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Comment by JacobAldridge | Hacker News Reader

I'm kind of ambivalent on that point. Part of me suspects that bad things happen when good people just stand by and watch.

I also think each of these is another data point in a Google discussion, more than about Jason.

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So, let's badger Matt Cutts, Googles mr. anti-spam until he gives an official position on this instead of discussing the same stuff over and over again.

I agree with you, more Matt Cutts stories as opposed to Calacanis ones. He doesn't deserve the press, negative or positive.

I agree this should not be about Mahalo.com or Jason Calacanis..

It should be about how do we persuade Matt Cutts through facts and oratory to enforce the rules.

I don't understand the "bad thing" which is happening here. Are we supposed to be so thoroughly invested in the quality of Google search results that it's a personal affront when someone games the system?

The "bad thing" is the inconsistency with Google letting large sites get away with the shady practices while punishing the little guy.

Yes. Google has massively raised the barriers to entry in Internet search, and profited mightily from doing so. It is a big deal if they are gameable, so that sites like Mahalo can force us to pay an attention tax every time we want to find something.

I am, when they game the system without adding value to the end user (and note that's a general claim, not aimed at Mahalo specifically). And if you let one get away with it, others will follow, until the search-engine system breaks down.

Now that could mean a shift as revolutionary as the shift to search engines originally was. Or maybe, because at the moment almost all gaming is targeted at the Google gorilla, it may mean Google loses some relevance and falls back to the pack in terms of market share. Maybe either of those would be good. But why take the risk?

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