chiyo - 8:29 am on Nov 10, 2002 (gmt 0)

yes you are correct martinibuster. In the Google algo I think the two are intertwined - but to a large extent the returns are relevant because their link popularity criteria do such a good job at pinpointing credible content. I wasnt being negative in stating G! is a popularity contest, and you are right to say it is more than that. But one really smart they did was to base ranking in popularity/linking/PR rather than on page text relevance soley as SE's were doing before.