randle - 5:09 pm on Aug 20, 2008 (gmt 0)

"what is excessive"

scottg; Try Running the data if possible and find out. If you plotted every query run by your customers you’re going to get some sort of curve; some run light reports infrequently, and others massive ones every day, and right smack in the middle is the mean. Somewhere at the top of the spectrum is the “excessive” activity; you will probably find a small number of folks are responsible for a higher than normal percentage of total queries.

I might spend my time trying to speak with your customers that fall into the high end of the spectrum about throttling back, say as opposed to spending time posting on boards like this just calling Google out, and accusing them of indiscriminately picking on you. I admire your spunk, I really do, but from just a living in the real world business perspective, I think your living on the edge; as the old saying goes screw with the bull long enough, eventually you get the horns.

Good luck, and definitely keep us posted.