SmallTime - 2:38 am on Aug 30, 2002 (gmt 0)

Everyman's first complaint, that Pagerank favors large, established sites (assuming incoming links are there) is patently true, and in general should favor commercial over non-commercial, but for the fact that incoming links can be easier for non-commercial sites, a factor that can even out the equation. Basically, the gripe is whether the internet should favor the non-commercial or commercial interests, a question that at the current time, at least in the U.S.A. I would rather not have in the hands of the government.

Googles current success, I believe (with Skibum)is very closely tied to the fact that they have not gone public. In that they have avoided the mistake that has sunk many promising companies in the last five years. Until investors abandon dreams of high short term profits and display a discipline that is unlikely today, an IPO would only hurt them.

Concerns about privacy and Google are not trivial, but in the current climate there are far more serious issues to worry about.

Allowing and encouraging minority opinion is an essential element in democracy, because it may well contain a truth overlooked by the majority. For that alone, Everyman's stance deserves credit.