econman - 10:11 pm on Aug 15, 2007 (gmt 0)

let's throw some numbers around and see what the "wisdom of crowds" thinks about this.

Good idea. Here's my reaction:

* Twenty Recips on a Links Page Would this pass a hand check?

No way this would be classified as excessive -- at least not for an algorithmic test.

* Fifty Recips on a Links Page Are we approaching a gray line? Or is this normal and shouldn't raise eyebrows?

Definitely borderline. Better make sure every one of the links is relevant and goes to a high quality site.

* 100 Recips on a Links Page

Excessive/well into the danger zone. Perhaps OK for very solid, established sites, but it would be foolish to tempt fate.

* So many link partners you need multiple pages Are two pages too many?

Two is probably fine, provided the links seem sufficiently relevant.

Are there scenarios where multiple link pages will stand up to a hand check?

Yes. But as the number of pages increases, so does the danger -- at a minimum you would need to be very vigilant in scrutinizing quality and relevancy.