centime - 3:41 pm on Jan 16, 2008 (gmt 0)

I think foot print is an issue

Certainly, it may act as a criteria for selection for further scrutiny.

Afterall, a chap who gets a free script, free hosting or really cheap monthly hosting, whoses set up costs are minimal compared to his/her other income, doesn't have a lot to lose financially on the directory project.

This does not mean that they will deliberately decide to undermine the SERPs, but they are less likely to take the SE's concerns seriously than someone who has built the directory from scatch, investing a lot of intellectual capital an money into the venture, they're bound to take all challenges seriously.

This is a theory, however, my observation of directories an their owners does tend to bear this out, IMHO

Just opinion off course :)