
off' because of Links pages. That's very much my concern, too.

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