Bottler - 8:09 pm on Apr 1, 2004 (gmt 0)

the solution of the linear equations (for d<1; d = damping factor) is independent of the initial vector.

See my previous message.

Even in the TrustRank model with artificial sources initial conditions don't play a role.

Sorry this is blatantly wrong but I'm only prepared to debate it offline as this is not the research forum.

The ODP Social Contract forbids this. If AOL tried that, ODP editors could sue them for violating this.

I'm confident their lawyers would attempt to argue some breach Google is guilty of. For example, the Contract states "We do not permit unattributed use of our data, and will request data users to place the attribution on their site or remove the data entirely if they wish not to comply. We consider unattributed use a legal infringement of the free use license, and contrary to the ODP's purpose as an Open Source inspired initiative". Google may acknowledge use of the data in its directory but what about in its search rankings? It might be successfully argued they are in breach of this Contract and misusing the intellectual property of Dmoz editors for their commercial benefit. Besides, what damages could they argue?