max_mm - 2:52 pm on Jun 4, 2005 (gmt 0)

Of course not. Google should not disclose all the does and don't, but they should at least reveal the absolute don'ts which can cause severe penalty or banning.

Spot on.

Google as well as other search engine should provide a utility enabling you to quickly identify if your site was penalized and the likely reasons for this penalty. I don't think anyone really want them to revel all. BUT if they did penalize your site they should explain why! and not send you guessing for the next 3-6 months.

Imagine them banning during election time all pages containing the name of a certain runner up from appearing on millions of "public" searches per day. How is this different to what they are doing now?

Why are they forcing searchers to look at my competitors when someone searche for my business name? and why is my site nowhere to be seen?

What many of us want is a timely explanations and appropriate mechanism to resolve such burning issues.

[edited by: max_mm at 3:07 pm (utc) on June 4, 2005]