Page is a not externally linkable
tedster - 7:46 pm on Jul 21, 2008 (gmt 0)
I do think Google always has a record of the past penalty somewhere, and any future infractions might be dealt with quite harshly. But you definitely can see a site get completely released from the ranking effects of a penalty.
That's what I've seen, too. A long, slow release from "probation" as trust builds.