europeforvisitors - 5:32 pm on Mar 20, 2006 (gmt 0)

The implication is clear: More commercial sites at the top of SERPs is bad for the user. Info sites shd rule! :)

You may have inferred that, but I didn't imply it.

I'm simply saying that, because paid support would be used primarily by commercial sites (which can justify the expense of such support), Google's search results would end up being skewed in favor of commercial sites when all other factors were equal. But of even greater importance, the search results would tend to be skewed in favor of commercial sites that have paid for support.

In my opinion, Google should keep Webmasters and SEOs at arm's length. Otherwise, it risks creating a situation like the U.S. energy industry, where the regulators and the regulated are in bed together but it's the users who get screwed.