Reid - 7:30 pm on Mar 10, 2005 (gmt 0)

In laymens terms the problem is this.

Many websites have an intro page, some automatically check to see what type of browser you have or wether you have the plugins you need to view the website, language preference etc.
This way the website can send you the right page for you. For example if you have shockwave or flash software or not, the intro page will direct the browser to the compatible page. These type of intro pages typically use an automatic redirect where if you don't click on a link within a certain time the browser will automatically be directed to the proper page.
When you do a search in Google, the search engine does not want to send you directly inside the website to an incompatible page, therefore when google sees a page with the automatic redirect code, it assumes this is the intro page and sends surfers to the intro page for the content you are searching for. This way the website can check your browser for the appropriate software and provide you with the best possible surfing experience.
The google bug happens when website use this same type of redirect code to point to other websites. Most people do this for various legitimate reasons, usually it is a simple tracking method so they can record which links are being used and which are not. Google mistakes the other website as the intro page in these cases.
Some less scrupulous webmasters 'hijackers' took notice of this google bug and are exploiting it to the fullest, effectively hijacking other websites position within google search results. Google has gotten better recently, apparently fixing most of the accidental hijacks but the real hijackers have become very aware of this weakness and are taking it to another level using illegal or unethical methods. This is called 'google jacking'.
Although google has made changes to it's secret algythorim, a mathematical process used to determine which page is most relevant to a search query, webmasters have become very concerned about this issue. Many have lost their livlihood to 'google jackers' who uscupulously lure the surfer under false pretense of delivering the content described in Googles search results, into any number of less than ideal surfing experiences .

I think that pretty much sums up the issue in laymens language. Remember most surfers dont know what <a href= even means, much less care.

This is just a draft, anyone care to make adjustments or should we send it off to the press?

edited - another speeling mistake

[edited by: Reid at 7:40 pm (utc) on Mar. 10, 2005]