Rick_M - 4:57 pm on Sep 26, 2004 (gmt 0)

From an SEO standpoint, it is close to a zero sum game - there will always be "x" number of sites that get ranked, it is just a matter of what order they get ranked in.

From a user perspective, however, it is definitely not a zero sum game - having 10 average sites move up 1 spot does not balance out a very topical site dropping 10 spots.

Even from an SEO perspective it isn't a zero sum game. I personally don't like one of my sites that is on a related topic taking over the top spot for the main site I run on a specific topic. I'd rather get users going to the appropriate site.