Your point then that Adsense is "significantly different" seems to rely on the notion that it creates value (aiding the discovery process) rather than "merely redistribut[ing] the benefits of the trade".

You've basically already pointed out that HFT has value of some sort to some people (other than the guys who rake in the cash), so that makes it harder for me to see what the significant difference is.

The way I see this is: 2 groups of people (goog engineers and hfts) engaging in activities that deliver value to some people (and annoy the hell out of others). Should we consider acting in ways to prevent them from pursuing their activities; if so, _why_ are we doing that, and are we even targeting the more egregious transgression?

The "Is HFT good" debate is distinct from the point I'm making , so I'd rather have that in another thread. yummyfajitas, I'd be happy to chat with you offline about that, or in person anywhere in NYC.