Google gets Another Class Action Suit - Site Banning!!!

[! search-engines-]

http://www.localnewsleader.com/kindred/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=160505

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060317/ap_on_hi_te/google_lawsuit


KinderStart‘s lawsuit alleges Google‘s policing efforts have penalized Web sites that have done nothing wrong. To make matters worse, the suit alleges the banished sites can‘t determine how they can restore their standings because the company doesn‘t explain its actions.

In 2003, Google persuaded a federal judge to dismiss a case filed by Oklahoma City-based Search King Inc. after its search ranking abruptly fell. Google argued its search ranking formula represented an opinion protected by the First Amendment, and U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange agreed.

KinderStart said its traffic plunged by 70 percent after Google dropped it. At its peak, KinderStart‘s visitors viewed more than 10 million Web pages per month, according to the suit. :argue:

[Cutter]

Yeah, I saw that. Pretty damn lame; what should Google do push them back up and bump off all the rankings of other websites? I think this lawsuit is just a publicity stunt.

[Nintendo]

Wouldn't this be just like a spammer registering here, get's banned for spamming, and then sues Chris for geting banned!!!! :D:D

[BGray]

Since when has being included in Google results been a right? This is ridiculous.

[Chris]

Still... it'd be nice if there was a way to figure out the whys and wherefors of penalties.

[KLB]

Still... it'd be nice if there was a way to figure out the whys and wherefors of penalties.

I don't know about this, I like the vagueness as it screws with those who try to use blackhat SEO efforts.

I hope the judge is smart enough to throw this case out. Google is hardly a monoply. MSN Search and Yahoo are very viable competitors.

[Shyflower]

I don't know about this, I like the vagueness as it screws with those who try to use blackhat SEO efforts.

I hope the judge is smart enough to throw this case out. Google is hardly a monoply. MSN Search and Yahoo are very viable competitors.
I agree with both you and IBBDB.
Google has the right to lock their doors to anyone they choose, just like any other business.

[Chris]

I don't know about this, I like the vagueness as it screws with those who try to use blackhat SEO efforts.

I hope the judge is smart enough to throw this case out. Google is hardly a monoply. MSN Search and Yahoo are very viable competitors.
But lately Google has been perhaps overzealous in their pursuit of spam. Take the so called "Sandbox" effect. People don't know if they're penalized or what.

[! search-engines-]

It IS a valid lawsuit -

1- Once a Powerful global information resource becomes extremely influential, it goes beyond - it's our right to do as we please - logic...

2- It becomes the right of society - gray area

Read Matts Blog - and the replies by - you know who about the consequences of being too dictatorial and blanket in a policies...

These types of actions will snowball, and will force policy tweaking in Google...

Google has dropped many innocent Websites - and of course, some that used certain SEO strategies that Google disapproved of...

This is unacceptable, when you become an extremely influential resource!

Google could tweak their ALGOS so as to make certain tactics useless - but NOT DROP websites - especially, in the case of ONLY ONE PAGE being at fault :mad:

This is the easy way out and unfair - that is why this suit or another suit will prevail.

[Jon]

If Google ever tells us flat out what needs to be done for you to get on top, I think their algo will be fried within a month's time from every webmaster in every market dashing as fast as they possibly can to that coveted #1 spot for every keyword out there.

[Cutter]

Ok, Google publishes exactly why sites are getting booted -- then everyone will know precisely which lines they can and can't cross, and that means both "blackhats" and "whitehats" will walk right up to those lines. It will turn from a game of trying to increase your rankings to seeing how you can push you opponents over that line.

Search engine ranking is a zero sum game. One person gets pushed up a ranking, someone else is bumped down. There is no equality or fairness. If your income rests on a few rankings then its your job to make things safer for you, not Google's. As for this "right of society" come on, Google's only goal is to push the most relevent results to the top. Better results, more users. The reason why Google blew all the other search engines away originally is because the optimizers weren't optimizing for Google. Now we have a rough picture of how Google ranks and Google's relevency just isn't what it used to be.

I'm on both sides of the fence here -- I make money from Google's rankings, but there is a bigger picture here too.

Either way if Google gets hit over the head a better search engine will evolve. May be it will be MSN, may be it will be one of us.

[BGray]

Still... it'd be nice if there was a way to figure out the whys and wherefors of penalties.

I agree, it would be great.



It IS a valid lawsuit -

1- Once a Powerful global information resource becomes extremely influential, it goes beyond - it's our right to do as we please - logic...

2- It becomes the right of society - gray area

Read Matts Blog - and the replies by - you know who about the consequences of being too dictatorial and blanket in a policies...

These types of actions will snowball, and will force policy tweaking in Google...

Google has dropped many innocent Websites - and of course, some that used certain SEO strategies that Google disapproved of...

This is unacceptable, when you become an extremely influential resource!

Google could tweak their ALGOS so as to make certain tactics useless - but NOT DROP websites - especially, in the case of ONLY ONE PAGE being at fault

This is the easy way out and unfair - that is why this suit or another suit will prevail.


Lots of suits are "valid" due to vague laws and open ended similar precedents. That doesn't make the suit a good one or mean that it really should be going through the judicial system. IMO this has no place in the judical system. If Google wants to exclude your site from their results because they don't like the way you part your hair they have every right to do that.